Behind The Scenes at our July Fashion Shoot

On Sunday 19th June, whilst fathers the country over were being spoiled rotten with cards and gifts, and lots of food, The Colchester Circle fashion team experienced an uncharacteristically early start (for a Sunday that is!), gathering ourselves in West Mersea for our July fashion shoot. With the kettle on the boil, and the bacon butties ordered, we set about creating a range of summer-worthy outfits, all chosen from some of Colchester's best independent shops. Our intrepid team included the capturer of our nautical scenes, photographer Mark Witard; stylist Emma Steele, whose job it was to shop till she dropped, and skilfully put together the outfits for the day; hair stylist Gaynor Baxtor, who battled the most determined of gales to keep the models' hair looking perfect; dab hand with colours and brushes, make-up artist Charlotte O'Hare; and of course our very patient models, who braved less-than-warm conditions in summer frocks and cotton t-shirts, and still managed to look picture perfect (whilst we huddled around the set-up in jumpers and coats) - hats off to Sam Godden-Wood, Gary Cadman, and of course, Coco Chanel, Sam's Chihuahua, who was so great at posing, she even made it onto our front cover. Highlights of the day included the kindness of Seaview Shop on Seaview Avenue, whose owners lent their colourful beach accessories without which our cover shot would not have been as darn good as it now is. And who could forget our little tour around the stylishly decorated Mojo Houseboat (60s rock concert posters, 50s jukebox, wooden floors, vintage furniture, and too many other details to mention - I am saving the memory for my own home!). Thanks go out to John and Maureen Philips for showing us round, and even more so for letting our models pose on deck, whilst the rest of the dozen-or-so crew made themselves at home in the living room! Finally, whilst all boxes ticked and preparations made well in advance of the day, the least predictable of our requirements - the great British weather - was on our side that day. It was only once we'd packed up and started heading for a well-deserved pub dinner, that the heavens finally opened up. And boy, did it pour... The final results will be unveiled in the July issue (not long to wait now), but in the meantime, here's some behind-the-scenes footage, taken by Emma on the day. [caption id="attachment_176" align="aligncenter" width="460" caption="The Mersea Jetty"][/caption]   [caption id="attachment_187" align="aligncenter" width="460" caption="Striking a pose"][/caption]   [caption id="attachment_186" align="aligncenter" width="460" caption="Champagne anyone?"][/caption]   [caption id="attachment_185" align="aligncenter" width="460" caption="Crew's on hand to stop it all blowing away"][/caption]   [caption id="attachment_184" align="aligncenter" width="460" caption="Emma sets up the cover shot"][/caption]   [caption id="attachment_183" align="aligncenter" width="460" caption="Keeping warm whilst Gaynor does her magic"][/caption]   [caption id="attachment_182" align="aligncenter" width="460" caption="Hello Mojo Houseboat!"][/caption]   [caption id="attachment_181" align="aligncenter" width="460" caption="Lights at the ready"][/caption]   [caption id="attachment_180" align="aligncenter" width="460" caption="The sea, the sea"][/caption]   [caption id="attachment_179" align="aligncenter" width="460" caption="Where there's wind, we have hair grips"][/caption]   [caption id="attachment_178" align="aligncenter" width="460" caption="A perfect day at the beach"][/caption]