After a long hiatus...

I was reminded today that I must update this blog, so... Hello! I hope I did not keep anyone on the edge of their seats or pulling their hair out from fashion anticipation. This last month or so has been extremely hectic. I had FAT, Dragon's Den, Breakfast TV, Vogue Italia, Elle Canada, jewellery class, fainting in said class, my proposal for University, styling multiple shoots, modeling in multiple shoots, ballet class, yoga class, interviews, meetings, dealing with a very needy kitty... The list goes on!

I thought for this post I might divulge into an area of fashion that I have always loved, vintage clothing. Whether it is the thrill of the find or the thrill of the dirt-cheap price, I do love a good rummage round. It could be in a long forgotten store on the outskirts of Kensington Market, a consignment store in a dug out Yorkville store fit for a sixty year old woman or even digging through the shambles of a Valu Village which resembles a site hit by a very big tornado, I get such a kick it is almost sickening. Not even that old, musty smell can stop my determination to find that lucky find. When I do locate a gem (literally or not) I almost feel proud. With chain, high street and mall stores you are pretty much handed in your lap an outfit already put together. Colours, styles and themes are separated and/or put together in sections. Just look at the mannequins around you and theirs your new office attire. Now don't get me wrong, I'm not saying this is a bad thing at all. It's just not what I like to do. I've never really been a follower of trends, I like to do things my way and I have always been creative with everything I do. My motto is if I like it, I wear it! And that's what I love about vintage and consignment stores. I have the thrill of the find and I am free to be as creative as I want, I almost feel I have achieved something with my fashion this way.

There is also something in the quality of clothing from the distant and not so distant past. It was, how do I put this?... A lot better! One example I can use in this instance, I once worked at a well known shoe store. A regular client of mine came in looking for ballet flats. Unfortunately none of the ballet slippers I presented to her was to her liking. In order to assist her better and understand why we could not locate what she was looking for, I asked her why none of the shoes appealed to her. She told me she has shopped at this particular store since its international spread in the nineties. She had always been happy about the wonderful quality of the shoes, especially the ballet flats, until lately. She mention that she noticed the ballet flats use to be sewn together attaching the material and exterior part of the shoes to the soles, now they simply glue the pieces together. This causes depletion in the durability of the shoe. She still continues to shop at this location but not for ballet flats, she does though look in the hope that one day the shoes store will once again make flats as durable as they use to be.

I should point out though, consignment does not necessarily mean second hand or vintage. There are a lot of stores that do mix vintage with consignment items, but not all. Consignment is the act of consigning which means to place any item into the hands of someone else. This doesn't always mean it's old or has even been worn. It is always good fun digging through them, especially one that specializes in designer clothes. Here is an example of what you can do with an altered "Golden Girlsesque" eighties dress and a retro Chanel purse (shoes are the model's own).

The important thing to remember when shopping for vintage or consignment (or both) is to not get overly excited about labels. I know I've made this mistake on several occassions, but I'm getting better at spotting flaws in certain items and what is not really a great find. Just because it's YSL does NOT mean it will look amazing, feel amazing, be amazing quality or fit amazingly. Which brings me to another big point with consignment shopping. BARGAINING. I cannot stress this enough. If you find a Louis Vuitton bag with a stain in it you can negotiate a slightly lower price but NOT something so unreasonable as $10. Remember these bags once cost over $5,000. It is rare to find someone willing to sell a bag like that to you for $20 or under, no matter the size or type of stain.

For those who have never vintage/consignment store shopped before, I hope this post left you with an urge to take the challenge. Maybe you're already an avid vintage goer and made you think what is your appeal to the hunt. I would love to hear back from you people on what it is about vintage shopping you love. On that note I just want to say, happy huntings  you little retro radicals!

xo

Top photo. Model myself, photography by Jesse North, styling by Cat Shanahan, taken from Aiseirigh Vintage online store  http://www.etsy.com/shop/aiseirigh.


Bottom photo. Model Kelleth Cuthbert, photography by Azimuth Arts, makeup by Flawless Jemz, styling by myself.

PROOF!!! Ballet does play an important part in the fashion industry!

I was doing my daily random rummaging through YouTube when I stumbled upon a video that made my little Chanel covered ballet heart skip a beat. Back in 2009, Karl Lagerfeld created costumes for the ballet Apollo which was part of the Ballet Russes season at Sadler Wells. Vogue covered this in their video. I cannot believe I am only just discovering this. Here is the clip.

I went further on to discover this romantic little number performed by Elena Glurdjidze of the English National Ballet in the Chanel Couture Lounge. In the video she performs for Karl Lagerfeld "The Dying Swan". The only other information I could find about this performance was at FabSugar.com right here Karl Lagerfeld Creates Custom Tutu, Films Impromtu Performance. Below is the video.


Video proof of the importance and the connection with ballet and the fashion world. I'm in love!!!

