One of my best friends, who I have known forever, just had a baby.  The other day, we were taking a walk, and while she pushed her adorable infant in the stroller  she expressed her frustration with losing the post-partum weight.  She immediately began putting herself down and commenting on how awful she looked. On how her stomach would never go back to the way it was before.  That she felt fat and doughy.  She also felt stressed about the balance of dieting to losing the weight, but making sure she was eating enough to continue breast feeding.  I stopped her halfway through the conversation and told her how incredible she looks.  That to me, she looks absolutely better than before she had the baby!
​Whether you just had a baby, or not- why is it that as women we immediately go to the negative head space, and don’t congratulate ourselves on what we have DONE, instead of what we HAVE NOT?  All she could see was the changes she didn’t like, not that she had just carried a baby for nine months, given birth, and was nurturing this child while only getting four hours of sleep a night. 

Connection Between Stress and Our Self Reflection:
 I started thinking about how as women we have so much on our plates.  Managing the everyday balance between work, family, and  still taking time to nurture our own souls.  Stress and pressure can cause some warped reflections when we look in the mirror. The result of this is having a negative self-image, and only focusing on the things we don’t like about ourselves.  Even writing this, it is easy for me to be reflective, but if I’m honest…I completely focus on the negative parts of myself too.  
There is a lot to be said about having a tribe, a squad, a ride or die. No matter what you call it... these people can be special lights in our life when we are surrounded by nothing but our own darkness.
But not all of us are fortunate to have a person who builds us up when we feel small.  Often, relationships between women can be toxic, superficial, and even competitive.  I would guess that at some point we all have had a friend who puts us down to lessen their own insecurities.  This is absolutely the worst kind of relationship, and in order to be the best version of ourselves we need to take a step back and ask ourselves if our friendships are healthy.  So what can we do feel empowered and confident?
Ring in the Positivity:

• Surround ourselves with people who truly have our best interests at heart. One way to do this is to join the Haute View Boudoir's VIP Group.  It is a group of incredibly supportive, positive women who believe in empowering other women!!! It is fun and full of positive support!!!!
• Flush the negativity and drama down the toilet.
• Get rid of the friend who is me, me, me all the time.
• Unfollow “friends” on social media if they love to celebrate the negative.
• Find a friend who challenges you to be the best version of you.
• Take on new experiences.
• Consider booking a boudoir session with your bestie!  They can pump you up and offer words of encouragement about how beautiful and amazing you are!  Plus, it is an opportunity to relax and feel pampered while having fun!

 

Back in 2010 Jessica Simpson had a documentary series on VH1 called “The Price of Beauty”.  In this series, Simpson travelled to different countries around the globe to explore and define what beauty means to different people in various cultures. She did this through exploring different beauty and fashion trends, and the culture of beauty in each country.  In some cultures being heavier was beautiful, in others it was having an elongated neck. One particular woman had burned her skin trying to lighten it to become her culture’s idea of “beauty”.  We all want to feel beautiful, but at what cost? We shouldn’t be changing things to fit a certain model, instead change only what makes you feel better about you! 


Often, youth is thought to be the big identifying factor of beauty.  If we look at skincare lines, they are often marketed to bring back youthful skin. It often seems. as women, that we are constantly trying to get back to that fountain of youth.  I fully admit to doing this as well.  I analyze the way my face has changed, the lines that seem to have appeared overnight, the way my breasts are not as firm as they once were.  But why is it that these physical changes typically have a negative connotation? 


Youth is beautiful, but so is aging. Age is nothing but a number.  In my experience of having the privilege to photograph so many beautiful women and from so many different walks of life, I have found that sometimes women feel they are too old to do boudoir. This, my friends, is exactly why you should do it!!!  Boudoir is not just for the young twenty somethings (although they should do it too!), but for women from all walks and ages of life.  


Experience and challenges make us who we are.  There is beauty in documenting our visual stories and the way our bodies change over the years. Your body may not look exactly the way it did ten, fifteen, twenty, thirty years ago…but it isn’t supposed to. Fine lines, wrinkles, sunspots, c-section scars they tell the journey of our life story and there is beauty in that.  


Ironically, the reason that Jessica Simpson decided to do this documentary was because, at the time, she had received a lot of negative press for gaining ten pounds.  All of a sudden the media was tearing her apart and saying that she was extremely overweight.  She decided  to take control of the situation and use this series as an opportunity to gain confidence.  The end result was her realizing that there is not one type of beautiful.  What is most beautiful is a confident woman who makes her own choices and decides to embrace herself, with the imperfections that make her different from everyone else.  

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Boudoir is an opportunity to look at yourself in photographs and decide that you like what you see.  To decide that you are your own kind of beautiful.  Document your history, your story, and the powerfully beautiful woman that you are! 

