An unreasonable number of flowers. Skin glowing. Hair coaxed into Old Hollywood waves… and a face card that never declines.
Was this fairytale dreamed up by a little girl playing dress-up? Once upon a time.
And what happened to the pure joy of that moment? No worries other than, “How much pink is too much pink?”
Somewhere in between grown-up responsibilities, a respectably full calendar, and the persistent notion that pink is frivolous, this Doll said yes to the over-the-top photoshoot. Because growing out of playing dress-up always seemed like a strange requirement of adulthood… and apparently calling it a “content day” is all it takes to make the latest shopping spree a legitimate business expense.
This photoshoot sent me down more than a few tangents. About life, femininity, beauty history, playing dress-up and why we ever stopped doing things simply because they’re fun. My thoughts have been swirling ever since, so it’s time for my favorite past time (besides dress-up). Writing it all down. Let’s get into it.
It all started when the glam team had an idea. Historically, this is how some of my favorite days begin.
I spend so much of my life at Dollhouse Social being the person behind the concept. Mood boards, shot lists, brand stories, content strategy, making sure the props tell a story and wondering whether anyone besides me will notice that the lipstick is the wrong shade of pink. Spoiler: they will not.
So there was something incredibly fun about showing up and letting someone else have the vision. One thing about me. I surround myself with insanely talented people. So I trust the process.
My contribution to the creative process was essentially: I have something pink. Finally, an area in which I am wildly overqualified. My office for the day? A gorgeous flower shop that looks suspiciously like the Dollhouse. My job was to wear feathers and have fun in front of the camera. Adding this to the very top of my resume.
There is something objectively fun about an adult woman playing Doll for the day. Because who decided the fabulous outfit needs an occasion? Why must we save the good china for a formal hosting event? And furthermore who said we needed to outgrow our imagination? Personally, I never received the memo.
Sometimes getting your hair and makeup done makes you feel amazing. Sometimes you should spend the afternoon surrounded by flowers because your S.O. knows where to shop. Sometimes you gift them to yourself. Why must we remind ourselves that it’s OK to feel good and that FUN is allowed to be the point.
This particular fairytale took a village. Or, more accurately, a group of wildly talented artists with excellent taste. And what a team to play dress-up with!
Makeup: Zariana @_muazarinakarpyshy
Hair: Anatolii @hair_mkt_
Florals: Fleur D’amour @fleurdamour_flowers
Photography: Evseeva @photographer_evseeva
Stop and Smell the Roses
Speaking of the flowers… Celebrity floral designer Kristen Griffith-VanderYacht once shared a thought on The Drew Barrymore Show that stuck with me: flowers aren’t supposed to last forever. Part of their job is to bring us into the present. Which is annoyingly profound for something I mostly purchase because it looks pretty on my kitchen counter.
But he’s sooooooo right. A flower doesn’t become less beautiful because you know it won’t look that way forever. If anything, you pay more attention.
You notice when the peonies finally open. You walk past the arrangement one extra time. You stick your face directly into a rose like a woman in a perfume commercial.
You enjoy it now. OK Wow. The florist is profound and I’m obsessed. We’re constantly trying to hold onto things. A season. An age. A perfect day. The way our kids are right now. A friendship in a particular chapter. A really good hair day.
Meanwhile, the flowers are basically screaming, Girl. Look at me. There is something freeing about enjoying something without demanding permanence from it.
A Brief History of a Very Good Hair Day
Naturally, staring at these photographs also inspired a little history lesson. I just LOVE these little tidbits of information. Because beauty is not vapid. It’s literally historic, and apparently I cannot simply have good hair. I need to know its provenance.
The glamorous waves we associate with Old Hollywood have a long lineage. In the 1920s, shorter hair itself became a statement. Women were bobbing hair that generations before them had been expected to wear long, and techniques like finger waving and Marcel waving turned those shorter styles into sculpted works of art.
Then came Hollywood. Screen sirens transformed polished waves and curls into visual shorthand for glamour. Think Grace Kelly (an actual princess), Veronica Lake, Rita Hayworth, Marilyn Monroe (icon). The kind of hair that seems physically incapable of experiencing humidity.
