Victorian gothic photo session

Model: Isabel Castel

Scarlett O'Hara being laced into her corset by her Mammy, many can remember this image from the film 'Gone with the Wind.' And if you think about fashion, you certainly can agree that women's figures have mostly been subject to the whims of fashion. For many decades the desired form of a woman's body has been the focus of attention. 

Any clothing can look spectacular with some transformation, for example, by a corset that molds the body and give a shape like in Victorian times. The corset and the form it creates has changed many times. Some were simply flattening the breasts and created a long, lean, torso. Conical corsets and steel cages from the Renaissance and Baroque periods were different. Sometimes breasts were even displayed wantonly. The Victorian corset created the hourglass shape that women and men alike have envied for the feminine form for a long time.

The formerly mentioned image from the film 'Gone with the Wind` sums up some views of Victorian women about pull at the corset strings to achieve a desirable tiny waist. A woman doomed to her position in society, a slave to fashion - striving to be pleasing to men, whatever the cost. Of course, there is no fiction without fact. Women did suffer for the sake of fashion, just as many do today with high heels and plastic surgery. 

Nevertheless, I got inspired by some vintage images of this area. As Gothic is a theme nonetheless, I could get a great model to agree to a Victorian-inspired gothic photography session on an over 100-year-old cemetery. Her name is Isabel Castel, and she not only dressed spectacularly but brought a lot of ideas into making the images.

Isabel looked nothing short of spectacular in her fabulous dress. She paired the seductive outfit with natural-looking makeup, highlighting her gorgeous features with a touch of black eyeliner and a dab of lipstick. Her hairstyle was also on point, showing off her luscious tresses perfectly coiffed in loose waves, which framed her face perfectly. Below the waistline, she paired the black corset with a matching billowing ballerina-like skirt.