Perfect Luxurious Setting for 40s Glam Shoot

Women of the 40s – with their picture-perfect luscious curls, blood red lips, porcelain complexion – always represented to me the dawning of the strong, independent female. Despite their stark silhouettes, these women embodied the feminine, bringing the sexy to boxy, shoulder-padded jackets and knee-length skirts. They also inspired iconic starlets, such as Bettie Page or Dita Von Teese.

Inspired by high-society women during World War II, I recently completed a passion project with a talented Bay Area crew who volunteered services on hair, make-up, wardrobe, styling and art direction. Thanks to the collective effort, we recreated a series of images reminiscent of the 40s. I promise to post the images soon and I’m excited for you to tell me what you think!

Setting was an extremely important motif. We needed to embody the stark contrasts in dark and luxurious colors typical of the 40s and I immediately thought of the Julia Morgan Ballroom. Located in downtown San Francisco, the historic venue is 4,300 square feet of pure elegance. After you walk past the lobby adorned with gold leaf, bronze and marble, you will be blown away by the stunning Deco foyer, 27-foot mahogany bar, 20-foot fireplace and luxuriously lighted floor-to-ceiling arched windows.

Linda Hylen, Julia Morgan’s director of events. She’s such a genuinely warm person and made everything so accessible and easy for me, ensuring that I had a wonderful experience. I am so grateful for your help, Linda!

I also wanted to thank Kelly Norman of Julia Morgan. Kelly missed a day of golf in order to help us out on a Sunday. I really appreciate the generous assistance of my talented team of artists and Julia Morgan’s Linda and Kelly — thanks for supporting local SF artists!