So, it started well ... pitched up to a fashion shoot with model daughter ... and then ... hmmm ... not so well ...
Do you know how long it takes to get ready for one of these things ... the styling, the hair, the make up ... and I'm not talking about whilst on the shoot (that's a whole other blog ... trust me) ... I'm talking about before we have even left the house ... and I hate to admit this but I'm not talking about the model here ... I'm talking about me! I spend hours thinking of the outfit, hair, shoes etc ... like I think it matters ... for the record, it doesn't but I can't seem to get that in to my head.
So, what I'm really trying to convey is an effortless, cool, I do this all the time, not fussed kind of image ... you know the one ... Alexa Chung style ... like we do this kind of thing everyday kind of look ... the kind of "yeah, me and her do this all the time" ... the whole "look at how effortlessly cool and relaxed we are with this whole modelling malarkey."
But let me tell you, the prep that goes in to this effortless look is far from effortless - it takes hours ... not so much the getting ready but the thought that goes in to the outfits. The boyfriend jeans that just have to look as if they've literally fallen out of the wardrobe, the white Tee, like the first one I pulled nonchalantly from the drawer with my eyes still half asleep, the little cool ankle boots as if I've grabbed the first pair of boots that I've found in the cupboard ... that if anyone asked where they were from I could just breezily answer "Oh what, these old things?" but no ... this outfit (one of many, believe me!) has been the result of probably 25 different combos strewn across the bedroom floor ... hopping one legged from one pair of jeans to tights to skirts, back to jeans and so on ...and don't even get me started on the hair! All in all, it's an horrific ordeal and occurs every morning before a shoot whilst model daughter sits patiently by the front door waiting modelesque like in black skinny jean model attire - perfect every bloody time ... me envious? Of course not!
Anyway, on this particular occasion I felt I had nailed it ... bossed it ... pleased with myself ... get me! So, turned up to the shoot to find the team of super cool twenty-something stylists (yeah, think you can guess how confidence-inspiring this whole scene is for a mum of a model) unpacking the clothes for the day from a brand that I absolutely love. Couldn't believe it when they pulled out a skirt that I even have hanging in my wardrobe ... I felt officially cool! So you can just imagine my downfall when announcing "OMG I have that skirt!" (and where did OMG come from? I never normally say that!) to be met with confused glances by the ultra hip cool gang and "Oh, do you mean that top?" Mortified! A top?! Not a skirt? What on earth have I done to any ounce of street cred that I've been desperately clinging to since becoming a mum. Well, personally, I thought it looked quite hip as a skirt but I'm keeping my mouth shut in future in said such fashionista company ... just saying ...