Tag Archives: work

#TakeYourDogToWorkDay – Did it Work For Me?

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By Helene, Mexico

#takeyourdogtoworkday fail, humour, fun, pantyhoseI have recently read on the internet that dogs at a work place help to relieve stress. I have a dog – Nise.  She is big and cuddly, and well, that day I had plenty of small but urgent things that were spoiling my life. Why not take Nise to work then? My colleagues seem fine with it, as well as my boss.

Early in the morning we set off to work. Nise was happy to go, she is usually happy to go anywhere even if she is not actually needed there. This time she was welcomed, running like crazy, testing all the puddles that were left after the rain, and a thought crawled into my head, that probably taking her wasn’t the best idea. Nise was supposed to relieve my stress at work, not necessarily on the way there.

Then, the moment of truth came.  When we arrived to our comfortable small office, the thought that was trying to crawl into my head became clearer: I should have left my dog at home, as I usually do! She disliked the idea of staying in a small room after running freely on the street and hid under the table of my colleague. Even cookies couldn’t convince her to come out, Nise was yelping and insisting on staying under the table.

Finally my boss arrived. Who knows what entered my dog’s head, maybe she mistook the poor lady for someone else, but Nise flashed to her happily as if asking to be saved, and jumped on her. At that moment, I understood that I will be fired… the expensive tights that my boss was wearing were torn with sharp canine nails. Also, I knew that today my boss had to go to an important meeting…

I will not describe here all that I had to hear out about my dog, myself, and my poor idea of taking the dog to the office. I was told to take her away, immediately. On the way home I was thinking what to do further, if I shall come to work today or I shall put all off till tomorrow. Or maybe better to look for another job?

In the meantime, Nise was running around like crazy testing rain puddles, happily wagging her tail. I was looking at her and feeling relieved. Yes, dogs really relieve stress, but not at work.

Interview: Anne Atkinson, Classic / Mature Model

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I would like to introduce Anne Atkinson, a UK-based mature model who has an excellent portfolio of fashion and lingerie photos.  She agreed to answer a few questions about her life and career.

 

Q: It’s very interesting to see a woman who works as a model beyond
the age of 25.  I’ve heard before that for commercial photoshoots all
different age groups were in demand just so that the companies could
appeal to various age groups.  Do you feel that being a mature model
you have less competition than all the 21-year-olds running from
casting to casting?

A: In my age group there are fewer models with what seems to be a greater variety of looks for different types of shoots. However, getting paid work is harder as there seem to be fewer opportunities, so I have been working on generating some ideas of my own to work on.

 

Q: Some people say that modeling is fun.  Do you agree?  I personally
see it as work that is physically and mentally demanding, at least
based on my own experience.

A: While modelling can be very physically and mentally demanding, it can also be good fun. It’s good to be able to develop a rapport with the photographer and exchange a few jokes. I prefer not to take myself TO seriously but I feel I have to give the job everything I’ve got.

It’s important to keep fit and eat healthily though, so modelling isn’t just about turning up for jobs but also about maintaining a healthy approach to life all the time. It’s important also to bring ideas of your own to a shoot. The photographers appreciate your input and generating creative ideas adds to the enjoyment of the job.

 

Q: Have you ever thought of starting your own modelling agency?

A: Starting a modelling agency is not something I have thought of. I would think it would be very hard to get started in what is quite an uncertain area of business.

 

Q: What are your thoughts about parents putting their kids in modeling
and beauty pageants at an early age?  If it would be up to you, would
you put a certain age minimum on that?

A: When my sons were younger, as they were both attractive children, it crossed my mind to try and get them into the child modelling world. I think parents need to think very carefully about what it could involve and make sure that the child’s happiness and welfare is always foremost.

I have sometimes been concerned that some parents are fulfilling a need of their own and maybe forget to think too deeply about the welfare of the child. I certainly think the child beauty pageants are wrong on many levels. They can give a child an unrealistic set of values and could even lead to problems of self esteem as they get older.

Having said all this, there are obviously children who love all the attention, the opportunities to dress up etc. With the proper safeguards, (including proper checks from outside agencies) I think it can be OK.

 

Q: Great to see that you enjoy lingerie.  Do you have any favourite
lingerie outfits that you would like to share with us?

A: I enjoy posing in lingerie but, being older, there are areas of my body that I prefer to keep covered. So my favourite types of lingerie are usually items such as bodies, teddies and corsets. One of my favourites is this one (displayed below) – the frill and the different materials accentuates my figure and makes me feel sexy.

