Anouk Photography contacted me to take part of a vintage photoshoot with My Ulrika Store in Los Angeles. MY ULRIKA has been created with a unique clientele in mind: free spirited individuals willing to invent their own style. MY ULRIKA is a store where you find eclectic items, collected with love from all over Europe for many decades. It was like traveling in time to wear those beautiful gowns, hats and accessories. I even purchased 2 gowns after the shoot! One with polka dots to honor my French heritage and another one made out of chiffon silk that makes me feel fabulous.
I do like designs from the 30’s through the 60’s and the hand on all of them was just spectacular. They knew how to make clothes back then! Vintage is also about saving the planet in a way since it’s about recycling and I do like that! As I arrived on the shoot, I was presented with fur coats to model and got very conflicted to the point of almost fainting once I wore them. It was a hot day, I had had an early breakfast and we had to go through an entire vintage collection to make sure we could do it through one day, we are talking about 78 pieces ! Lesson learned to stay hydrated and have nuts in between takes while making sure nothing is stuck in your teeth. I’m usually pretty good at that.
To go back to the fur, to this day, I’m not sure how I feel about having worn them for this shoot since I do not buy real fur. I often looked at it with fascination and incomprehension especially being a westerner, if I had belonged to a tribe my take would probably be different. I’m not a vegetarian yet I eat very little meat and choose my groceries organic as my husband and I can’t stand cruelty. I do wear leather and other fashion items made out of animals and I understand that the difference is that they weren’t from the wilderness. The wild animal dies with pride, I became that animal when I wore its fur for the time of the shoot and hope I honored the soul that had passed away more than 30 years ago. Now the only thing that would have remained of them would have been their furs, probably not in such good shape, I’m aware of it. As a model, you come across things sometimes that you don’t always have a voice for as you have to move quickly. The voice that came through me at that time for those wild animals was: Grace. The animal in me wanted to make one with it. Very weird sensation.
My Ulrika’s owner is an extremely respectful and mindful person who actually made an organic lunch for the shoot. I’m honored she chose me to wear her collection that she gathered with love over decades.
CaroLine Style 