I just left my office job, and now I’m kicking myself for my lack of imagination. I could have fashioned an entire new wardrobe out of paper clips, a la Ted Sabarese.
This gives a whole new meaning to the term corporate casual…
- Haley Mlotek
“Nancy Drew is as immaculate and self-possessed as a Miss America on tour. She is as cool as Mata Hari and as sweet as Betty Crocker.” - Bobbie Ann Mason
On a steaming hot Monday in Toronto’s High Park, a bunch of Wornettes and friends got together to pay tribute to 3 notorious girls who gather clues and solve crime, all in swishy skirts and lacy gloves. Issue 9 is starting to come together and I can shamelessly say I think it’s going to be the best pages yet, not the least of which is Esme Wornette’s brilliant adaptation of the Nancy Drew mysteries. Just a little sneak peek at how I spent my Monday…
Our make-up columnist Bella B. (who is quickly becoming our regular photoshoot make-up artist too) creates some dewy little ladies.
Events intern Chelsea got wrangled into being our George.
Esme’s darling little sister was our Bess.
Wearing comfy shoes for as long as possible!
Look at those cute plaid boots!
Sore feet!
Cast of lovelies, clockwise: cute blonde girl with bike who held a reflector screen, make-up artist Bella B., Chelsea as George, copyeditor Kate doubling as stylist assistant, Zoe as Nancy Drew, Simone as Bess, showrunner of the entire shoot Esme, photographer Lisa, brand new intern Valentina, (and me behind the camera).
Were you a fan of Nancy Drew fashion as a kid?
xoxo,
Serah-Marie
A few weeks ago I decided (after many weeks of internal debate) to cut my ratty, peroxide-damaged hair short. Like really short.
Here’s what it looked like to begin with.
I already look like a little kid and I enjoy dressing like one, so having long uncombed hair with crooked bangs wasn’t really helping me project the maturity or togetherness that I occasionally require for things like job interviews and buying wine without getting carded (every time!). Standing around one day at work, I thought back to all the summers I had spent with thick wavy locks gathering sweat on the back of my shoulders and finally turned to my friend Tiffany who was rearranging the hangers on a rack of dresses and said, “Hey! Do you wanna cut all my hair off?”
Tiffany usually cuts my hair at her Montreal apartment. She’s a professionally trained hairstylist but became disenchanted with the salon world and went independent a few years back. “Sure! I could use some more photos for my portfolio. What do you say to doing a few different cuts along the way if I do it for free?”
Woah. Getting to try out a bunch of different hairstyles with no commitment and the whole thing would be free of charge
“My friend Liz does makeup for movies, and I’m sure she’d want some new portfolio pictures too. We could get Marilis to take the photos!” Tiffany continued. I dove straight into the bottomless sea of google image search to hunt for short haircuts and style inspirations. A week later we were sitting in Tiffany’s living room surrounded by garbage bags of clothes, chugging coffees to shake off all of our hangovers. I set up my laptop in the corner and broadcasted Day One of the Haircut/Makeover Photoshoot.
It took us five hours to cut, do makeup, style, and photograph three different outfits. We collaborated on all the looks, drawing on our professional experience and then stuff like America’s Next Top Model and icons like Twiggy, Edie Sedgwick, Agyness Deyn, and even Lady Gaga. By Day Two, we were in the swing of things and did seven different looks in about four hours. Both days felt way more like play than any kind of work and the only money exchanged was when we paid the delivery guy for Chinese food. My favourite photos are from the later looks, after I warmed up to taking photos.
I’d love to do it all again knowing what I know now and working with this awesome team, but I’ll have to wait a few years until my hair grows out again… Let us know what you think!
Makeover Team:
Tiffany Elton is originally from Newfoundland. She cuts hair out of her apartment, designs vintage-inspired clothing for her line LadyLike, does fashion illustration, and plays music.
Liz Furlong works on movies and events doing makeup with a focus on environmentally-friendly products. She recently started a holistic wedding and event planning collective called Bouquet with five other women whose skills cover catering and hospitality, custom tailoring, graphic design, event planning, photography, and of course, makeup.
Marilis Cardinal has a streetstyle and party photo website called The Pregnant Goldfish. She works for Nightlife Magazine, does freelance styling for fashion shoots, takes photos of bands, and makes delicious fluorescent cupcakes.
Tessa Smith co-runs Fixture Records, a CD-R and cassette label, and plays in the band Brave Radar. She does freelance writing for Worn and keeps a blog on tumblr.
All clothes are our own, including Supayana shoelace necklace, Preloved cowl neck sweater dress, LadyLike plaid babydoll, complexgeometries black hooded tee-shirt. Everything else is vintage.