The styles changed, but the message endured. There is just something about a really gorgeous wave. So apparently women have been making statements with their hair for more than a century. I see no reason to stop now.
Feathers Have Never Exactly Whispered
Fashion has a very long history with feathers, and for obvious reasons: they move. They catch the eye. They make even standing still feel slightly theatrical. Bring on the drama.
By the early twentieth century, feathers (in particular dramatic plumes) were the it factor in fashionable dress and accessories. They moved beautifully with the body and fit perfectly into an era increasingly interested in movement, dancing, glamour and spectacle.
In other words, nobody added feathers because an outfit needed to become more sensible. They were there to be noticed. Which might explain why I love them. There is something wonderfully confident about clothing that has no intention of pretending it isn’t trying. The feather bolero knows exactly what she came here to do. And I respect an ensemble – and woman – with a clear sense of purpose.
You’re Making me Blush
Then there’s the makeup. Women and makeup have had a complicated relationship for centuries. Which feels like a lot of drama over a little pigment, but here we are.
At different points in history, visibly wearing cosmetics could carry all sorts of assumptions about class, morality and respectability. Later, makeup became increasingly connected to modern femininity, celebrity, independence, consumer culture and self-expression.
The products changed.The commentary did not. Too much makeup. Too feminine. Too pink. Too concerned with appearance. Too frivolous to be serious.
It’s exhausting just typing it. And despite what this photoshoot may suggest, I don’t believe the path to female empowerment requires more or less blush. I don’t think primping makes a woman more or less powerful. But I do think there is power in not editing yourself to make other people more comfortable with you.
For a long time, women learned that being taken seriously sometimes meant toning certain things down. Be polished, but don’t look like you tried too hard. Be beautiful, but don’t care too much about beauty. Be feminine, but not too feminine. Be confident, but please make sure everyone else is comfortable with it.
No thank you. I’ll take the blush. The feathers. The florals and all the pink.
Never Underestimate the Girl in Pink
OK I guess we went there. So let’s keep it going. I have never understood why femininity and intelligence are so often positioned as though one needs to compensate for the other.
I can care deeply about my family and my businesses and also spend an unreasonable amount of time stocking my closet with nearly identical shades of pink. Both things are true.
I can run a meeting in a bow. I can have a serious opinion while wearing lip gloss. I can build something meaningful and still really, really enjoy getting dressed. The pink isn’t evidence that there’s less underneath it. It’s just pink. And perhaps the most powerful part of femininity is that we don’t have to defend it at all.
Wear black. Wear pink. Wear no makeup. Wear all of it. Be soft. Be loud. Be both before lunch. You do you, and I’ll do me.
The point isn’t performing femininity correctly. It’s getting to decide what it looks like for you. For me? There will probably be bows.
So, never underestimate the girl in pink. Rookie mistake.
We’re All Dolls Here
Which brings me back to the Dollhouse. Being a Doll has never meant being perfect. Thank God, because that sounds exhausting. It isn’t about looking a certain way, dressing a certain way or subscribing to one particular version of femininity. It’s a state of mind.
It’s finding reasons to celebrate when there technically aren’t any. Wearing something fabulous because Tuesday seemed underdressed. Sending your friend the text. Ordering dessert. Supporting women whose talent blows you away. Taking the picture even when your camera roll is already a public-health concern. It’s taking the things that matter seriously without taking yourself quite so seriously.
Maybe that’s why this photoshoot sent me into so many tangents.
What started as an afternoon of really fabulous glam reminded me of something I knew instinctively as a little girl playing dress-up: Life doesn’t always need to be optimized. Life doesn’t always need to be optimized. Sometimes we’re so busy trying to make it better that we forget to notice when it’s already good. Really good.
The flowers are here now.
The dress fits now.
Your people are here now.
You are here now.
So wear the feathers. Put on a little too much blush. Let someone take your picture.
And if anyone asks what exactly you’re doing? It’s a content day. Obviously.
We’re all Dolls here. Go have some fun. 🎀