How To Choose Outfits For Your Boudoir Experience That Feel Like YOU and Make You Feel Great
To my eyes, a good Boudoir outfit will do three things:
It will make you feel confident.
It will be totally, absolutely, head-to-toe YOU.
It will push you out of your comfort zone in the most exhilarating, exciting way.
Sounds great, right? But how do you do that? Well, here are my top 10 tips for you Divas to consider whilst choosing your outfit.
1) Always go back to WHY you are doing this and dress around that
When I’m the Design Consultant that day, I always ask the Diva one question before her day starts: ‘in years to come, when you look at whatever artwork we create for you today, what do you want to feel?’. The answer they give me is what I come back to time and time again throughout the day - and you should do the same thing for yourself. Do you want to feel sexy? Do you want to feel elegant? Do you want to feel confident? Do you want to feel naughty? Or fun? Or empowered? Or strong? Your discovery calls are part of the process for a reason, use them to reflect and think of what your key desires are for the experience - and then dress according to that. After all, different moods will require different outfits.
For example, say you know you want to feel ‘womanly’, ask yourself what does ‘womanly’ mean to me? Who do I associate as looking womanly? What celebrities or actresses or friends do I know that I always think of as looking womanly? Look at their outfits, their accessories, their aura - and see how you can emulate that. Even just type that one word, whether it be confidence or sexiness or a concept into Pinterest (a photo app where you can create mood-boards) and see what comes up.
Simply put, your outfit will send out a message so harness that fact. A silky luxurious blue robe or long black satin gloves will say elegance; chains and harnesses and red lace speak to something more risqué, sparkly shoes and a pink burlesque fan will do something different again…
So get your ‘why’ clear in your head, and the rest will follow.
2) Think practically - you’ll wear two outfits, so choose something different for each
During your Boudoir experience, you will be photographed in two different looks. Use that fact! If you want to do something similar in both looks then by all means, you do you but I always think it’s good to contrast with your looks. We’re complex beings and there are so many sides of our personality worth celebrating and capturing! So, maybe in one look you want to feel sexy and raunchy so you wear heels and a lacy body stocking, and in the other look you want something softer and more tender, so you wear pastel dreamier looking lingerie… Do you see the point?
It can be simple as wearing two different colours in the different looks; it just means that you end up with variety, and more importantly, it means that you empower the photographer to capture two different, but equally important, sides of you.
An amazing example of how two different outfits can bring such different energies to the same woman! The contrast between the badass, fierce black stockings and suspenders against the angelic, feminine white lace is so beautiful. (And, yes, the angel wings are the studio’s and yes, you can borrow them too!)
3) How to choose lingerie depending on your body type
Look, in our eyes, the only thing you need to pull off an outfit is confidence and, to be frank, anyone who says you can’t wear something because you’re a) a certain age or b) a certain size, can absolutely do one. It’s not about looking “smaller” or “younger”, because real confidence doesn’t care about that! However, we totally get that everyone wants to feel flattered in what they’re wearing and that everyone has a different style that works for them.
So in the interest of trying to be as helpful as possible, here is a bit of guidance…
If you’re worried about your stomach, bodies, corsets and teddies are great, as are waspies (rather than thinner suspenders).
If you want to enhance your boobs then corsets, bustiers and push-up bras are a great friend. Alternatively, you can go the other way and choose lacey, non-padded and highly decorative lingerie that makes the most of you not needing lots of support!
If you have an hour glass shape, stockings and suspenders always look fantastic. Body stockings always look very sexy too!
If you want to make the most of/perk up your bum go for thongs, high waisted knickers, or anything you can give yourself a wedgie with as it always looks sexy as hell!
4) Think photographically - lace, cut-out details, sparkle, they’re all the photographers friend
This may sound stupid, but remember you’re in a photography studio! The light will always look fantastic on detail orientated outfits. They also tend to be more flattering too so avoid lingerie that is just a wall of fabric. Anything that directs the eye or will catch the light is a fantastic find so think straps, sequins, sparkles, lace, cut-out, pattern… You get the idea.
Do you see how well both of these outfits photograph? The sparkle in our very own Shannon’s outfit catches the light so well and the pattern of the other Diva’s body draws the eye across the body beautifully.
5) Go for one safe option and then an outfit that you would never normally DARE to wear
I always think it’s a good idea to give yourself all the confidence you can find right from the get-go so I would choose one safer option which you begin with. This is your ‘go-to’ look; something that you don’t question yourself in and instantly makes you feel good in yourself.
