And it all started with a coffee! Don’t get me wrong, we are not heavy coffee drinkers, but we enjoy it once in a while and we make an occasion out of it.
Since me and Mihai (my boyfriend and the CEO of Male Extravaganza) came back to Romania to spend the holidays, we tried to connect with our team that is based here (we have team members all over Europe and USA and we never get to meet them in person).
For example, with Andrada, our Editor in Chief, we got to meet 2 times, over the last year and she is one of the 4 members of our Core Team. Since she came back from Italy and moved in the same city we live in now, we decided to start seeing each other for dinner, or breakfast. Two weeks ago it was time for breakfast. We brought our granola and she made coffee. (She really knows good coffee, and we are sure there is some Italian blood running through her veins) So, we started the day bright and early, enjoying our Lavazza and talking about everything from business, to hobbies, school and our dreams. Our breakfast lasted for a couple of hours, until we were hungry for lunch.
At some point during our conversation, we ended up saying ‘What if we do a Christmas photoshoot?“. And then we started brainstorming: we should do it on Andrada’s couch (she does have a lovely apartment!) and be dressed comfortably and just capture Our Christmas morning. There were so many details to keep in mind, from which photographer, to how to decorate. Knowing our friend Angela, who is our Instagram Guru, on Estilo Tendances and Male Extravaganza and a writer; I was sure she would have the creativity to decorate and boost our confidence that this whole idea might actually work.
After breakfast, I went to Angela’s office to tell her everything about our new idea. She got all excited as well, started contacting photographers that she knew and we bounced ideas back and forth regarding decorating.
After leaving her, I get a message. It was from this person, me and Mihai were very curious to meet, a guy that is like-minded, has traveled the world and with whom we could possibly spark a new partnership.
We decided to meet that day, over coffee (I know, two in one day, it must be a sign). We ended up having a blast, talking about our lives, our experiences, dreams, you name it. In the end, out of the blue, he asks ‘So, how can I help you?‘ and we were both astonished, we have not thought of this. But, having the opportunity, I asked him about our idea and then ideas started bursting. He said that he can help us with location, makeup, shoes, photographer... everything we need to get it done. To be honest, I was in a state of being drunk, asking myself ‘Is this really possible?‘
That night I told the team about the idea and the new contact, and how we could do this better and although, we ended up doing it ourselves, this meeting expanded our views regarding of what is possible. Every person that enters our life, is for a reason, either to teach us something, to guide us, or just to show us that there is a way.
We started contacting designers and in just 4 days we had everything we needed: around 30 outfits, 15 pairs of shoes, 12 jewelry items, location, photographer, a car to move around and 3 makeup artists.
We had the coffee on Thursday and by Tuesday we had everything ready!
The night before the shooting, was the hardest one, because:
– although, we had a photographer, we had no idea how experienced he was, if we would get along, if he would get our vision (we had no time to meet him before and talk about our expectations)
– we had the location, but we have never been there, to see it. Imagine that! We already had gathered items to decorate, but did not knew what to expect, besides ‘They have a nice couch and it looks like an aristocratic house.‘
– we already talked with a store, to get shoes from, but we talked to get them the day of the shooting, so we had no idea what we will find, if they had our sizes, the colors we had in mind, etc.
– my friends have had bad experiences regarding makeup and they kept telling me ‘What if we won’t like the makeup?‘
– plus, since we have never done this before, and everyone was looking forward to see the end result, I was thinking ‘What if this whole idea was a bad one?‘
Seriously, it was a sleepless night and the day of the shooting, I could barely eat anything, cause when I am too excited, I cannot eat, I am that tense. (I know, I should work on it…)
Roswitha – wearing Daniel Ignat dress and Aldo shoes
BUT, what happened the day of the shooting, was AMAZING! Our morning started great, I was full of energy, excited, jumping around like it was really Christmas Morning! My neighbor, who is also my friend and who does hair, came early in the morning to do something about my hair. I was a bit stressed out about my hair, because I had no idea what to do with it, besides straighten it, and she was awesome, she did something really spectacular.
