That one time Brooke became a Disney princess

One of the things that I love more than anything in this world is vintage fashion. I guess it comes from a childhood spent watching Grease and listening to Elvis. There is nothing that makes me happier than the scratchy feeling of a petticoat on my thighs and a spinny skirt.

I kind of fell into the whole pin up rockabilly world quite by accident. Katy Perry (who is a total babe and kinda my idol) had just cracked the big time with I Kissed A Girl and she was just so freaking cute with her retro chic look. A friend was having a Barbie party, so I decided going as a retro styled Barbie would be fun. Cue me checking out YouTube, and discovering an Aussie lass named Kat Creasey, who made the most interesting and easy to follow victory rolls tutorial I’ve ever seen (victory rolls are still my downfall, but I’ll get there someday!). From there I liked her facebook page and then I discovered that this was a thing… girls really do dress like they were extras on the set of Grease every single day. Then it became a thing for me. I’m not a full time pin up doll (maybe one day), but I dabble part time.

From there, I discovered a photography studio called Sherbet Birdie. These ladies create the most GORGEOUS vintage styled photographs, and I fell head over heels for the beauty almost immediately. Then they offered a hair and makeup class. I went along to that, and it was just divine. From there, I did a mini shoot with the girls for Valentine’s Day (that was featured in the Sydney Morning Herald and on SMH’s website… super freaking COOL). From there it was fixed in my mind. I had to do a full shoot.

I embarked on a weight loss journey in May this year. It has been the toughest, most rewarding thing I’ve ever done (that I’ll probably blog about at some point) and I decided that doing a shoot would be the light at the end of the tunnel, as it were. Any time that I put exercise in the too hard basket, I thought about this shoot and got the gumption together to keep going.

Step one was booking the shoot… that was easy. Step two of the shoot experience is the phone consultation. This is a chance to sit down and chat with Sasha and letting her know your wildest desires. This is also the time that I mentioned my elaborate dreams of experiencing one of Annie Liebovitz’s amazing Disney shoots (EDIT: https://www.google.com.au/search?q=annie+leibovitz+disney&espv=210&es_sm=119&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=tJ5fUsa6K8q2lQXyx4HQAg&ved=0CAkQ_AUoAQ&biw=1145&bih=607&dpr=1 I might actually put that link in now!). Sasha googled, there was squealing. I waited to hear that it just wouldn’t be possible and maybe being a sailor would be cute… That never happened. After a little bit of logistical chatting… Sasha agreed to make it happen. SQUEEEE!!! In addition to the Annie L theme, I chose the super awesome (if slightly darker) Naughty Snow White sitting and the Mermaid shoot… Guys, getting to be a mermaid is no small thing for me. I watched The Little Mermaid every day for about a year as a child and my mother strongly suspects my obsession with red hair as an adult stems from that movie. This is a tick off my bucket list!

I exercised, dieted, primped, plucked, waxed, exfoliated and moisturised in the lead up to the shoot… it wasn’t until the trip into the studio (I bribed my little sister into driving me in because I knew I’d need a glass of champagne) that I started to panic. I slowly managed to convince myself that I’d made a terrible, terrible mistake and that I was going to make a complete and total fool of myself.

When I arrived at the studio (late… thank you M5 traffic for making a 35 minute trip stretch out to an hour and 15 minutes), a strange sense of calm washed over me. Upon stepping into the Pamper Palace, I think stress gets left at the door. I was greeted with crash tackle-y hugs from both Lucy and Sasha.

seriously… are you even ALLOWED to be stressed here?

After checking out the gorgeous set, it was time for hair and makeup, lounging in a white SB robe and ridiculously comfortable slippers… And I have a lot of hair, so that was quite the challenge for poor Lucy to get it all curled just right. I snacked on macarons (finger bun and salted popcorn flavour, if you must know) and chatted away with Lucy (who is pure sunshine), Sasha popping her two cents through out the beautification process. These two ladies really do have a gift for making you feel totally at home- they have that rare quality that seems so lost in our world today; when you speak, they genuinely listen to what you have to say. I truly believe that this is one of the things that make these ladies the best at what they do… they create a sense of comfort, and when you’re comfortable, you can totally trust them to create magic.

I had a posing lesson with Miss Sash (I don’t know that I’ll ever look at jellybeans quite the same way again) before slipping into the most delicious skirt and corset combo ever known to mankind.

