Fashion and the Fiona

I have a confession to make. I’ve always been a little bit anti-fashion. I’ve always liked nice clothes, but I hate to be told what to wear! Gratifyingly I have always found that if I wear what I like, it tends to come into fashion after a while.As a child I was a bit podgy and I was one of those girls that is last to be picked on the sports fields. I had no confidence and then I didn’t have any money (this was way before the halcyon days of H & M disposable fashion!). So I never fitted into the clothes and I couldn’t afford them. It was easier to hate fashion than to succumb to its charms.But fashion has been patient with me. First she invited me to the Paris collections when I worked for Time Magazine in Paris. I must admit that I wasn’t convinced (I remember a collection with growths of fur on the models’ shoulders!). But I was a little bit seduced by a designer who was spinning fabrics with flower thread. I am a sucker for anything involving flowers! And of course fashion photography blurs into fine art photography which is a great love.And then just by chance the other day Easy Living Magazine invited me to be photographed! It was for a piece on mothers and their school run style. Hilarious! I am hardly fit to be seen in the mornings!But I said yes, allured by the promise of a makeover and a stylist on hand. And then I thought I’d better get some style so as to give the journalist some copy. I told them that I wear shift dress with leggings and boots and a funky necklace. ‘Flattering, feminine and flexible enough that I can wrestle a small child to the ground if need be.’ Okay, it’s nearly true. Some days I wear my tracksuit! But it’s just as easy to drag on a t-shirt dress and I love the way it makes me feel.The lovely Kasia Bobula took some pictures and voila! My fifteen minutes of fame are complete.I don’t know if you can see it at this small resolution but I did a little bit of editing to her picture. I mean, what’s the point of knowing how to make women look thinner and more beautiful if you don’t apply it to yourself, right? So I’ve attached a before and after, just because my diet has only just begun and I’m not quite as thin as I would like to think of myself! Before is on the left, after is on the right. It’s pretty subtle, but you’ll have to take my word for it that it’s more noticeable when you expand the picture. I wish WordPress would let me have pictures that enlarged when you clicked on them!It was a great experience to be in front of the camera for a change. I don’t find it easy to be the model – I tend to freeze. But I tried to remember what I always tell my subjects and relax in front of the camera. And you know what, I think I like this fashion lark! Watch out for Fiona the fashionista!