Anne Atkinson Fashion Model in Lingerie

Visit Anne’s website:

http://www.anneatkinsonmodel.co.uk

Follow Anne on Twitter:

https://twitter.com/anne_model

 

*Friends, the only funding for this blog is from the shop section.  Please indulge your pantyhose obsession and show some support for my work!  Your purchases make this blog possible.*

Karolina Kurkova – Launched Into Super Model Stardom Through the Kindness of a Friend

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By David, United States

At the young age of twenty seven, Czech model Karolina Kurkova has enjoyed an impressive career, and was even one of the top earning models in the world, bringing in $5 million in 2007 when she was only twenty three.

Born in the town of Decin, Czechoslovakia, Karolina’s early childhood was not so easy. She was tall and shy, and had a low self image; school mates teased her about her unusual height for a girl. Surely she never would have guessed that the face she saw in the mirror every morning had fashion model potential – let alone potential that would soon make her one of the world’s top super models!  She never even gave it a second thought.

Fortunately, perhaps miraculously for we admirers from  around the world, one of her girlfriends had a different take on this future model and her untapped ability. And so this insightful friend took it upon herself to quietly put a set of pictures of Karolina Kurkova in a plain envelope and mail it to an agency in Milan.

The posting of this simple envelope by a young girl of only fifteen set off a chain of events that would propel Karolina into a fast paced and breathtaking rise to international stardom. That envelope led from getting some runway and print media assignments, to catching the eye of Milan fashion designer Miucia Prada.

By signing with Prada, Karolina was well underway on her rise to the top. Her amazing good looks, her attitude of playfulness and, at the same time self-assured confidence combined with her intense hard work ethic and self discipline (she was cited for working twenty three weeks straight without a break) to make her a sure success for international fame, as well as pride for herself and for her country of Czechoslovakia.

According to Mario Testino, an industry expert, “The proportions of her body and face, as well as her energy level, make her a model who could fit almost into any moment.” A little known fact about Karolina is that an early operation left her with a smooth indentation of skin instead of a navel… and her photographs are often altered to show a navel.

She moved to New York City in 2001 and soon made the cover of Vogue Magazine at age seventeen.  Karolina’s image has carried the message of many world class brands, including Yves Saint Laurant, Tommy Hilfiger, Chanel, Valentino, and Louis Vuitton. She has appeared on over twenty five Vogue magazine covers internationally, and has been very active with Victoria’s secret as calendar model, and was part of the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show Webcast in 2000.

Blond model in black opaque pantyhoseAt the age of twenty three, around 2007, Karolina began gaining weight. This was caused, she said,  due to having contracted hypothyroidism. In 2009 she had her first child, a son, with husband Archie Drury, and she currently lives in New York City’s TriBeCa district. Since then, she has combined modeling, television, and movie appearances with charity work in world charity organizations mostly focused on children. She has received numerous awards for these selfless efforts.

Karolina Kurkova has carried out a truly amazing professional career, and is still only young at the age of twenty seven. You can get in touch with Karolina, and keep track of her personal and professional activities by liking her page on Facebook. There, she also makes frequent and fascinating posts about diet and health, fashion advice, and insightful philosophy. Here is one of her recent posts:

“Be persistent and work hard… Success is a marathon, not a sprint. Never give up.” … sounds like advice from a woman who is speaking from her own experience!  Good job Karolina!

*Friends, please remember that the only source of funding for this blog is your contributions and from advertisement.  Please keep this in mind.*

Headshot, full body shot, high heels

 

Helmut Newton – famous hosiery photographer

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Helmut Newton was an amazing photographer with provocative and erotic images done usually in black and white, known for his beautiful photos of hosiery.  Newton preferred to shoot in streets or interiors, rather than studios. Just to give you an example of his fame, the featured photo here with two pairs of legs in stockings from 1979 sold at an auction for $52,500 in 2006, two years after Newton passed away in 2004 at the age of 84.

Born in Berlin, from family of Jewish descent who owned a button factory.  Because of the political situation his parents had to flee to South America.   Helmut Newton, as soon as he turned 18, left Germany and lived in many different countries after that.

Wolford the late 1990’s ran a famous advertising campaign featuring the work of this photographer.  Beautiful work, but not everyone understood this kind of art.  In 1998 New York Metropolitan Transit Authority had placed a ban on displaying Wolford advertisement on their territory because in their opinion it was too provocative.  Wolford decided to proceed using those images anyway for their line regardless of what the transit authority thought.