I can’t go any further without discussing the beyond perfect set that Sasha built for me. Seriously… you guys have to see it without me lying in it, and there just happens to be a video on SB’s instagram 😉 http://instagram.com/p/evv73OjoP1/ (This video was taken as I was having my makeup done… Lucy and I were given strict instructions to not talk in the background :P).

My heart skipped a beat when I walked into the studio and saw the set… not just because it was completely freaking stunning (and it was) but because I hadn’t ever told Sasha that cherry blossoms are my favourite flowers. It seems like such a little thing, but it totally put me at ease and confirmed I’d chosen the right people for such an extravagant shoot.

(This one was not taken by me… it featured on Sherbet Birdie’s facebook page https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151750215863387&set=a.400725333386.175020.103636653386&type=1&theater … all the gorgeousness of wondering in woodlands, without the scariness of bugs. Winning all around)

And for the actual photoshoot itself… It didn’t feel difficult. I had expected to feel awkward and maybe a little ungainly in front of the camera, but I really didn’t. I don’t know whether that was Sasha’s skill in giving me such precise direction (and my word, I knew exactly what she wanted me to do, because she is just that articulate) or a natural aptitude in front of the camera (the amount of photos of me as a child could be indicative of something), but the shooting itself was super enjoyable. I also expected to feel a little bit self-conscious… I did spend a large portion of the day in vintage underwear, but that all went out the window. I was particularly terrified of that mermaid tail. I knew I wanted to wear it so badly, but after a lifetime of conditioning myself into hiding away my body because who wants to see whale blubber?… it was scary. I am so very glad I did it, though. I felt so safe in that Pamper Palace of bliss that taking such a risk felt empowering and not like I was about to faceplant into concrete.

Once the shoot was complete, I hung out with Lady the vacuum cleaner (one of those amazing things that vacuums all by itself! Magic!) with a cup of coffee, taking all the selfies as Sasha and Lucy went through and culled the many, many photos that were taken that day.

Lady the wonder vacuum cleaner

I told you… not even ALL of the selfies

It was the moment of truth… It was time to go through the photographs and choose which ones would be the photos. I have to say… even in their raw form, I was shocked by how incredible they were already. These girls are artists. Cutting down the photos was quite the process. I really appreciated Sasha’s decisiveness when I was unsure, and her frank but gentle feedback when I couldn’t choose between two photos.  I’m really, really happy with my final choices.

The magicians themselves 🙂 Lucy on the left and Sasha on the right (making a Brooke sandwich)

The waiting time for when you get your photos is like counting down to Christmas. You know that it’ll happen and you know that it will be amazing, but it doesn’t make the wait any less agonising. Any time Sasha uploaded an image of mine to Facebook or instagram, I got such a thrill. I don’t know that I’ve ever been good at accepting compliments, so the affirmation of strangers on the Internet from all the around the world is certainly a strange thing to wrap your head around.

I was in the car, fresh (and stinky) from legs day when I checked my emails and found images for my final approval in my inbox. I genuinely had a little moment. I can’t quite describe what was going through my mind when I saw them. It was a lot of things… I think women; particularly women of a size or shape that doesn’t fit society’s norm of beauty have been conditioned to think about their bodies in a certain way. I also firmly believe that women of all shapes and sizes have been conditioned by society to believe that they are not beautiful, and to think that you are beautiful or talented or even worthy of love equates to arrogance (which is why I think so many women hate Anne Hathaway, but that’s an entirely separate blog post) and nobody likes an arrogant girl… when I saw those images, I felt stunning and I didn’t feel like I should be apologetic for being beautiful.

I felt like a childhood dream had come true. I was the Disney princess I spent my days dreaming about becoming, but I was sassy, and empowered and I was still me when I did it. I was inspired by the beauty of femininity (in whatever form it comes, because let’s face it, beauty is indeed in the eye of the beholder) and I think that secret cry of my heart (and the heart of women everywhere, whether we admit it or not) was answered… that tiny little part of yourself that screams “I am I lovely?”