Now, outfit 2 is not a safe bet. Outfit 2 will be what the boldest, bravest, most confident, dream version of yourself wears. Something that pushes you out of your comfort zone entirely. I say this because a Boudoir studio is the opportunity to wear something like this. It’s the safe, fun environment you need to be a bit daring or a bit raunchier or a bit more whatever you want. It’s what you’ll look at and say “I cannot believe I went for that.”
So many women on the phone say to us “if I was more confident I would wear an entirely different wardrobe”. So, use this experience to taste what it feels like to wear THAT wardrobe, because what you’re doing then is creating a reminder that you CAN do these things and you CAN be that person… Don’t play it safe with the second outfit, because if not now, when?!
7) Think of the ENTIRE look - accessories, nail colours, shoes, story…
This is your time to muster up an entire aura for yourself. You can do this to varying degrees; some women come in with full concepts (i.e I want to go for a warrior feel) and then others just have a favourite colour they love. All I’m saying is think of the entire look. If you love red, then don’t just stop at a red outfit. Get your nails painted red to match your lingerie, maybe Shannon could do a red lipstick shade for you, think about what colour shoes you want to go with that…
The best outfits I’ve seen have been amazing because they are comprehensive and cohesive looks. It’s not about the money you spend, it’s about the details - like choosing a pastel shade nail varnish to match a powder blue lingerie set. Or there was a woman who wanted a Fairy inspired Boudoir experience, so she brought in wings she had made, stuck butterflies to these fantastic blue lace up heels - and she looked incredible. Moral of the story is, if you tie the look together and think of every element, you’ll always look great.
Simple things like a bold necklace or a meaningful book or even your favourite flowers; they are all things that build up an image of who you are and tell your story, as well as bringing texture, colour and pattern into your artwork.
Can you see here how this gorgeous Diva has considered the entire outfit? Her top, earrings and knickers all go so perfectly together and it really aided Neill in creating a gorgeous shot like this!
8) If you want it to feel like YOU, what do you usually wear? Don’t feel like you need to be something you’re not
A lot of people use Boudoir to see themselves in a different light. So, for example, they may normally NEVER wear make-up but actually find that they adore going glam for their Divas experience. I think that’s amazing; why not use your shoot to trial out something unexpected and not so everyday?
However, something I often hear is that you want to feel like yourself, which I totally get. So to that I say… well, what do you usually wear? Boudoir doesn’t have to mean frills and lace, if you’re a tom-boy or a punk or a huge comic book fan, then be a tom-boy or a punk or a huge comic book fan! Do you live in Doc Martins? Fabulous! Wear your Docs! Do you love feeling a bit rocky and have a leather jacket you adore? Yes! Wear that, and maybe even go topless underneath? Do you love horse-riding? Bring in your riding crop! Are you a massive book-worm? Bring in all of your favourite books! Are you arty and a bit weird and colourful? Bring in your loudest patterns and maybe even a textured fabric that we can put behind you?!
Basically just feel free to bring your hobbies, your style and your personality into the shoot in any way you can. There are no rules here.
Look at all of the photos above! There are so many different styles. It’s all about bringing your personality to the session.
9) Have fun with it, do a fashion show in it before and try out some poses in the mirror
Choosing an outfit for your Divas Boudoir Experience should be FUN. It is not something to worry about. Not every outfit will suit you, but watch any shopping montage in any film ever and you’ll know they have to go through a few duds first. Try lots of stuff on and get your best friend and partners involved, send them photos, strut down your very own catwalk in your living room for them, treat yourself to a shopping trip, get your nails and your eyebrows done... Just have fun with it!
10) Do some research and USE us!
We are here to be used! Send us questions on facebook or call us or email us - if you have any thoughts on outfits or concepts we are always more than happy to talk to you about it.
The other incredible resource to use is the Divine Divas VIP Group. There are nearly 3,000 women in that group who are all more than happy to answer questions and give thoughts on outfits, so use it!
Last thing? Scroll through Pinterest or our social media, look at all of our photos and see if you’re inspired by any of the outfits you see. If a particular outfit stands out to you, we’re always more than happy to ask that woman where she got the outfit from!
You have so many resources available to you when you come to Divine Divas, so make the most of it. How often do you get to enjoy a day, and a whole team of people, who are solely dedicated to making you feel amazing?
Above is an example of the Pinterest board I created for my Boudoir Experience, alongside one of my favourite photos that I ended up with which was directly influenced by one of my moodboard ideas. You can see it doesn’t have to be photos, it can be paintings and film moments too! Just always consider that these inspirations are exactly that - inspiration, it’s not always ideal to try and exactly copy them as they are working with different lighting, different mediums and different sets!
Well, Divas I hope that was useful! But, like I said, if you ever have any questions please do just get in contact in the easiest way for you. Don’t forget about our Divine Divas Experience Planner too! It’s a great resource and answers all of our FAQ’s!