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Very professional, great fun to work with and a very considerate, thoughtful person too.

Retro underwear as outerwear:- Fransesca does 360 degree rotation, wearing a stunning British-made red Vollers corset (1990) as a top, a black nylon/lycra boob tube by Top Shop (1994) for modesty and an unbranded black panelled lycra Hong Kong girdle as fabulously figure-flattering hotpants (1999).

Francesca is a very talented model. She is also a very strong and capable pole dancer, giving public demonstrations to promote it as both a fitness method and an art-form. So the idea of our shoot was to mix her dance moves with a retro-fitness theme, with a view to developing our ideas for future shoots in the New Year. Francesca is  punctual, hard-working, creative and is an excellent communicator – an all-round, 100% professional and I’m really looking forward to working with her again. Take a look at this gallery and you can see what I mean:-

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1. 2011-08-29
2. 2011-09-12
3. 2011-09-26

Having already done three shoots, we felt it was time to do things a little differently. Sarah brought her friend Romy along to the shoot. This was marvellous because it gave me a chance to capture Sarah teaching some of the many modelling skills she has leant to a complete beginner. Romy is a smart girl and picked things up very quickly indeed. Unfortunately, Romy’s  images are pending approval at the moment. So, in the meantime here are a few solo shots of Sarah – looking absolutely stunning…

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The day went wonderfully well and Fiona is an amazingly versatile model, a fact to which the following images bear testament.

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So there you have it. Now it should be obvious why I’m really looking forward to doing “retro version 2” with Fiona, early in the New Year.

First part of the shoot was with Sarah on her own:-

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And then Chiara turned up and did an old-fashioned style deportment session with Sarah.

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Note the “girdle” snaps at the end are unrelated to the swimsuit. Chiara was just trying  a few ideas following up on another eBay-orientated shoot “Chiara’s Girdle Review“.

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Girdle 1

“Tummy Shaper Firm Control Girdle Knickers Black/White (#140473090608)” from Member ID deliver-me
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=140473090608

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Girdle 2

“Black Tummy Tuck & Bum Lift Medium Control Girdle Small” from member ID “sinful-desires”
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=230624096980
Label read “Size 25-26 style 210”

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Tights

“Fiore Diana Classic Tights 20 Denier Sheer to Waist” from Member ID fiore-uk
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=380158270975&var=650000160487

And finally…

A few snaps of Chiara wearing Girdle #2 as outerwear. Both girdles are made of a very heavy nylon/lycra fabric – thicker than a lot of lycra sportwear. Thus they double as a pair of very figure-flattering hotpants – especially when teamed up with a matching knotted black blouse,  an old, battered black leather belt, buckled tightly at the waist and her very snazzy black leather cowboy boots.

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Emulating the ad:-

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Fitness session:-

Often with Chiara’s shoots, she does a little “warm-up” session first to get into shape while we discuss our ideas. Here are a few snaps…

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Conclusion

On reflection, I think we did not do this particularly well. This was my fault not the model’s.

1. girls should have been closer together
2. should have been more evenly lit
3. wrong type of dress – it really did not show off model’s figure adequately

However, it was brilliant fun and we plan to re-shoot the idea again in the near future. Seems the Bonnie Cashin ad was one of a series and we will try to collect some of the others to assist us with our ideas.

So we removed the original girl, and put Chiara on a scan of the packet instead. I’m not sure if we quite achieved what we set out to do. But it was fun doing it and I guess we’ll have another go in the fullness of time.

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It is almost a year since Chiara and I worked together. Consequently she is a little out of practice. She also admits to not doing any of her usual tummy exercises for a while and that it is a bit of a struggle for her to keep it tucked in. Now, if this were a bikini shoot then this would not be good. Neither photographer or model would be happy with the resulting pictures. However, a slim but slightly curvy tummy is perfect for a retro-corsetry shoot.

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We’ve learnt after many years of retro photography that girdles actually look best on a slim figure that probably doesn’t really need one in the first place. However, to look really authentic, they also need to be tight fitting. The fabric should be stretched smoothly around the model’s figure. A baggy girdle – such as those in some modern shapewear ads – just look silly and frumpy. Therefore a slightly curvy tum struggling with a built-in tummy-control panel can actually give a girdle that subtle touch of authenticity. Well, that’s our excuse and we’re sticking to it!

So being the true professional that she is, Chiara she wriggled into three different unbranded Chinese made panty girdles and we carefully photographed how each one moulded and shaped her figure. She used a pair of full-length mirrors in order to get her poses and body shape as she wanted it. Besides, being rather proud of what her mother describes as her “mandolin-shaped” bottom, Chiara was keen to see the effect that each garment had on her “rear view”. All three girdles are made to traditional designs, using various black lycra fabrics. To make things a little more interesting, we thought it would be helpful to take few notes regarding how each garment looked and how she felt wearing it.

The Verdict

1. HK black brief panty girdle

This is made of a thick cotton rich lycra fabric with sewed in tummy panel. It just about came up to Chiara’s belly button. It gave really good control of the lower tummy. However it really needed to come up higher at the waist because Chiara had constantly to remember lift up her diaphragm to avoid unsightly bulges over the top.

• pros:-
  1. Excellent control for lower tummy
  2. Works well with additional waspie that hides “muffin-top”
• cons:-
  1. Too tight, pinches at the waist and thighs
  2. Looks and feels a bit uncomfortable
  3. Squeezes bottom too much – flattening rather than shaping it
  4. Too high on the legs – requires perfect bikini line trim
  5. Not high enough at the waist – Chiara constantly sucking in stomach to avoid “muffin top”

2. HK girdle with low-cut lace legs

This is made of a thinner shiny nylon/lycra material – similar to that used in many swimsuits. It has a classic bulb-shaped tummy panel made of the same fabric. This girdle really scores from behind. Its gentle fabric lifts and shapes the buttocks, making a nice bottom look really nice. Chiara loved it!

• pros:-
  1. Bottom looks very shapely
  2. Hips look great
  3. No problem with bikini line
  4. Shiny fabric is very flattering
  5. High waist and yielding fabric meant no “muffin-top”
• cons:-
  1. Very little tummy control – meaning that Chiara really had to remember to keep her tummy in
  2. Lace legs roll up

3. HK Girdle with normal legs and higher waist

This is made of a medium-weigh,t shiny nylon/lycra material – the type commonly used in control garments and thicker that used in many swimsuits. It has a complex and very effective reinforced area over the tummy and its design at the rear lifts rather than squeezes the bottom.

• pros:-
  1. Good “all-rounder”
  2. Fairly good tummy control – though not as good as girdle (1)
  3. Shapely bottom – though not quite as good as girdle (2)
  4. Higher waist hides “muffin top”
  5. Looks really good on film
  6. Looks good when worn with tight-laced corset. Has sufficient tummy control to stop lower tummy bulging when corset is tightened
• cons:-
  1. Tummy control quite not as good as girdle (1)
  2. Bottom not quite as shapely as girdle (2)