My mom always insisted that misbehaving clothing fit better if you jumped up and down on it a few times and threw it in a corner for a week to reflect on its sins.
Also a big admirer of Nancy French! And you, Holly! You are both bright and funny and insightful. You both have overcome very difficult circumstances with grace, and are willing to share your hard-earned wisdom with the rest of us. Thanks for warning me off that dress, and the temptation to buy something off the internet that is reasonably priced!
Great funny read! I’ll definitely check out more from Nancy French. As for the dress, you seem to imply that it doesn’t fit you, but it looks pretty good in your photo…
Anyway thanks for a good laugh when we all need it!
I have, improbably enough, sometimes found myself as a stylist on a photo shoot. (Apparently, sometimes just being there counts more than actually having style?) And even for small-potatoes shoots, a change of outfits, until one looks good, or if some outfits only look good in certain poses, is normal. So is post-processing on the portrait. And for Architectural Digest?...
Besides having (looks it up like Nancy did) an Altuzarra dress to pose in, Watts likely had others on hand. And notice how she's standing, so that her arm makes the bodice of the dress look even smaller than it is? Mmm-hmm...
I'm more familiar with the gleaming dome of Nancy's husband than Nancy herself, but very happy to hear you've made her acquaintance!
fascinating! So what you're saying is that everyone is actually really ugly and beauty itself is an optical illusion....Maybe I'm reading too much into things...
You know how it's said that "Washington is Hollywood for ugly people"? And by "ugly people", what's mostly meant is mostly more-average-looking people, not blindingly beautiful like film stars? And you know how politicians' photos often appear in the news looking like at least semi-normal human beings if the story about them is good, and like Satan's uglier cousin if the story about them is bad?
It's not so much that we're all secretly ugly (at least physically – spiritually, maybe we've all got work to do) as that it's very easy to capture moments and angles where even very beautiful people look much worse than the best photos of those who consider themselves not at all photogenic do. And getting people to look better in photos is an art, mostly not accomplished in post (though with luxury photography, including AD, I can't imagine portrait touchup wouldn't be done).
None of that explains the Beavis-Butthead smashup that is Matt Gaetz's forehead even in good stories. Though how would anyone know it was him without that beetle brow?
Loved this. One of the best things about it is that it has a link to the David Lee French story. I've been a full-fledged Nancy French fan ever since I read it. Pretty much a full-fledged fan of David too, which surprises me a little.
My mom always insisted that misbehaving clothing fit better if you jumped up and down on it a few times and threw it in a corner for a week to reflect on its sins.
Love her attitude!
Also a big admirer of Nancy French! And you, Holly! You are both bright and funny and insightful. You both have overcome very difficult circumstances with grace, and are willing to share your hard-earned wisdom with the rest of us. Thanks for warning me off that dress, and the temptation to buy something off the internet that is reasonably priced!
Oh, Nancy is so far above me in all things. but thanks you made my day :)
What a great post Holly! Thanks for this. I totally agree with what Tracey said about misbehaving clothes...
Great funny read! I’ll definitely check out more from Nancy French. As for the dress, you seem to imply that it doesn’t fit you, but it looks pretty good in your photo…
Anyway thanks for a good laugh when we all need it!
It is actually not zipped all the way up because my arms would then lose circulation.
Now I’m laughing AGAIN!
This was an amazing read. Laughed my ass off and I too dream of being Nancy’s BFF.
This made me laugh out loud, as per usual with your writing. And I totally needed to laugh out loud today.
I have, improbably enough, sometimes found myself as a stylist on a photo shoot. (Apparently, sometimes just being there counts more than actually having style?) And even for small-potatoes shoots, a change of outfits, until one looks good, or if some outfits only look good in certain poses, is normal. So is post-processing on the portrait. And for Architectural Digest?...
Besides having (looks it up like Nancy did) an Altuzarra dress to pose in, Watts likely had others on hand. And notice how she's standing, so that her arm makes the bodice of the dress look even smaller than it is? Mmm-hmm...
I'm more familiar with the gleaming dome of Nancy's husband than Nancy herself, but very happy to hear you've made her acquaintance!
fascinating! So what you're saying is that everyone is actually really ugly and beauty itself is an optical illusion....Maybe I'm reading too much into things...
You know how it's said that "Washington is Hollywood for ugly people"? And by "ugly people", what's mostly meant is mostly more-average-looking people, not blindingly beautiful like film stars? And you know how politicians' photos often appear in the news looking like at least semi-normal human beings if the story about them is good, and like Satan's uglier cousin if the story about them is bad?
It's not so much that we're all secretly ugly (at least physically – spiritually, maybe we've all got work to do) as that it's very easy to capture moments and angles where even very beautiful people look much worse than the best photos of those who consider themselves not at all photogenic do. And getting people to look better in photos is an art, mostly not accomplished in post (though with luxury photography, including AD, I can't imagine portrait touchup wouldn't be done).
None of that explains the Beavis-Butthead smashup that is Matt Gaetz's forehead even in good stories. Though how would anyone know it was him without that beetle brow?
So funny and well written that as soon as I finished, I scrolled to the top and read it a second time. Thanks Holly!
Laughed my way to the end, reading this out loud to my appreciative husband. What a gift you have! Thanks for sharing with the rest of us.
You nailed it - a true gift!!
Holly, you did it again - had me laughing out loud on a day when I really, really needed to. Thank you!
Loved this. One of the best things about it is that it has a link to the David Lee French story. I've been a full-fledged Nancy French fan ever since I read it. Pretty much a full-fledged fan of David too, which surprises me a little.