- A bright pink woolen skirt
- A bright pink with black polka dot cotton cardigan
- A neon green sleeveless top
- A blue with neon green polka dot sleeveless top
So recently, I participated in my first ever photo shoot! Organised by the HKFashionBlogger founder and uber stylish DRESSME blogger Jasmine Webster, 12 bloggers teamed up with charities Redress and Friends of the Earth HK to front a campaign to highlight the benefits of recycling textiles/clothes and the high level of textile waste in HK. It is true that a lot of people in HK tend to like to buy new clothes and are not necessarily big fans of second hand clothing. For those who know me, you know I like a good vintage bargain! It is definitely a great and affordable way of getting some designer items into your wardrobe! As a child, I remember wearing hand-me-downs from family friends whereas here, children are primarily dressed in trendy designer clothing....where else but in HK is baby designer gear so prevalent?
The shoot started off with the participants rummaging through 10 massive sacks of clothing that had been provided by Redress and Friends of the Earth. Remember the clothes bins that can be found in parks and certain streets of HK...yep...that is where the clothes for the shoot came from! the rules for the shoot was that everything apart from the shoes we wear had to come from the donations. We could not wear any jewellery that we brought ourselves. Not having the option to accessorize is a problem as I do believe that accessories DO finish off an outfit. Another problem for me was that it was hard to find garments which would fit me...especially my bottom half. I admit it, I am not of model proportions...to be kind to myself, I would describe myself as "curvy". As most of the garments were "HK-sized", there was a distinct lack of trousers, skirts or dresses that would fit. I managed to find a bright pink woolen skirt which I could squeeze over my generous hips so I really was restricted to basing my look around the skirt. In the end, I bit the bullet and just went all out with the colour and patterns. I recently have discovered that I love prints but even I was a little bit shocked at my final choices of clashing polka dots and bright neon colours. Thank goodness I brought my bright yellow 5bee shoes as a potential pair for the shoot. Carla Layne, make up artist extraordinaire kindly volunteered her time and skills to do our make up for us and Sabrina Sikora was our photographer. With such garish colour combinations, I really could not be subtle so channeled Patsy and Edwina from the comedy Absolutely Fabulous..."it is LACROIX darling...LACROIX!!"
Watching the uber professional and gorgeous Elle Lee and Jasmine Webster made me a little bit nervous. I had thought after watching so much America's Next Top Model that I would be ok in front of the camera. However, (unfortunately for me!) once Sabrina started snapping...my mind went completely blank. It did take me a few shots before I warmed up and then a SUPERMODEL was born...actually may be not. I think I did every cheesy pose you could think of. Thank goodness I was in the safe hands of Sabrina. I have to admit that I did enjoy my moment in front of the camera though I definitely do not think I will be fronting any campaigns in the near future (though M&S if you ever need a curvy Chinese girl to wear your clothes, I might reconsider that...)
My favourite looks were Bryant Lee rocking some skinny jeggings, Clare's elegant ballet like take of a tunic dress, Jasmin rocking a parka and mini shorts (with fierce thigh high boots!!) and Vanessa's use of a coat to make a skirt. (Vanessa is a true DIY guru!)
So....
TADA.....
Here is the finished product...
A Close Up of ME.....
