Our next LOOK BOOK! A Customer Showcase!!

P.S. The gorgeous ladies who sent me the pictures in this blog can totally feel free to re-submit these! I ADORE these photographs, and they're a good representation of what I'm looking for! 

          Before anyone starts sending me hate mail about "crowd-sourcing" and how I should do the work myself and not just get "free labor" from other people, I would like to point out a couple of quick things, then I can make the official announcement.  The "Damsel in this Dress Look Books" that we make are given out for FREE! We pay thousands of dollars to get them professionally printed up, and we give them to people at our festivals and events, as well as to people who make online purchases from our company. The whole idea here is that you're getting to know our company, you're getting ideas and inspiration on how to throw costumes together, and you have a solid, physical book that you can show your friends when they ask what a renaissance festival is. ;)
         I want to do our next Look Book as a complete set of customer submissions, and there are several very important reasons!

*We should be able to get a wider variety of body types, hair types, personal styles, and opinions than I would EVER get on my own. There's no physical way to do a photo shoot with 50 models. Not at my company's level.

*It would be totally Bad-A to show someone a magazine where you're a model! Woot!

*I honestly don't have as good of ideas about how to put the costumes together as you ladies do! I want to see what you've got!!

NOW FOR THE RULES! BLEH!

1. All photographs must be submitted to me at seamstress@damseldress.com (sorry, we won't take them through facebook. I need them in a format where I can properly sort them into folders!) by NO LATER THAN AUGUST 17TH!!! This is a hard, cold deadline. Also, I'm sorry, but I can only take ONE submission per person! You need to choose your very best shot. 

2.We will have a LOT of submissions, and we obviously can't afford to print out a 500 page book. In fact, I can only really afford about 28 pages, including the front cover and the back cover. That's why this is a competitive CONTEST. 

3. Not to be a hater, but your picture...uh....DOES have to include one of my corsets in it. 

4. After we receive all the submissions, my team and I will vote on the ones that we feel will be the best for a representation of our company. We will send out model release forms to make it all legal, and we MUST have those completed and sent back to us in order for your picture to go into the book. If you had the picture taken by a professional photographer, PLEASE include their info, or make sure they have a logo right there on the picture. I would love for photographers to get their name and website out there! If you are a model, and have a website, I will gladly print that on your page. I want this to be all legal..... I don't want anyone taking me to court. 

5.There will be a Grand Prize Winner that gets their picture on the front of the booklet, as well as a $100 gift certificate to either our etsy, artfire, or online shop (whatever you choose!). The OTHER Grand Prize winner (The back cover of the booklet) gets the same dang thing.  All other entries that get chosen will receive $40 gift certificates only valid on our etsy or artfire shops! 

        Phew, hopefully I got the scary legal stuff out of the way, for the most part. Just a few more side notes, and I would HIGHLY SUGGEST you take these things into consideration!  When I'm looking for pictures, I'm looking for stand-out ideas and lots of personality! If you snap a picture of you making bambi eyes and a duck face with your iphone in front of your bathroom mirror, I'm sorry, but I'll most likely pick the lady who went to the castle and got breathtaking shots of her face shining into the fading sunlight. (On second thought, only go to that much work if you REALLY want to!)

       PLEASE remember that our customer's ages range from 8 to 80 years old! If you send me a picture that is more "adult" in nature, I cannot use it at all. I've always wanted my company to remain as tasteful as possible, and I believe firmly that sex appeal doesn't mean just taking off more clothing.

        This isn't a "pretty contest".  I have a strong personal belief that every single woman has miles of potential, and lots of them just need shown the way. No matter what size, shape, ethnicity, or type of woman you are, this is about letting that unique view SHINE! Even if you get a professional photographer, get professional makeup done, and pay TONS of money and then STILL don't get picked, it will have been awesome to feel like the star of your own show.

        I'm sorry about the narrow window of time in which to get this done, but I didn't want to tell people months in advance, have them forget about it, and then remind them when it actually started. If it's important to you, and something you're interested in, you'll make it happen.

        As always, thank you from the bottom of my heart to all of you, for your support, kind words, advice, recommendations to friends, and a countless billion other things! If I have forgotten any GLARING details, please let me know, as I don't want to dig my own grave!