 

Quotes by Helmut Newton:

Interesting Quotations from Helmut Newton

  • “The people who use me have more money than I’ll ever see – they are rich – they are industrial leaders, big companies, successful magazines. I don’t feel sorry for them. But I also work for free sometimes. And it’s just as much fun. I can do photos for magazines put out by young people who don’ t have enough money to pay the people who work for them. If they’re doing something I think is interesting, and I think I can help them out, then I do it for nothing.”
  • “In the beginning, I wanted to be a big reporter and travel around the world, but it didn’t work out that way.”
  • “When I was 18 and in Singapore I was flat broke. The Singapore Straits-Times offered me a job as a reporter… but every time there was something to take a picture of, I got there too late.”
  • “There is no message in my photos. They are quite simple and don’t need any explanation.”
  • “Like a lot of photographers, I am also fascinated by store-window mannequins. I like to lead the viewer on a wild goose chase. Often the models look like mannequins and the mannequins look like humans. The mix-up amuses me, and I like to play on that ambiguity in my photos.”
  • “Another one of my obsessions is swimming pools. I love water. It fascinates me like swimming pools fascinate me, especially the ones in big cities.”
  • “I photograph the upper class because I’m well acquainted with it. And when someone asks me why I never show the other side of the coin, I reply that I don’t know much about it, but that there are other photographers who can do a marvellous job. I prefer to stick with what I know.”
  • “People have said that my photos have nothing at all to do with reality. That’s not true: everything is based on reality.”
  • “… I want to show how a woman in a certain mileu lives… the kind of car she drives, her setting, what kind of men she sees. It doesn’t matter where they come from – New York, Paris, Nice, Monte Carlo. Their nationality doesn’t matter either. The women of a certain mileu, no matter where they’re from, all look and dress alike.”
  • “I am very impressed when I travel from one continent to another, from Paris to Beverly Hills; the women can’t possibly resemble each other, but their clothes and make-up are always the same. it’s a sign of the consumer society.”
  • “I like and look for reactions. I don’t like kindness or gentleness. I want to provoke, but not by choice of subject… The only provocation that I hate is that of the surrealist image. It has no place in my world.
  • ” I love vulgarity. I am very attracted to bad taste – it is a lot more exciting than that supposed good taste, which is nothing more than a standardized way of looking at things. .. … in Sleepless Nights all that sadomasochism still looks interesting to me today.”
  • “I always carry chains and padlocks in my car trunk, not for me but for my photos – by the way, I never make the knots real tight.”

 

 

 

 


  




*Friends, the only funding for this blog is from the shop section.  Please indulge your pantyhose obsession and show some support for my work!  Your purchases make this blog possible.*

Hosiery to suit the season and the occasion

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A young woman in lingerie is browsing through her pantyhose while getting ready for work.

Nowadays, hosiery comes in a huge variety of different styles and colours, which means that the modern woman has a lot of freedom when it comes to what she wears on her legs every season.

However, this variety also means that it is easy to get carried away and choose something that is not appropriate for the occasion.

For example, if you are a professional woman, going to work in a place with a dress code, you should avoid wearing bright colours or ‘busy’ patterns. These can make you look less professional, and if they clash with your outfit, the effect can be even worse.

According to the etiquette book I’ve read recently, in their hosiery section they suggest for business women to wear light colour like beige or tan hosiery in the summer and black or charcoal in winter.

This is how I keep my pantyhose – in original packaging stacked in a box for easy retrieval.

I strongly suggest to keep your hosiery well organized.  If this is something that you wear a lot, it is a good idea to have plenty of it and keep it well arranged patterns separately, stay ups separately, and so on.

That way, if you have been relaxing in the morning over breakfast and realize that you are almost late for work, you will not have the disastrous realization that you are out of proper hosiery.

If you have some damaged hosiery that you fixed and still wear with boots or under pants, make sure it is kept in a separate bag all together from all the good ones.  As you know, I am a big fan of recycling myself.

I strongly suggest to keep flawed pantyhose (that are to be worn with boots or under pants) separately from the new ones. You don’t want to be late for work in the morning because you had to sort through a pile of hosiery.

 

If you are not into separating it, it’s better to throw it away because  there is nothing worse than putting on a pair of hosiery and arriving to work, only to notice that they have a run in from the last time your wore them.

Knowing how fragile the hosiery can be, it is suggested to keep an extra pair in your purse or at your desk.  I also found this being mentioned in the etiquette book that I’ve read.

On the weekends, you can be more adventurous with your hosiery, perhaps going for some colours or patterns.  We all get tired from our work clothes.

zverni uvagu show putting on pantyhose

Keep in mind the season and the occasion.

But hey, even when not at  work, it is a still important to make sure that the rest of your outfit goes will with them in order to avoid looking like a clown.  A rule of thumb is that if you are wearing patterns in your clothing, your hosiery must be plain.  If you are wearing plain clothing, then you can consider adding patterned hose to complete the outfit.

*Friends, the only funding for this blog is from the shop section.  Please indulge your pantyhose obsession and show some support for my work!  Your purchases make this blog possible.*