Some of you know that my Chamberlain, Brán, has an on-again, off-again love affair with photography. He just got a fancy new camera, and of course he had to try it out on me eventually.
He started, as he often does, in the Sacred Grove; it’s his favourite place to take pictures, he says, because everything changes and he doesn’t have to drive the change: the land itself and the demifae take care of all that. I love this dress from Poets Heart; it’s at this lovely Faire called Enchantment, where they have a different theme every few months. Right now it’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, so there are several Fae and Fae-friendly merchants exhibiting. The dress of course comes in a multitude of colours, but I like this one; the graduated shades speak to me of dawn and dusk, my two favourite times of the day.
The unicorn you can see behind me in the picture is called Tuille, and the reason I’m thinking to tell you that is that this dress has a overlay that reminds me of tuille. It’s a light but dense net that feels like silk and of course it’s got those beautiful flowers sewn in as well.
About half an hour into the shoot, Brán asked me, “Do you think it would be possible for you to put on something more Queenly, Your Majesty?”
“More Queenly?” I hadn’t given it much thought: it was just an ordinary Friday, really; crowds haven’t started to increase here because everyone is still recovering from Faire and of course they all have to go back to their day jobs. “When I wear something, I think it becomes Queenly, Brán.”
“I just meant…”
“More seemly? More mediaeval?” I chuckled. “No, no; don’t worry. I’m only teasing, and I know what you meant. I’ll find something and meet you in the goldwood?”
“Oh, that would be perfect!” I helped Brán create the goldwood, a little pocket dimension, just for some of his photography practice.
At the same Faire I mentioned earlier, Enchantment, the lovely designers Bee and Solas who together are Silvan Moon Designs have debuted this beautiful gown, called Titania. It features a lovely fitted kirtle and a sideless surcoat, so I was sure it would fit Brán’s definition of ‘Queenly’.
As you can probably see, the surcoat is a lovely rich velvet, and the dye design at the bottom is just lovely, isn’t it? I wasn’t at all unhappy to be photographed in this gown, even if my original intention had been to save it for the formal Court opening closer to Midsummer. Then again, I suppose only Brán and I and a handful of people will see the gown—unless I put these photographs up on the Internet. Then I’ll have to find a new gown for Midsummer Court. Oh, what a dilemma! If you know me, you know I don’t need an excuse to go gown shopping, but I’ll pretend I do just for this occasion.
Here’s another angle, so you can see the way the surcoat is cut.
Brán is experimenting more with classical portraiture, so he had me pose very straight for this photograph. I told him I didn’t think the neck position was very comfortable, so he made it quick. Still, I like the way it turned out.
I should mention that whilst I was at the Enchantment Faire I had my nails done by Vixn Dagger. Her brand is called Venge, and every time I get the opportunity for her or one of her lovely assistants to do my nails, I jump right on it The way she’s painted these perfect butterfly wings is wonderful, isn’t it? She can do this design in lots of colours, but I chose this dusky pink one because again, sunrise, sunset, twilight. My times.
Once we were done with the picture-taking, I went down to have a look at the work Rós is doing on the Court. I am so glad I gave her free rein there, because the building she’s chosen is simply perfect. I stayed around long enough to approve her choice of Court furniture and wave off the white tablecloths on the mezzanine —looked too much like we were setting up for a wedding reception.
I spent the rest of the day working on plans for the new Awenia Floating Fae Market, a new feature in Awenia Faerie for the upcoming summer holiday season, and I’ll tell you more about that soon!
Notes & Credits:
Many of the items in the photos here are featured at Enchantment. Enchantment will close on the 31st of May, so head over there soonish!
Items Featured at Enchantment:
- Gwyneth’s Beautiful Fae Skin: Lumae, Amesha, Gossamer tone
- Sacred Grove Gown: Poet’s Heart, Titania Gown
- Goldwood Gown: Silvan Moon Designs, Titania Gown
- Necklace (Sacred Grove photos): Static, Elixir of Alteration
- Nails: Venge, Stiletto nails, Mariposa
Everything Else:
- Head: Lelutka, EvoX Avalon
- Body: Maitreya
- Tuille the Unicorn: Teegle, Unicorn Teeglepet (Horn and tattoos from Valkyrie Designed)
- Summer Goddess Statue: Harshlands, The Summer Guardian
- Large background tree: The Looking Glass, The Shrine Tree (one of a kind)
- The Goldwood: IrrISIStible, Extraordinary Garden Backdrop
- Hair: Both hairs are by No Match. The long braid is called No Plastic; the updo is No Hugs.
Three Twisted Knots 