Photo at top of the page, Karl Lagerfeld filming Elena Glurdjidze. Photographer, unknown.

Are You Worth It?- Part two...

So for this entry I'm going to get a little serious. I know I will be treading on some toes here and some of you will be disturbed and angry. You may even be mad at me, but it needs to be said.


This question is primarily directed at female models but it does apply to male models and makeup artists (MUAs) too. After hearing stories, I have come to discover that it affects a lot more MUAs then I thought. What I am asking you is when it comes to your dignity and self respect, do you think you're worth it?


I read an article from dailymail.co.uk today that really caught my attention. Amy Willerton is a UK glamour model who has just signed with another glamour model and very well known personailty in the UK, Katie Price. In the article she reminisces about her pageant days  and when still rising to the top of  the glamour modeling industry. Here is a quote...


"The ugliness of the beauty industry hides easily beneath sequins and foundation - but Amy Willerton experienced the darker side of paegant life during a trip to Korea.

Jordan's protégée, who won Signed by Katie Price last year, was sent abroad to represent Great Britain in a competition, but was propositioned by men bribing her for sex in exchange for prizes.

The Bristolian said implied girls that did cave into the pressures were rewarded with winning titles.

Amy said: 'Guys would come up and say, "I know what I can do for you, but what can you do for me?"'"

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2131021/Amy-Willerton-reveals-darker-pageant-life-men-bribed-sex.html#ixzz1sLqAdOnw 
The reason this article caught my eye was I, myself, had a similar experience about four or five days ago. Since my experience I have been fighting with myself if I should keep this quiet or not? Might it damage my career? Now, I am beyond the point of caring about the repercussions, especially when it comes to a subject like this. I have come to a point though where I am saying to myself, "No, this is not okay! People, especially men, should not be allowed to get away with this! It's time to speak up!"

Back in the Winter time I had submitted a photo shoot to several magazines based in Canada, America and the UK. Three magazines responded with interest, I picked one, it was printed, the end. I did not hear from the other twenty or so magazines I submitted to. Until about a week ago when online magazine "Hellion Magazine" sent me an email in response to my submission simply saying, "Do you have a number I can reach you?" Since the editor wanted to talk about my modeling. I gave it to him and he called two days later. 

It started out simple enough. Asked me how long I had been modeling for, age, measurements, what type of modeling I did, etc. Then he asked me for more of my pictures to see my work which seemed very odd since I had submitted the spread to him. Then the conversation began to turn. He asked me how far I would go with nudity. I told him nothing below the belt (a.k.a. I will not show my vagina) and it had to be tasteful. He said he didn't understand and when I explained to him as, "Like the stuff you would see in Playboy." He responded with, "I wouldn't know, I don't read Playboy." That sent up little red flags. I don't read Playboy and I know what type of photos they do, I smelt the strong scent of BS. (I just want to clarify before I carry on I have no problem with Playboy or what those models do, it is just not something I want to do with my modeling.)

The conversation really took a turn for the worst when he was unable to convince me to "go far" with the nudity and supposedly "my career". Then he bluntly asked me, "Would you do me favours?" I asked him what he meant by "favours" and he responded with, "What do you think?" I had already known the answer the minute he asked the question, I just wanted to clarify what I was actually hearing. I bluntly told him, "No. Absolutely not." He proceeded to try and convince me that I would not go far in my career if I was not willing to do people "favours" in this business. He also stated something similar to what was said in Willerton's interview. At one point she stated, "Guys would come up and say, 'I know what I can do for you, but what can you do for me?'" Pretty much in the same manner the editor said to me, "Us photographers get screwed over way to often, how are you going to help me out is the question here?" 

At the end I told him I was clearly the wrong girl for his so called, "editorial shoot". He concluded by stating that he would LOVE to book me but thought I was to "stuck up" and "not willing to go the extra mile" for my career. He told me everyone at the top had to have a little "fun" to get to where they are today. I said, "That doesn't sound like fun to me."

I really should have slammed the phone down on him half an hour before it actually ended, but I was completely dumbstruck by what I was listening to. I have heard these stories on countless occasions, directly from the models, MUAs, etc., either them or from a secondary source, but I never thought I would experience it myself. I am lucky though, some stories I've heard didn't end well, which brings me to my next story that I would like to share with you. The morning after that disgusting phone call I received this message on my Facebook fan page that I think is important to share with you, especially those in Ontario and/or Quebec...

Hello Victoria,

My name is XXXXXXXXXXXXX and I am speaking on behalf of XXXXXXXX a model in Montreal, who was sexually violated and physically assualted by Photographer Sebastien Fiss on April 11, 2012. He has since deactivated both his facebook page and model mayhem account and the police have little information on this man. Any information (phone number, location, contacts, friends) ANYTHING that you think will aid us in the arrest and deserved result for this man.
Please contact me via email or my cell phone ( XXXXXXXXXXXX  )

This is NOT okay! I wanted to share this in order to get the word out. I want to help find this man and stop him from harming anyone else especially since the model whose's friend reached out to me. If you have any information on him please contact the Montreal police. I censored the names and the number because I don't want any trolls or idiots making prank calls or just generally humiliating them. 