And I suppose I should probably show you the images that have caused such a tizzy…

 (Images with many thanks to Sherbet Birdie Vintage and Pin-up Photography and Lucy Topp Makeup)

That one time Brooke pondered that question that all single girls hate

I’m going to suggest that you start this blog entry by cranking your “singledom appreciation playlist”… My personal one features Single Ladies by Beyonce and I’m Gonna Wash That Man Right Outta My Hair from South Pacific (variety is the spice of life, okay?)

I’m going to preface all of this by saying that I like being single. My last relationship (if you can even call it that… it was weird, and I’ll probably wax lyrical about the value of being “facebook official” at a later date) ended almost two years ago because the gentleman in question drunkenly admitted to my best friend that he found me, and I quote… “scary.” Most people would probably suggest that this is a hint that I should probably pull back on the tough as nails thing I’ve got going on, but I refuse to play small because it intimidates a lesser man (and lets face it… if Lizzie wasn’t so sassy, Mr Darcy never would have noticed those fine eyes).

I don’t lie at home crying about my secret pain over the man drought I find myself in, or what its like being the fifth wheel when you’re going out to dinner (these are separate blog posts in themselves). Sure, I’m seeing all my friends become engaged or start having babies etc… but while you’re saving up for your wedding I’ll be online shopping and going to see fabulous pieces of theatre.

Am I fundamentally opposed to the idea of a relationship? No. Would I like somebody who has to care about my minute problems, play with my hair and occasionally buy me shiny useless things? Sometimes. Am I going to lock myself in a tower and pine, waiting for Prince Charming to show up and sweep me off my feet? Hell to the NO! The likelihood of me putting my life on hold because I haven’t found the peanut butter to my jam or what-the-eff-ever is exactly zero. If the opportunity for a relationship were there, I’d probably take it, but I’m also not going to head on over to Amazon and buy myself this prize winning piece of literature: http://www.amazon.com/Why-Men-Love-Bitches-Relationship/dp/1580627560/ref=cm_lmf_tit_1 (I googled dating books for women to make my point… I’d rather jump off a cliff and spend money on that, because that money would be far better spent on shoes).

I’m a whole person all by myself, and ultimately, I want to be complemented, not completed.

This brings me to the point of my little blog entry 😉 (Getting there, I swear)

So… last night, I bumped into a friend after I’d been giving a presentation. We ran around afterwards collecting envelopes for this appeal I was speaking about, and then stood at our cars chatting about a whole manner of things (accommodation for the trip I want to take to Italy next year, how I went about shedding some kilos, the job market and so forth)… and then it came… that question that single ladies like myself dread. Wait for it…

 

“Are you seeing somebody?”

 

I hate that question. Am I somehow deficient for being single? Why do people feel the need to ask that question? Whatever… so I laughed it off with a big giggly, “noooo!”

 

Then I got the most interesting follow up question. “Why, do you want to be?”

 

*insert derp face here* Ummmm.. What? I deflected with some tales of my attempts at online dating (seriously… this guy lived in the States, was vegan, had never seen or read Harry Potter and managed to insult both Game of Thrones and Beyonce in a sentence. Was it ever going to work? I think NOT). She mentioned a few sites to try, we parted ways and I sang along loudly and badly to Evanescence on my drive home.

However, it got me thinking. Why is that question okay? Why is it that my relationship status (or lack thereof) is totally open not only for inquiry, but I have to justify whether or not I even want a relationship?

Lets just imagine the reverse for a second.

Me: “So, how’s your relationship going?”

Friend (in relationship): “Yeah, good thanks,”

 Me: “So you’re not thinking about breaking up?”

This conversation would never happen! And you know the reason why it would never happen? BECAUSE IT’S WEIRD! The ins and outs of somebody else’s relationship are none of my damn business, and I don’t want to make it my business either! In fact, you’d probably think I’m super nosy and insensitive for asking that question.

I guess that brings me back to my point… why is it that being single is such a status of contention for women? Does it even matter that I’m a twenty four year old single lady *insert hand dance here* who thinks getting married before the age of twenty five is kind of like going to a party, but leaving at 10pm?

Maybe I’m really fulfilled by myself… or maybe I’m totally miserable alone and you asking me about it just got a great big handful of salt and rubbed that sucker into the wound… or just maybe, I don’t understand why the fact that I’m not in a relationship is a topic of conversation in the first place. 

Any thoughts on the sitch? Hit me up in the comments section… or maybe just tell me your ultimate independent lady song 🙂 Seriously, I need a spotify playlist 😉