HAPPY FRIDAY! I am BEYOOOOOOOOND excited to finally share these with you guys! Thanks for being so patient with me. Like I said in "The Preview" post, The Hubster and I have officially been together for an entire decade and decided this would be an amazing way to celebrate it. I'm not going to lie, I had no idea how it would all come together and I had come up with the idea two weeks before our 10 year mark. But where there is a will, there is a way.
I want to literally get on my knees and thank my amaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaazeypants photographer
Chris Kim! He somehow fit this into his insane schedule and banged out some amazing images! Chris, you completely brought my vision to life. Thank you soooooooooooooo much! I know at some point during editing, you probably wanted to rip my head off, but like a pro you worked with me to really get me what I wanted. I love you, you talented ass mofo! And thank you to Hoang for assisting and getting that one sick shot of me on the ladder. I was in pain and my arms were dying but you still made me look amazing up there. I knew I wanted a Mad Men inspired shoot, very old Hollywood glam and mysterious but where could I go that would transport us into a different era without having to create entire sets myself? Uh DUH!!
Untitled! I want to thank Meghan and everyone from
Untitled for allowing us and my crazy crew to literally climb and run wild around the space. I'm pretty sure my girls
LC and Sue stood on every ledge and every bar in the place. Thank you my darlings for being with me and helping me change and taking fun behind the scene shots.
There are soooooooooo many others that I need to thank and give their shout outs to. I will save those for the end or else this section is going to be super long! I want to take you through my vision for each of these scenes since I am proud to say I came up with the concepts myself and styled each scene myself in less than two weeks! And of course, take you through the outfits! So here we go.... welcome to... "The Decade".
Badgley Mischka Screen Siren Gown and Kenneth Jay Lane Jade Drop Earrings
So can I just say... how amazing does The Hubster look in front of the camera for once!? I am a lucky ducky lady. Hubba hubba Hubster indeeeeed! For this scene, I really wanted it to oooooze glamour. I was inspired by old Hollywood glitz and glam, hence the entirely gold sequined dress. The characters I wanted to play was a couple living a life of luxury and you know, posing in a doorway. Hahaha. This dress was an absolute dream. I was bling blingin' all over! Sadly, it did not fit. So what you don't see is about 6 large red tension clamps lining my spine. It was a total bummer since it hindered a lot of the shots we were able to get. But hey, if you are not travel-sized like me, definitely take this dress out for a whirl! You will instantly put every other girl in the room to shame by outshining them at every angle. If you have never been to Untitled or been in this room which is actually where they house their whiskey collection, I urge you to check it out. The light fixture is actually from the 1920s. The owners have a real love of vintage artifacts and incorporated gems all throughout the venue. These doors were custom made to create a modular space and slide to reveal the grandeur room inside. The mirror behind us is a one way mirror. Behind it is a TV! So when it's on it changes from mirror to TV. In-CRAY-da-ballz!!!
The characters in this scene is what I like to call "The Mobster and His Lady". Notice them in their own private booth reserved for the biggest and baddest hombre in town. Puahahaha! No seriously. Don't touch his lady or he'll put a hit on you Al Capone stylez! This booth is Untitled's VIP spot because it has the best and most private view of the stage where they have live band performances. The wall behind us is covered all the way up with vintage reclaimed key plates. Such a fab decor idea! It looks like each one is different.
One of my favorite photos was taken by Hoang. I had to get up this ladder in my 6 inch stilettos which was flippin' scary but oh so worth it. I had to completely support myself by my arms and hands since my feet were so unstable. It was 15 minutes later when Meghan came in and said "I'm not sure how stable that ladder is so don't move around too much." EEKS! I was gripping for my life but also had to get that money shot. These lockers are also located in the "whiskey" room. I've always wanted to take a look inside so this was my chance. Hehehe.
