Freya wears leotard, £20, 0-13Y, Angel’s Face. Diamante tulle skirt, from £30, 4-13Y, Baker by Ted Baker at Debenhams. Feather headdress, £175, Astrobohemia at Etsy
Our beautiful ballet story was dreamt up in a coffee shop in Soho. Whilst idly chatting over a cappuccino about all sorts of things, from our children’s dance shows, to enthusing about Sia’s video for song ‘Chandelier’ and the fabulous sheer organza fashion in the latest issue of Vogue, photographer Helen Marsden and myself realised we’d come up with a rather lovely theme for a kid’s shoot. A sort of mad Swan Lake at home.
Like many girls, I’ve always loved ballet and took lessons from aged 2 until I was a teenager. But felt this shoot shouldn’t be exclusively girly. Things have dramatically changed since I was little when it was seen as quite extraordinary for boys to do ballet. My Father was bemused when my brother Jonathan pleaded to do classes. His reaction was very similar to the Dad in Billy Elliot – “No son of mine is going to be a bloody ballet dancer!”
Luckily opinions are so different now. Premier league footballers, front-row rugby players even heavy weight boxers are all at it. It’s an amazing discipline for core strength, agility and flexibility. The boys in our shoot were as proud of their fabulous barre work as we were of them!
There was a flurry of excitement at the shoot. The children loved dressing up in tutus, feather headdresses and wings. They had such fun, leaping and pirouetting over the furniture in Helen’s beautiful house. I’m thrilled with the pics as were Little London Magazine who used the story in this month’s issue. What lovely team work – Bravo us! We should all take a bow.
Bram wears candy striped shirt, £84, and Arthur wears white shirt, £74, both 4-10Y, Little Wardrobe London. Both boys wear vests, £5.90, 3-11Y, UNIQLO. Dance leggings and ballet shoes throughout by Dancia International.
Poppy wears lilac frilled tutu dress, from £56, 0-13Y, Angel’s Face at Childrensalon. Freya wears silver zipped hoodie, £57.50, 4-14Y, Eleven Paris. Grey and ivory chiffon tutu skirt, from £36, 0-13Y, Angel’s Face at Childrensalon.
Meg (in foreground) wears pale pink tulle dress, £71, Billieblush and beaded headband, £18, Carrement Beau both at House of Fraser. Isabella (in middle) wears pink sequin tulle dress with fuchsia waistband, from £44, 12M-14Y, Baker by Ted Baker at Debenhams. Freya (at back) wears pale pink silk dress with fuchsia trim at neckline, £195, 3-12Y, Marie-Chantal.
Bram wears metallic top, £48.75 and silver leggings, £14.95 both 4-16Y, Smallable.
Meg wears pale blue organza dress from £125, 3-12Y, Caramel Baby & Child. Isabella wears pale blue lace dress with sash, £145, Little Wardrobe London. Diamante headband, £18, Wild & Gorgeous.
Meg wears pale blue organza dress, from £125, 3-12Y, Caramel Baby & Child.
Isabella wears pale blue lace dress with sash, £145, 4-10Y, Little Wardrobe London. Diamante headband, £18, Wild & Gorgeous.
Arthur wears white cotton shirt, £38, 3-12Y, Jacadi. White vest, £5.90, 3-11Y, UNIQLO. White combat trousers, £125, 2-14Y, Stone Island Junior. Feather wings, £10.47, Amazon. Meg wears metallic jumpsuit, £79, 2-15Y, Wild & Gorgeous. Beaded headband, £18, Carrement Beau at House of Fraser.
Isabella wears pale pink satin pussy bow blouse, £49 and maxi tulle skirt, £112, both 4-10Y, Little Wardrobe London. Isabella wears ivory sparkly dress, £75, 2-9Y, Le Mu. Headdress from a selection from Astrobohemia at Etsy.
Meg wears taupe, sequin say dress, £149, 4-10Y, Little Wardrobe London. Poppy wears gold lace and net dress, £117, 6-10Y, Le Mu.
PHOTOGRAPHY : HELEN MARSDEN, FASHION STYLIST : BECKY JOHN, HAIR & MAKE-UP : ROSE ANGUS
MODELS : FREYA, POPPY, MEG, & ISABELLA from GRACE & GALOR and ARTHUR & BRAM
Behind the Scenes of our beautiful shoot. Top Left, Freya adjusts amazing Astrobohemia headdress. Top Right, The girls relax in between shots in the dressing area. Bottom left, Rails and rails of fabulous clothes. Bottom right, Make-Up artist Rose perfects the ballet look on Poppy.
Thanks to Freya & Poppy’s lovely Mum Jodie for the behind the scene pics.
[…] away from retro, the next set was thought up by Helen and her friend, stylist Becky John, in a Soho coffee house – and as an added bonus, you get to see what a London […]
Helen Marsden – Girls' Portraiture
12th March 2017