On Sunday I attended a 1920’s Gatsby themed garden party at Spadina House in Toronto with the lovely Leelando Calrissian! We had a fabulous time getting all dolled up in our 1920s attire and lounging on the beautiful lawn behind the historical mansion. There were more amazing outfits than you could imagine, some real 1920s vintage, others simply inspired or reproduction. The women were decked out in lace, pearls, bias-cut frocks, cloche hats, beaded bags, with many gorgeous parasols scattered throughout the crowd. The men adorned themselves with boater hats, suspenders, linen suits, sock garters, spats with many pocket watches on fobs. Live bands roared with jazz on the main stage and small groups played the ukulele at the garage stage. The main event was the fashion parade and costume contest with prizes from Malabar, Aviv restaurant and the Rose Emporium. Leelando and I were very jealous of the grand prize winner who will be receiving 2 dozen fresh cut roses every month for the next year for winning! Please enjoy my photos from the Gatsby Garden Party!
Leeland looking regal at Spadina HouseGorgeous Gatsby Gals!
Croquet anyone?Authentic 1920s gown!These ladies were simply divine and playing a round of badminton!The swinging band!This chap had an amazing pair of sock garters!Yep, we ordered a pizza.Fashion parade!More fashion paradersSlacks on a woman? How modern!Costume Contest winners!
When it comes to curvy burlesque beauties Dirty Martini takes the cake!
Based in NYC, this burlesque performer/pinup model/dance instructor’s style of performance is a combination of classic glamour and raunchy humour. She holds the title of The Reigning Queen of Burlesque – Miss Exotic World 2004, first runner up to Miss Exotic World in 2003 and best fan dance at the Burlesque Hall of Fame in 2002. She was featured in the John Cameron Mitchell film “Shortbus” and the Scissor Sister’s video for the song “FIlthy/Gorgeous”. Dirty Martini is truly a wonderful representation of the curvy girl body-type in burlesque. She has curves for days and proudly shows her figure in the most glamourous burlesque costumes and routines. Dirty Martini is such an inspiration to me as a big girl in burlesque and she really proves it that beauty has no size!
This is the final set from my Bettie Page inspired Striptease photo shoot that I will be posting on this blog. The last few images. which feature a helpless Dolly in bondage, have been deemed too racy to post here but fear not! If You Fall Photography and Classically Curvy are currently working on a gallery show of the full Bettie Page set! Stay tuned for more info and for now please enjoy these final shots! Part 1 Part 2 Part 3
On Sunday May 25th 2014 at age 85 legendary pinup model and photographer Bunny Yeager passed away.
Being a pinup model herself for many years Bunny Yeager had a unique perspective as a pinup photographer. Many of the models she photographed enjoyed working with her because, as a woman, she would not exploit them or make them feel uncomfortable during shoots. In 1954 she met Bettie Page and took many of her most popular photos during their time together including the jungle shoot featuring exotic live animals. Bunny, like Bettie, was a seamstress and designed and created many of the bikinis featured by models in her photographs. Bunny was also the original queen of the selfie! In 1964 Bunny turned her series of self-portraits into a book called, “How I Photography Myself”. She released many more books of her photography during her lifetime and had her work displayed in galleries world-wide.
Bunny is an inspiration to any woman working in a male-dominated field. She was bold, brave and talented beyond belief. We have truly lost one of the great legends, but her spirit will live on eternally in her photographs.
Over the next few weeks I will be sharing my “Ode to Bettie Page” striptease pinup set!
Bettie Page is a huge modelling inspiration to me. She was the queen of posing and had the perfect face to match each look. From fun and peppy, to sassy and seductive, Bettie’s range was astounding and diverse. I hope I have done her justice in portraying the different moods and looks of Bettie. Please enjoy the next few weeks of Bettie inspired photos!
Just as many of Bettie’s outfits were created by her, my outfit was designed and created by myself, from my outer layers to my under layers. Photos by If You Fall Photography.
It’s feeling more like spring everyday and nothing says spring quite like Pink Lipstick!
Every now and then I like to shake up my classic red lipped look and go for something more girly, fresh and fun; a pink lip! These are my top 3 go-to pink lipsticks.
This is another one of Lime Crime’s longwear lipsticks, which I love. Again, it’s not the best longwear I’ve tried (it smudges easily when wet) but it definitely stays on better than a regular lipstick. It goes on wet and dries to a matte finish on your lips. Pink Velvet it a lovely bright, Barbie pink. I always get compliments when I wear it. It’s really something unique that most people haven’t seen before. The combination of that electric pop of colour and the super matte look makes for a super sassy look.
Pinnacle Cosmetics’ Diva
Pinnacle Cosmetics is a wonderful company based out of Canada, that produces really high quality makeup. I recently received a couple lipsticks from Pinnacle including Diva. Diva is a high gloss, high shine lipstick that shimmers on your lips. It is very soft and smooth to apply. It has a red-pink shine that is quite beautiful and very different from the matte look I usually wear. I have used this lipstick a couple of times for burlesque shows, and it really comes across nicely on stage. I definitely recommend this lipstick and this brand!
Dolly wearing Flat Out Fabulous!
MAC’s Flat Out Fabulous
What can I say? This lipstick is truly Flat Out Fabulous! It’s a bright pink with a touch of purple and super, super matte. I don’t know if I’ve ever worn a lipstick that was as matte as this before. It’s almost tricky getting it on, you really have to rub it hard to get a nice thick coat (wow that sounded dirty). It’s equally as difficult to get it off, which is why I see this lipstick as close enough to a longwear that it might as well be one. If all regular lipsticks were like this I would definitely wear them more often. Can’t say enough great things about this lipstick. Definitely check it out if you are looking for a fun pop of colour that will last all day!
From Left to Right: MAC’s Flat Out Fabulous, Pinnacle Cosmetics’ Diva, Lime Crime’s Pink Velvet
I received a few of the photos from my shoot with Dana Brushette and Tess Munster that I wanted to share with you! I’m so happy about how these turned out and I feel so lucky to have gotten the chance to work with these fantastic ladies! I made this outfit for a burlesque act but thought it would be a fun outfit to shoot with Dana in. I love the way she has captured the look and really made this set something special.
CLASSICALLY CURVY 