Fur Scarf by Christina Fan
I think The Hubster plays the mobster role pretty well no? One thing you may not know about these lockers is that they are for Entitled members. Untitled has a secret membership program called Entitled. Okay maybe not so secret anymore. LOL. The membership has some pretty fabulous perks. One is passage through a secret entrance meaning never waiting in the lines, which get pretty cray on the weekends. Also, it provides you access to your very own liquor locker. They are meant for storing sipping spirits such as a bottle from Untitled's selection of 280+ American Whiskies (the largest selection of American Whiskey in the WORLD!) So no need to worry about chugging your liqs here boys and girls. If you don't finish, just leave it in your locker and continue the party another night. Um so.... can I get a key to one of these or what? I'll take the hardest one to reach if I have to. I already know the ladder can hold me.
This is called "The Lounge Act" where The Hubster is the piano player and I am the sassy lounge singer. Unfortunately we couldn't get our hands on their vintage microphones that were locked away in a secret room. Sad face. But we were able to snag the piano and roll it on the stage. It actually worked out pretty awesome since they let me climb on it. Woot! I dunno about you guys but I've always wanted to do that. The piano is a fully restored 1922 Haddorff upright piano from Rockford, Illinois and I believe it is actually used on some live performances. Pretty fly right? The blue chair is one of the many reclaimed and restored vintage chairs that fill the front stage area where you can find smaller tables to enjoy the live shows. The bricks you see behind me are reclaimed bricks from all around Chicago. KEWL!! And I friggin' love these light fixtures. They really take you back in time. Behind the stage is an area that they call "back stage". DUH. It features another large bar in case the other 3 large bars are packed or there's someone there you just don't like. So many places to run around and disappear.
Gloves and Garters from a naughty shop, Stockings by
Falke, Shoes by Fendi, Necklaces from Forever 21
"The Bartender and The Off-Duty Waitress" is where things get a little steamy. I got a little self conscious walking around in stockings and garters as the workers were starting to fill in and get the place ready to open. But I really wanted to get up on this bar and just be hot hot hot. And of course have my sexy bartender make me a cocktail. I'm kind of a lush if you didn't pick up on that yet. =) Tee hee hee. I always blame it on the ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-alcohol. The bar was custom built in 1920's style with the arches and mirrored backs. Look at all the yummies they have. Hurry up with that drink hubz!
I got on this awesome couch-y thingy to take some sexy boudoir steezy shots but got nervous and ended up with the giggles. Still not 100% used to this yet. I love the contrast between the redish wood and the blue cushion in this shot. RAWR! The blue couch is a reclaimed old factory cart that they had cushions made for to create a unique sitting area. Be careful because this actually rolls around. I want one of these in my house! These are located in the "back stage" area. The backstage area has some other really amazing details that we didn't capture. Vintage trunks used as tables and these funky cool chairs that I don't even know how to begin to describe. Again, I want them in my house!
Fur Coat from Edith Hart by Christina Fan
C/FAN Designs Jackie Jacket
Hats from Goorin Bros Hat Shop
Tuxedo from Formally Modern Tuxedos
MOB WIVES! Hahahaha! That was all LC could say whenever I threw on this coat. And yea, that's pretty much what it is. Mob wives steez! These stairs are actually how you get into Untitled. The entrance is at the top of the stairs where there is also a mock wig shop to disguise the place. It's a total stunner when you walk down and it opens into this massive venue. When we were taking these shots it felt like we owned the joint and were about to host the sickest party ever. Puahahaha.
Okay, time to get the REAL party started, nam' sayin'? Ow ow! Hehehe... In what I like to call the "Champagne Room" there are large booths for you to dine at. Or you can close the curtains and... ummm... do other things. LOL! JK! Please don't do anything that would make Meghan come hunt me down and hurt me.
And that's a wrap to "The Decade". Being together for ten years and married for three I have learned that the key to staying together is supporting each other and living in the moment. Sometimes we can't stand each other but he's still the first person I want to tell funny stories to, share every moment with, and the only one who sees my weirdo tendencies. I am so lucky to have someone who was so down to do this shoot and even dared say "I'm going to look better than you, just watch." Who cares about what anyone else thinks. As long as I've got my man to handle my type of crazy, I'm golden.
