Lights, camera, action: Part 1

My BFF on my very first shoot

>After a few months of doing the dirty work I was finally allowed on a shoot, a REAL fashion and beauty shoot! I was so excited I could hardly sleep the night before. On the day of the shoot my job was to assist the stylist. My, oh my, did I feel important!

We carried hundreds of bags full of clothing, shoes and accessories up the stairs of and an old museum where we were doing the shoot. After unpacking everything Stylist showed me how to use a steamer. Even though I burned my fingers a few times I eventually got the hang of it and steam queen Beauty Gal was allowed to steam the clothes – on my own! Next Stylist showed me how to tape the shoes. I was amazed! I never knew you had to do all of this stuff on a shoot. I had to stick and cut duck tape at the sole of the shoes. This prevented the soles of the shoes from damaging. (If any shoes, clothes or accessories were damaged the shops where we borrowed them would not take it back, and the magazine had to pay for it, resulting in a very Unhappy editor – to be avoided at all times.) For some of the more expensive shoes I even had to stick pads – sanitary pads – underneath the soles. A styling trick I would remember and use for many more years.

I couldn’t wait to see the models, but when they finally arrived they did not look at all what they imagined them to be. Yes, they were thin, but not that pretty; they actually looked rather dull and boring. This was before the hair stylist and make-up artist did their magic.