It's here! (here here here!) The Low Lookbook is finally live. Read it, love it, share it! And now the backstory...
Model Chan and I got together about a month ago and bonded over our twin passions for Korean men (let’s find husbands!) and fashion while discussing The Low Lookbook. The seventeen-year-old stunner is le total newcomer to modeling, but more importantly she’s my neighbor whom I babysat this one time. (Chan’s mother, Jill, was my journalism teacher in High School and I’m guessing she was desperate that evening.) I’ve seen Chan as my numba one stunna since the baby days of conceptualizing this lookbook and was so thrilled when she agreed to the project. We got together over Christmas break to shoot in her parent’s dining room, the shoes and jewelry strewn about the couch and floor of the adjacent room and our rack of clothes tucked up against a bookshelf. I’d been unsure of the perfect location for much of the planning process and was getting nervous after ruling out two or three different options according to my not-exactly-strict criteria (indoors with LOTS of natural light, white walls and hopefully a pinch of character). I realized the dining room might be perfect thanks to a couple of Instagrams that proved the light in there to be wonderfully flattering (and plenty). Here are a few outtakes from the shoot that I think attest to the fact that we made the right call…
A BIG thank you is due to the ladies of Low Vintage for supporting me in this project. They indulged my every request as I worked through the weeks to get all of my proverbial ducks in a row, from my first trip pulling options to the Saturday Chan and I took over a dressing room for three hours straight going through every outfit, pulling new pieces from the floor now and then to make sure we created as many looks as possible. Later, I pulled a bunch of jewelry and other accessories to bring “on set” so we could mix and match on the fly (and here I need to make a special shout-out to Bree, because I think it was on this trip that she directed me to the Lanvin skirt in look 9!) In between I made a few trips back in to try on new things for myself – oops! The before-and-after shots are pretty awesome…(keep in mind that if you run into Chan on the street she will be in natural light and look more like the “after” photos rather than the washed-out, fluorescent “before” photos – yeesh)
I’d been contemplating a few different styles for this project, but was really guided by Chan’s natural grace and sophistication. She’s very at ease with herself for a teenager! When it came to the photography, I found myself mentally referencing the work of Patrick Demarchelier and Steven Meisel and was particularly inspired by their work with Caroline Trentini and Natalia Vodianova for Vogue (combine Trentini and Natalia with a dash of 80’s Brooke Shields and there you have Chan). As for the styling, Low carries of a lot of pieces from the seventies, that decade in constant war with the fifties for all of my luvin’, so I rolled with it and crafted looks that reference my current passion for Marina Munoz’s style (hats!) and the easy French chic of Claire Courtin-Clarins. It was important for me to have these women in mind as individuals who are making Fashion now! and not to steep myself in a bunch of old movies or idiosyncratic photos of Kate Moss from the 90’s when looking for inspiration. It’s already old clothing, so I needed the looks to feel fresh and current! Since this post is already so long, I'll be posting a moodboard separately, later in the week!
I really feel this is the most important post on the blog yet, so please share this with everyone you know and help spread the Low love! They don’t have a website but you can find them on Facebook here, or give ‘em a call at (434) 293-9082. If you're in the mood to shop, drop in on 'em! They're off the downtown mall on 5th street, around the corner from Commonwealth Restaurant & Skybar. Like the lookbook? Lemme know! Feedback for this is much appreciated, since it's my first time doing anything of this sort. Beaucoup besos,
~Sean