So go and be adventurous. Give crazy ideas a shot and if you have amazing people in your life, they will help you get there. And I am soooooo lucky to have had an amazing team of people that helped me get my crazy idea from my head to real life. I felt like it was my wedding day all over again. So here we go... SPECIAL THANKS!!!
CHRISKIMPHOTO - The amazing photog and editor behind these sick sick SIIIIIICK photos! Did you know he also does weddings? Book him because not only is he my friend, but he also knows how to make you look and feel like a model. He also notices insane details like "Your dress is a little wrinkly here, let's change the angle." Uh yea. That's so boss! You dealt with my picky-ness and I'm sure I gave you a mild ulcer. I can't thank you enough for helping me make this happen so quickly! It's collaborating with people like you that inspire me to try crazy things and believe in myself.
HOANG LAM - The awesome photog assistant of the day! Moving the lights and holding the white board to bounce light to my face. Amazefest! I'm so glad you also got to play and take some shots. =) I loved your organic style during the shoot. "Okay don't look at me until I say GO!"
ANN MARIE STYLE - Holy crap the girl can do some hurrrrrrr! Pretty sure I am spoiled now. She would step into shots and fix every stray strand. Not to mention she took my hair from down loose curls into a side swept updo in 5 minutes and on the fly from one scene to the next. She stayed the entire time and kept a vigil watch over my do. I never thought my hair would look good sideways but I friggin' LOVED IT! Thank you so much! So ummmm... whatcha up to on Saturday night?
IZHA ZYLVANNI ARTISTRY - She made my face look flawless! And without airbrush! That's SKILLZ yo. Not skills. SKILLZ! That's like ten levels above skills. I told her I wanted flawless skin, vintage cat eye drama liner, and bomb diggity lashes. UH, yes, yes and YES. Delivered like a pro. Thank you doll! Let's go boozin!
MEGHAN JONIEC AND UNTITLED - Thank you for the opportunity to shoot in this amazing venue. It was crazy to see all the things I forgot about after a bottle or two. I kept saying "OMG the chairs are blue?? I could have sworn they were all brown!" Meghan thank you for being so awesome and letting us run around and move furniture and climb on things!
EDITH HART AND C/FAN DESIGNS - I said I wanted to play with fur and you lovelies let me go at it! I felt so lux and badass! I love my Edith Hart ladies so much! Even though your store makes me poor, at least I am always well dressed. Word.
GOORIN BROS HAT SHOP - The Hubster would have definitely not be on point without these amazing hats! I also loved the one I had for my mob wives look. Definitely going to go to the shop and cop that. Everyone needs to have a classic Goorin Bros fedora! Like forreal!
FORMALLY MODERN TUXEDO - Wow. You made my hubby look sooooooo good. So good in fact that I wanted him to put it back on the next day. RAWR. The customer service we got at this place was amazing. I had more fun picking out his tuxedo this time around than for our wedding. Ha! The tuxedo was so perfect! I don't know if anyone noticed but the tux jacket is not black like the pants. It's a dark grey with black trimmings. Ugh, so hot!
LC AND SUE - My support squad. I love you ladies so much! Sue thanks for lending me your place to get ready and for staying the whole day and snapping extra photos. I love that you are my partner in crime when we roam River North. BWAHAHA! LC, you are the "good bridesmaid". LOL! You were the best assistant ever! Thanks for helping me change and being the umbrella wench. You are like a younger sis to me now and I love ya like CUH-RAAY! Hard to believe we only met a few months ago! Los Tres Amigos!
I hope you all enjoyed this post. This was such a fun project for us and it took a lot of work from a lot of great people. Please share this post and leave us all comments and thoughts! It is hearing from all of you that pushes me to keep chugging along. And if there is anyone out there interested in more collaborations I'd be so glad to hear your ideas! Please follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest and whatever else you can find Drunk On Shoes on!
xoxo,
DOS
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