We got to the makeup studio, where the girls were waiting for us. While Mihai was playing on his iPhone, we were getting the best makeup ever! All of us, were beyond grateful! It took 90 minutes to get it done, but we looked fabulous!
It was 10 am, our makeup was done and it was time to get the shoes and the bags. We were lucky again, we found all the right shoes. After another hour, we were entering the location where the photographer was waiting. We had a whole room for ourselves (we needed it! with so many outfits, shoes and decorations, we barely had any room for shooting). It only took 15 minutes to get really cosy and start shooting amazing pictures. Our photographer was awesome! He understood the concept, he came up with his own ideas, we had so much fun and after hours of shooting, we ended the day laughing and, although starving, we were hugging ourselves because we just accomplished a big dream of ours. Everything turned out to be better than we have ever dreamed of!
Andrada – Editor in Chief
Andrada is wearing Dani Ignat faux fur vest, shimmery skirt and Diana Bobar silk blouse
It all started out while drinking our coffee together and what happened next is just incredible! Estilo Tendances in growing so fast and we are on the market for 4 years now, so it was the time to give you something new and different and mostly, something that you so much deserve!
From my experience of Editor and now, Editor In Chief, I know that you, the readers, have a certain level of expectations from us and this was one of the reasons we decided to surprise you with a photo shoot. It was so fun, as you can see from the pictures and from our sides, it was an amazing experience! We had the opportunity to do the styling and organize this shooting and to promote our talented Romanian fashion designers whom we totally admire and adore!
The idea behind this project was to rebuild the Christmas spirit between friends. We had gifts, Santa Claus hats, our beloved magazines, designer clothes and mostly, we had a blast! Keep in mind we are not models, we are regular girls just like you driven by our common passion! We wanted to bring the idea of diversity because each of us has a different style and personality, which is the most important aspect. A flat world where everybody follows a pattern is far from our thoughts and we totally encourage diversity and emphasizing the aspects that make us special and unique. I hope you’ll enjoy our “play” and I wish you a fashionable Christmas spent with your family and friends!
Angela – Instagram Coordinator & Contributor
Angela is wearing an Ugly Sweater mixed with Laura Chirita Skirt and Essenza Stilettos
A Christmas Story by Estilo Tendances started at 8 a.m. While on a regular Wednesday people were in a hurry for their jobs, we were having makeup as breakfast with 3 wonderful and talented makeup artists. The purple lips were just the cherry on top, because the girls with the brushes and colors made us feel beautiful and confident not because of the makeup, it was their personality. Lunch was full of camera flashes and snacks were full of feathers, globes, glitter skirts, real Santa Claus and smiles. We started easy with some coffee and dry wine. We had a bunch of presents and bags full of Christmas spirit.
Our host was Musiu, a manorial house adapted as a bar, and was open in the same time we were shooting. While we were dropping presents on the floor and changing outfits like we were shopping, some people were having breakfast, some working on laptops and some peeking on what we were doing.
In moments of respire, the small elf photographer inside me took assault on the pictures, claiming that we need more Christmas accessories. But Roswitha, Andrada and Mihai knew what I needed and took care of me with some candies and claiming ‘the pictures are perfect’.
Besides the fact that we had a change to have a double Christmas, our December story ended up with the excitement of choosing as a present one of Diana Bobar’s outfit and with some feet pain from the heels.
Magazine Version of The Shooting
To get this Christmas photo shooting done, it took 4 people, 144 hours, 5 designers, 3 makeup artists, one photographer and $20.
Lesson learned: When you are doing something with love and excitement, the whole universe conspires to make it perfect! No dream is too big or too expensive. If you have the idea, then you have the tools to make it happen. The only thing you need to do is take action immediately.
We could not have done anything without our helpers:
Designers:
Daniel Ignat – Read the interview with him: Inspire ME To Follow My Dream #4: Daniel Ignat
Diana Bobar
Laura Chirita – Read the interview with her: Inspire ME To Follow My Dream #3: Laura Chirita
Blushing Goodies – Read the interview with the person behind the brand: Inspire ME To Follow My Dream #5: Blushing Goodies
Nicole’s Accessories
