May, hurray it's our day!

Published on April 28, 2015 in Category : Baby competition fashion fashionshoot mothersday photoshoot styling women 0 comments. Add a reply...

Happy Mother's Day, LFB'ers!

"It's all changed now...I have to actually 'Mother'!" Mother's Day.

Of course I'm excited. There's presents, there's appreciation....another whole day of appreciation and who doesn't want to feel appreciated?! And then there's the presents.... From the age of nineteen, Mother's Day was always tinged with sadness for me. Filled with loss and even sometimes a little resentment. Having lost my own Mother, whom I was extremely close to after nursing her through cancer at such a young age, the celebration kinda turned a little sour and I found myself increasingly resenting this 'day of commercialism'... There were, of course deeper things at play here, I knew that, but it was a good excuse to massage my feeling of loss and loneliness I was still harbouring.

And then came Sassy ...

My little crazy girl who I'm sure most of you are familiar with from past blogs and my very public displays of affection... (She's already got her own hashtag #saskimo and shops at SoSi in Maylands!) Saskia Coco has absolutely filled my Motherless void. It's a fact....but I'm not quite sure I've got the Mummy thing down pat yet...

One hot, summer's day I hauled myself into work, five minutes late, my make-,up melting off, hauling behind me a massive hand-bag of 'who-knows-what', knowing I needed a to loose the maternity bra and invest in new, post-baby under-garments, hoist the 'girls' back up to prime possie to pull off the frock I was rocking. Did I mention I'm a Stylist?! And in I swept like a cyclone. "Hi! How's that little Sassy?" CJ chirped, completely disregarding my misdemeanours. With a heartfelt sigh... "Oh, it's all changed! Now I have to ACTUALLY Mother!" I exclaimed.

And on this particular afternoon, I felt like I deserved a medal. CJ's peal of laughter (which is a decibel unto itself) is still ringing in my ears! And it's been this way for the last few months. One step in front, 2 steps behind. Working Mum, Late for play dates, planning play dates which coincide with naps, and paying the consequences...dearly! Trying to survive in a jumble of nappies and red lippy! Rushing, planning, rushing, sighing.....dressing my kid in skinny jeans for baby gym, hence hampering her flexibility (even though she looks super-stylish) And so it goes....

Don't get me wrong, I love it (as does Sarah pictured above), I'm just still trying to master it! So here are my thoughts on Mother's Day;

• It's HARD being a Mum. It's hard being everything to a tiny being who relies on you COMPLETELY!
• It's hard finding time to wash, let alone curl your hair! I have mastered make-up application with very little mirror time, however!
• Without my group of ladies spread far and wide, the LFB Community particularly, I'm sure I could not have got this far!

So on my first Mothers Day I would like to say THANK YOU to you all for your advice, laughter, sympathy and empathy. For your stories and sometimes glazed looks (so I can cut it short and get back to reality).

Whether you have children, nieces, nephews, 'fur babies' ... its a day to reflect, give love and receive love ...

We at LFB like to support each other in humour, silly anecdotes and dress-ups! Oh, and champagne, of course with a hint of Vinatgeous style! Back to the lippy and bad underwear... We thought it would be fitting and fun to get together two new Mums (I'm in it), their babies and a dog for a Mothers Day shoot. How hot does Sarah McKeig look above with baby dog, Gidget? 

This calls for a celebration, we thought! What's that thing they say? "Don't ever work with babies or animals..!" Well, we did and here is the glamorous evidence above and watch out on our social media pages over the month ...

Yet, it is not all about us we want you to play too! 

How, we hear you ask? Follow this link to find out more (or scroll down) and see how you could win prizes in the month of May, Mothers Day Festival. #mothersdayLFBstyle

Happy Mother's Day to you all!

And to those, who like me have lost their Mum, let's sincerely celebrate the woman she created in you and me.

With a smile ...

Le'V & Team LFB xxx

PS: This is a little note from CJ just to say how very proud I am to have Le'V and Sarah (thank you Sarah for dressing up with us) along with all the other Mums in the LFB community in my life and the world of LFB. Thank you for the lessons you give me while I can still hand back your kids! And to the Mums like me who have dogs, cats or a menagerie, play to in our celebration. x

PPS: This blog was written by Vanessa Foynes not CJ as our silly system suggests #ITDEPTcouldnotfixFIRECJ  

Final PPPS: Enter here ...

Trains, Camera, Lights ... action

Published on June 19, 2014 in Category : fashion fashionshoot Fun styling 0 comments. Add a reply...

Most fashion brands shoot Winter collections in Summer; we have taken an approach to dropping our own LFB label when the seasons actually start, weather wise. It seemed like a good idea until ... an sms from our photographer appears on my mobile, "Are we still on for Wednesday, have you seen the weather report?" Enter wind, rain, a Perth storm like we have never seen this season ... the day before our scheduled shoot. My response: "#authenticity.com, yes we are on. Bring the brolly".

Here's my sneak peek pics from behind the scenes ...

Such a trooper is our Richard (Photographer) and the crew (pictured Stephanie from Look Feel Be and Bronwen from Beauty by Bronwen - a big thank you to Bron who stepped in as I had a head cold and thought it bad manners to do make up on someone with tissues hanging out le red nose!), we all rug up and get in the mood to create some fun, fashion pictures to entertain and encourage you to glam up for July and August ... and what's to bet, a little of September in styles that will last well beyond. 

You may have worked out we are at the Railway Museum in Bassendean. It's a cool find (no pun intended) and with our fascination of trains (our quaint showroom looks at a station everyday) we thought it an appropriate setting ... All aboard?

Shoots are hectic. In 3 hours and in freezing weather (no rain - yay!) we had to style and craft 10 shots. It was a manic effort. Our model this season is a young lady that Le'V and I met at a Perth College event a few years ago. Introducing Meghan Nugent... Meghan and her Mum modelled in a catwalk show we helped the students with and we earmarked her (when she was much older) for a shoot. She is a natural. This was her first ever shoot and I think you will agree, she did amazing! 

The Look Feel Be Leather layered upon Leather W14 Collection takes shapes we have loved before and tweaks them to add diversity to the way the garment falls, we have added colour varients and paired the items back with fashion finds from around the globe that add texture and diversity in fabric choices. 

As you know we adore the vintage approach to fashion which has been retained in our styling ... 

All items are available in store now and online where possible.

A big thank you to the team on the day of the shoot including our LFB production team afar for making beautiful leather items for us to share with you. Oh and a big shout to my old friend (we used to work together) Alice from Hunter Store for lending us some shoes for the shoot. Get in there LFB'ers, you will love those gold brogues below (as photographed by Richard)!!!

AND a big WELL DONE to our very special Le'V who had her baby girl, Saskia Coco in June 2014 and was directing us from her nursery ...

With a smile ... Caroline & Team LFB xxx

PS: Keep an eye on our facebook page, instagram or pinterest for images from the shoot or go to our gallery