as promised, here are a few more photos from
my twelve by twelve collaboration. we shot an incredible 30 looks that day in LA, meaning that between this post and
yesterday's, you'll have seen about half! it was a marathon of glamour.
when i arrived on set for this shoot, the
twelve by twelve team had already put together a few looks, inspired by my own
mixology posts. it was so fun (and surreal!) to see their interpretation of my style! after going through the clothes together, they let me tweak the looks, then style up some more of my own. occasionally, i tossed in a few of my personal accessories, but for the most part, it was all
forever21 fun ~ from the clothes to the jewels to the shoes.
the concept for the shoot was my style, but exaggerated ~ so every ensemble had a bit too much of everything (in the best possible way!). we couldn't just use one necklace or one bracelet ~ it had to be at least three or four or five! that was actually a good challenge for me; i loved taking my style to a more extreme place.
it also turned out to be a good lesson. early on in our shoot, i felt a bit uncomfortable when they'd ask me to 'please add just a few more bangles.' but by the end of the day, my drive to overdose on accessories couldn't be stopped! in fact, it was the look below (one of the last we shot) that afterward inspired me to have
my chloe sunnies changed into prescription glasses ~ the 'hostess in marrakesh' mood just wouldn't have worked as well without the secretary specs!
the lesson stuck; it's inspired me to do two things:
(a) put a little more effort into my everyday hair & makeup (usually, i vacillate between enjoying being super natural, or channeling my inner drag queen ~ rarely anything in between), and
(b) to wear even more jewelry than i do already!
both initiatives will begin once NY has recovered from this heat wave we're currently under, of course.
{ above: my favorite look! followed closely by the one below. } indeed, between the graffiti backdrops (which
forever21's display team made specially for me!) and colorful clothes, it was the dramatic but elegant hair and makeup that pulled everything together. i loved the flapper-style finger waves that
candice birns put in my hair for some of the looks; i wish i could style my coif that way every day! and
samuel paul was so gentle and careful; he treated my face like a canvas to be painted into perfection. it was immediately obvious why he's such a favorite on the celebrity circuit!
all in all, it was a really incredible experience. and, i'm happy to say, not the last time i'll be working with them this summer. more surprises lay in wait!
unfortunately, i don't have any sort of inside scoop on when certain pieces will arrive in stores ~ meaning that i'll be checking everyday for the
safety-pin-print top to drop, just like everyone else!
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PS:
twelve by twelve has just updated their site with
a great lookbook from our shoot, with my own musings on a few of these favorite looks!