Is the idea of shopping for lingerie a little overwhelming? Or A LOT overwhelming? I get it, you look at the pictures online and think “There is no way that will look like that on me?”


No worries, I am here to help you every step of the way! If you shop for your shape, then you can say, “that looks even better on me, than the supermodel.”


When shopping for your shape, the most important rule is: Accentuate the Positive!


By identifying your body type ( which does not mean you are classifying your type by “less than perfect”) you can learn to focus on the parts of your body you love the most. I encourage this for every boudoir photography session, along with learning to be comfortable and confident in your own skin. The bonus of showing your shape with appropriately fitting lingerie will embrace your every curve and allow you to as well.

Identifying Your Body Type
Take a moment to undress and look into your mirror, making sure to have great posture.
This is not a time for you to be critical, but rather to look at your own anatomical geometry. Yes, I used the word “geometry”. It’s a series of measurements and angles that create a mere shape. Not the WRONG SHAPE, simply “A SHAPE”.


No matter what your weight is, a woman’s geometry will be classified as either:

• Apple - like an apple, you tend to be broader at the top (bust and shoulders) than the rest of your torso.
• Pear - if you're this type, your torso tends to be fuller on the bottom
• Rectangular – A very straight figure, from the shoulders to the hips.
• Hourglass – This is a rare breed, but generally this includes those women who have equally curvy measurements on top and bottom, with a narrower, well-defined waist.

Is one shape better than another? Absolutely not. Every single body figure can look equally great in lingerie when it fits the shape.


The Truth Is……. Curves Never Go Out Of Style!


A P P L E

• The key for an Apple women is to draw eyes away from the waist or center.  With broader shoulders and a larger bust, clothing with V-necks, scoop necks and strapless tops will draw attention to your bust, face, and shoulders will make you look amazing.
• I keep a ton of amazing bodysuit options in my client closet that are perfect for the Apple Body Style.
• Corsets and Bustiers are great for your body type. Just be careful Anything with boning, creates bubbling and a ripple effect, so it may limit posing to standing and lying flat poses.

P E A R 
Love your décolleté and waist and accentuate there. This will draw attention away from your bottom half to showcase your “little middle” and fabulous bust. Choose  push-up bras, or a bustier to slender your waistline.

High Waisted Panties are ideal for you with a Bralette for the top! Play up that bottom half with hugging garter/sexy tights or stockings.


R E C T A N G L E
If you’re very straight you may wish to create the illusion of curves. Paying special attention to the busts and the legs, we can create gorgeous curves with a waist cincher underneath a lace body suit. A padded push up bra can also draw a lot more attention giving you a rounder, fuller appearance where you want it most.


H O U R G L A S S
This figure is very easy to work with when it comes to lingerie, and the key is to be form-fitting. Teddies and bodysuits do a good job of flattering the hourglass figure, especially fitted ones.


Wondering Where and What to Shop? See my Shoppable Inspiration Board

During the hustle and bustle of the holidays, it's pretty easy for us ladies to forget about ourselves. We get caught up in preparing for the upcoming holiday celebrations, not to mention shopping for all of our family and friends! I get it; we are all busy and have stuff to do! But I also believe that rewarding yourself with a little gift is not only fun but a wonderful and healthy outlet for all of us during these crazy times we live in. With all of that being said, I have decided to launch an amazing Black Friday Sale for you fantastic ladies out there! I want 2021 to be THE YEAR you love yourself, just as you are, with a boudoir experience that leaves you: empowered, feeling gorgeous (because YOU are!), and starts you on a self-love journey. Now through Nov. 27th, book your 2021 Boudoir Experience with Haute View Boudoir for a $99 deposit and receive a $99 print credit for FREE. Even better, you will lock in our 2020 Prices.  Click here to view more info. 

And as always, have a wonderful holiday season! 

"Being a busy wife and Mom that works full time, I don’t have a whole lot of time to try new things. My 10 year wedding anniversary was coming up and I wanted to try something new and surprise my husband with something that he would never dream of!
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I loved Everything about this experience! I felt so comfortable and beautiful the whole time. It was way more fun that what I had imagined it would be and Brittany did an amazing job capturing who I am and what my husband loves about my body! It was wonderful!"

So much has changed in our world recently and shopping for your boudoir session has undergone a BIG change. With many stores not open and even more not allowing you to try on things, lingerie shopping is harder than ever! More women are moving online to places with fast delivery and easy returns like Amazon. 

To help I have created this Shoppable Inspiration Board filled with What to Wear ideas and links to find the items or at least pointed in the right direction. And what's better than that? It's all affordable ideas, most are under $20.