What (Not) to Wear. | Milwaukee Wedding Photographer.

One of the questions I hear most often (after "How much do you cost?" and "How did you get so fly?" ) is "What should I wear?"

I always kind of pause because honestly, I am the most fashion inept person on Earth. A foxy trendsetting stylish rockstar I am not. In fact, I am most happy in jeans and a sweatshirt, and I have a go-to arsenal of black suits and solid color outfits for wedding days.

So when people ask "What should I wear" I normally think they probably know better than I do. But, here are a few tips I've picked up along the way that may help for your next family sitting, engagement session, or kid pics.

#1

Avoid the "All White" trap
I know its tempting. White is clean...easy to match...easy to work with. Looks nice and crisp with a pair of Levis. But if you have a big enough group, you run the risk of looking like a bunch of Stormtroopers.

Wearing all white is a bit dating to your picture. It harkens back to the days of fake beach backdrops and perfectly posed groupings, which is not very modern.

Bob the Stormtrooper didn't WANT to go the "All White" route, but his family gave him no choice.

#2 And while we're at it, think about "All Black" a bit too

All black, like all white, has kind of a "not so modern" feel to it, but a little less so. I am a big fan of all black. It's slimming, cool, and makes me feel like Audrey Hepburn in Funny Face. But that's when I'm alone and not being photographed. Pull it off wrong and you can have a total Mime Effect. And Mimes are scary scary folks.

Picture courtesy of some mimes (Incredible Events for Kids)

#3 Themes are weird.
Even if you're the biggest "Insert sports Team Here" fan in the entire world, making your entire extended family dress up like members of that team is....weird. With the super-matching coordinated outfits you end up looking like a lineup for a company photo, not a family with individual tastes and styles. I mean, how many people in the picture below are TRULY happy with the selection of photo outfits? Dad...dad looks pretty pleased. Everyone else? Not so much.

Save it for "Sports Team Shirt Day" at the office

So, what SHOULD you wear?

Most often I tell people to remember comfort, dress as they normally dress....now is not the time to decide to try out the Goth look if you were J.Crew before. I love the addition of great shoes (I envy other people's shoe collections, next to my extensive collection of black flats). Great accessories....and individualism. A little quirkiness can go a long way....as long as mimes are not involved.

Color families are good to consider, and try to remember complimentary colors...not necessarily all the SAME colors. This color chart is one of my favorites, because it works well with outdoor settings. Woods = earthy tones. Beach = water tones. Forest fire? = fire tones.....you get the picture.

Here is a good example with a recent sitting. The outfits are not matchy-matchy but they're bright and compliment eachother well. A good decision!


And remember, the important thing is you come dressed. In anything. We're running a family business here.

For The Love Of All Things Vintage.

I have a love of all things vintage, and I've been working on expanding my vintage clothing collection (not to mention saving some $$ on clothing in general....tough times call for frugal measures!). Thought I'd show off some of my latest finds!

A precious house dress circa 1950s. Needs a slip but SUPER cute.
A purchase for The Peanut. How "Little Orphan Annie" is this??

Also for The Peanut. It won't fit her until she's 5, but I figure she can wear it to kindergarten and be the coolest chick there!

Another house dress. I think this was homemade but it's super-cute. I can't wait until it gets warmer around here so I can pair this with my fave black ballet flats!

My favorite find this month, a taffeta 1950s skirt lined with silver embroidery. SO CUTE.

Ink.

My new tattoo I got in honor of my Grams Betty. It's her handwriting.

This Week's Etsy Fancy

I have yet to purchase anything, mainly because my Ebay auctions haven't sold and I said I'd filter that money into my chosen Etsy obsession item. But, doesn't stop me from looking. We painted our office a lovely shade of teal this past weekend and I've been hunting high and low for cute, whimsical art for it. The above print is from Art and Ghosts.

LOVE this dress, HATE the black belt and boots .It takes away from it's coquettish (whoa, spelled that wrong!) nature. But it's teal and girly, so I can forgive the bad pairing.

I wanted to squeal outloud when I found this. At $115 it's a ridiculous price, but how ADORABLE is this? Beyond adorable. With a pair of Mary Janes....oh boy.


This is more my speed. And on my little Titian haired beauty, it would look quite fetching.

Ok, the model is weird looking. Her shoes are atrocious. But the dress is darn cute.
Another office print I like from Belle and Boo. Teal, my favorite color, and a red-head...like my little Betty.

Etsy Fancy

I happened upon Etsy by accident when looking for prints for our new/old office (well, guest room-becomes-work out room-becomes room where furniture goes to die-becomes office). I fell instantly in love with the place. Since giving birth to Betty I had been in search for a store that sold vintage inspired baby clothing and cutesy accessories to appeal to my girly, childish side. This store is it. My checkbook needs to be very afraid.

Some of my current favorites:

This is a Pippi Longstockings dress! I wanted to squeal with delight when I found this. How stinkin' cute will my little red head look in this??

If I had my way (and I usually do) I would dress Betty like Laura Ingalls Wilder every day. I imagine this dress with saddle shoes and braids.

I think I decided on this mixed-media Alice in Wonderland print for the new office. I love the vintage look of it.

I've decided to put off any purchase until I've had a chance to really look through the thousands of items Etsy has to offer. Everything is just so adorable, this could get expensive!

Betty is still working on that tooth, which is being stubborn and hiding out just below her gums in an effort to pull maximum amount of whining and crying out of my kid. She has spent the last three days with my saint of a mother-in-law and I'm grateful for it. I wouldn't subject Daycare Lady to three days of puking, crying, moaning, and loose poo. Not fun. Not fun at all.

Betty has proven herself to be quite the Drama Queen.

Once the Peanut is feeling better I plan to bust out the camera again. My fingers are itching to take pictures but documenting your child's pain doesn't seem like much fun. Maybe we'll escape cold and snow this weekend long enough to get some decent outdoor shots.