Happy Tuesday everyone! I just received these photos in my email inbox yesterday — they’re as fresh off the presses as they come!
THE PHOTO SHOOT PARTNER: I coordinated this shoot with the amazingly talented and awe-inspiring founder of Styleta.org — Yifan Zhang. Yifan and I first met through our mutual networks when she was first launching Styleta as a senior at Harvard University. Now a Harvard graduate, I’m proud to boast that Styleta.org is a fully operational and fully successful site enabling fashionistas to buy style that benefits two HUGE causes — Volunteers for America and Dress for Success. You know that your purchase has embedded generosity because you’re buying from a non profit that supports fashion for a cause.
WHY SAMMY DAVIS VINTAGE LOVES PHOTO SHOOTS: Photo shoots are definitely one of the favorite parts of Sammy Davis Vintage — I love nothing more than seeing my collection worn by smart, beautiful women with REAL style and REAL substance. I believe that every woman should have the chance to organize or model in her own shoot. For a lot of women, that first photo shoot is their wedding! Having your photo taken in an empowering way is such a confidence booster … you feel that natural high for days after, and then all-over-again once you receive the pictures.
I released a “behind-the-scenes” peek of this photo shoot way back in September — check it out HERE!
THE SCENE: Boston! I’d only been to Boston twice before visiting Yifan in this awesome college town. We coordinated the photo shoot near the offices of Styleta on Harvard’s BEAUTIFUL campus and in historic Central & Harvard Squares. The photo shoot was actually shot the week after Labor Day, only a few days into Harvard’s school year. It was neat to be on a college campus again and to feel the energy of new classes, new students and new beginnings in store for them!
THE MODELS: Harvard students and real women of style & substance! Special thanks to Meredith Baker, Lisa-Felicia Akorli and Felicia Sun for volunteering their time and inner/outer beauty to this photo shoot!
THE MISSION: When Yifan and I began collaborating on this photo shoot, we communicated our desires to showcase what it meant to be a student, and particularly, a student at Harvard living stylishly in an urban environment. I personally wanted to work with college students to introduce vintage into their fashion vernacular. Styleta’s roots are in universities, and so our shared vision became a reality with similar goals to involve the Harvard collegiate community.
There is such opportunity to use your education for positive impressions on the world around you — whether you are in college now or are a recent grad, the world is at your fingertips! I wanted to integrate fashion that empowers young female leaders and encourages them to work together to bless positivity into the world around them.
POSITIVE FASHION: I hope these pictures illustrate that positivity — and the beauty of strength as a collaborative group! My number one pet peeve with women’s fashion magazines is that they rarely incorporate “group shots” into photo spreads. So wait, women like to hang out “by themselves?” What happened to Sex & the City?! So you’ll notice that there are NO single-person shots in the photos below — and that many of them are natural and without that alienating “model gaze” you so often see staring back at you from the pages of a cold magazine.
Thanks guys for checking out this shoot! I’ll have the rest of the pictures up on my Flickr account by later today … check back on Facebook to know when!
And if you ever want to collaborate on a shoot or want some encouragement on how to organize one for yourself, shout me a holler at [email protected]
xo, SD
The models [from left to right]: Felicia, Lisa & Meredith — kick off their shoes and relax for the start of the shoot!
Harvard recently added these colored chairs to its massive central lawn — perfect props for a photo shoot of colorful personality!
Yifan [Styleta.org’s founder] jumps into the shoot in this amazing black & white dress! I gave her this dress as a parting gift because it just looked THAT good on her!
These are the steps to Harvard’s Annenberg library … which apparently has 3 levels to its basement ALONE! Woah, that’s a lot of books. I felt smarter just hanging out there.
This was our “technology” shot — note the cell phones and iPad!
The models, Yifan and I clowning around tourist style in front of Harvard Square’s historic news stand. Anyone else ever been here?
The closest to the “model-gaze” shot — it was too tempting not to try it out here, just because the setting [at the entrance to the Boston T subway stop] was too cool!
I absolutely ADORE Meredith’s face here!
The girls kicking back with some cups of sweet love: coffee in Central Square!
Yifan Zhang, founder of Styleta.org [left] and me! Sammy Davis Vintage! A collaboration made in heaven ;-)