Take on this season’s Victoriana trend in these black and white statement pieces with a distinct Amish vibe. Welcome to the Amish Wonderland, a story seeped in the mists of a pre-dawn morning.
It’s not very often you wake up on the morning of a shoot, make your way to a location and get welcomed by such a breathtakingly beautiful autumn morning as I did the day this shoot was done. The deer at Richmond Park were particularly friendly that morning, the morning mist was absolutely heavenly and the first pink specks of the morning sun lit up the sky. It was also an incredibly cold morning, and it definitely felt like the first day of autumn. What could be better than that, especially when you’re shooting the first set of the autumn shoots for the blog.
This shoot has been on my mind for a good year or so; it was first conceived while planning for the 3 Mill Lane shoot last autumn, which was for last year’s The September Issue. While researching for that shoot, I came across a few images from other editorials influenced by the Amish community. I fell in love with those images, but since they weren’t right for 3 Mill Lane, they were saved on my phone for another time. Now, a year later is the perfect time to unveil my own interpretation of this theme. It really shouldn’t be that surprising that this shoot was borne out of the love and labour of 3 Mill Lane shoot; from the inception of this shoot it has always felt like the companion piece to 3 Mill Lane.
The outfit was originally only meant to be one item, but ended up morphing into four different outfits. It really was one of those occasions, unlike the Brocade Brigade, which will be published in two weeks, where I had too much choice on the high street and I found I had a lot of pieces in my own wardrobe from past shoots that would perfectly here too. What is interesting in looking at these finished images, is the Western fell to the shoot. The short military-style jacket from the first outfit really feels like something Western especially with the Matador hat, but it still fits into the Amish theme. The third outfit with the lace collar also reminds me of old Western movies, so I kinda love how this shoot has a second, sub-theme to it.
I hope you love these images as much as I did shooting them, because this one is a particular favourite of mine. Maybe it’s something to do with the Amish theme, the morning mist or the fact that it was once again shot in Richmond Park. I do always feel most at peace with myself and the world in that park.
Outfit 1: Black military detailing jacket: River Island, found here – White shirt dress: H&M Trend, found here – Black mini jersey skirt: H&M – Black Matador hat: ASOS, similar one found here – Black leather ankle boots: New Look, similar ones found here – Gothic cross choker necklace: New Look, found here 
Outfit 2: White shirt dress: H&M Trend, same as before – Black mini jersey skirt: H&M, same as before – Black Matador hat: ASOS, same as before – Black leather ankle boots: New Look, same as before – Gothic cross choker necklace: New Look, same as before
Outfit 3: White shirt dress: H&M Trend, same as before – Black lace bib: ASOS, found here – Black leather belt: Hubby’s – Black and white cuffs: DIY, found here and here in the blog – Black leather ankle boots: New Look, same as before
Outfit 4: White exaggerated sleeves shirt: H&M Trend, found here – Black embroidered midi skirt: Warehouse, found here – Black plunge neck body: Missguided, found here – Black and white cuffs: DIY, same as before – Black leather ankle boots: New Look, same as before – Black cross choker necklace: New Look, same as before