I know I have named names and stepped on toes here and I do know more names to name and toes to tread on that I did not, but I don't want to turn this blog into THAT kind of a blog. I just found it very important to inform my readers and highlight a very important topic that seems to keep being swept under the carpet despite its' constant appearance in this industry. I am sorry for the morbid topic but please think, be safe and ask yourself not just, "Am I worth it?" But, "Is this worth it?" 

Photo taken from http://www.dailymail.co.uk from a shoot with OK! Magazine UK. Model is Amy 

Willerton. 

Are You Worth It?- Part one...

This originally was going to be a one part entry but after a conversation I had a couple of days ago and a recent article I stumbled upon in the Daily Mail website, I think it's important I discuss this in two separate entries. This first one is talking about money...


A constant question that comes up especially amongst the freelancers of this industry is, “How much do I charge for my services?” That goes for models, makeup artists, wardrobe stylists, designers, photographers, hair stylists, retouchers, etc alike. So how do you determine your worth?

First begin with how much experience you have. If you are new to this business you will have to start from the ground up. I have not known anyone personally who didn’t pay their dues before they got to the successful stage they are at now in their careers. Never go into this industry thinking it is a well paid, lucrative career. Again this applies to all of the above I mentioned before. You have to be able to make a portfolio and show examples of your work. You wouldn’t walk into a normal job interview with no resume and completely empty handed. 

Another question one must ask themselves, are you good at you do? Do you go that extra mile for someone or something? Now this doesn't mean whoring yourself out (which will be discussed in part two). I am talking about whether you are willing to do the research and extra work to get you a bigger paycheck. For models it could be another skill, makeup artists could learn special effects and photographers could try other means of photography, like landscape. This is just small examples but if you brainstorm you would be surprised to learn that just having something else under your belt really makes or breaks your career. I've recently come to discover my dance training is in high demand when it comes to my modeling. I have gone from an extremely, unsuccessful slow season to booking jobs, especially paid left, right and centre. For styling it was learning how to make jewelry which I'm still learning. I will be attending classes in the summer to hone my skill.

Research is key! Do your research on whoever you are looking to book with. If I could receive a dime for every time I heard models, makeup artists, stylists, photographers, etc complain about not booking jobs but never knew anything about the company/designer/etc, let alone their names, I would be rich! Why would you expect to get booked when you know nothing about the job? It is like someone applying for a job at Starbucks not only just unaware what they do there but also not even knowing the name "Starbucks".


My first paid modeling job happened naturally. I never even thought of charging when the photographer handed me £20 ($40 Canadian roughly at the time). It wasn’t a lot but that was when I realised I was at a point in my career that I was experienced enough and good enough to begin making more demands. I did and still do the occasional free job but when it comes to things like travel I ask for a fee depending on how much money I spent traveling to the destination. If it does not benefit my book or me I charge for the overall shoot. At the same time one must remember to not be too demanding. No one wants to work with a prima donna, no matter how talented you are. One thing I have never agreed on is when a photographer tells me they will never pay for a model. It is completely off putting for me and insulting. I had one photographer tell me, “I’ve never paid for a model and I never will. If the client wants to pay for them then they can but I refuse.” Yet this photographer charges other models for his services. It seems very unfair and as I had said before, insulting to say the least. I am not stating that photographers have to always pay for models, it just doesn't seem equal if you charge models for your services yet don't expect to do the same. And if that really is how you feel, don't tell the model least of all!


It's completely up to you how much you believe you are worth, money wise, and only you will know what rate suits you best. The most important factors to remember, what will get you that paid gig are:
- Experience
- Work quality
- Attitude (the right kind)
- Professionalism
- Confidence 
Also I realise makeup peeps have the kit fee to worry about. After many conversations with talented MUAs (makeup artists) in my dealings, I found that they have had to lower the prices of the kit fees because there are less talented MUAs picking up the jobs since they are willing to do it for free. First of all I would like to "tsk tsk" those for picking the not so talented over the talented due to budget (unless budget is a huge issue, I can understand that). But I would like to say those struggling MUAs, don't lower your price especially if you know you're worth more. You have to stand your ground, show your confidence and people will come round and realise how serious you are. Obviously experience, quality and professionalism also apply to MUAs like everyone else.


I hope that's helped if you've been wondering how you would go about making the rates for yourself. If anyone has any other input or suggestions please feel free to share here. Happy job hunting!!!


Photography by Stephen M. Loban, makeup by Kayla Jackon, model is myself.