Whenever my dear friend Theresa comes to Wellington we dress up together and do a photoshoot.  We’ve been doing this for 12 years now!

She was here back in April, and I offered her a whole range of things from my historical wardrobe, but obviously she picked the 1760s frou frou francaise.  I mean, who wouldn’t?

It’s silk taffeta covered in ruffles and lace, and there’s an equally ruffly Marie Mantle to pair with it.  What’s not to love?

And doesn’t she look spectacular in it!

Also, I’m very proud of what I achieved with her hair.  I think it’s my best attempt at late 1760s/early 1770s hair yet.  I still feel like it’s more accident than actual learned skill when I get 18th c hair right, but every time I do it it gets a little bit better.

For the photoshoot, we went up to the Sir Truby King gardens, which are is still one of my favourite places to take photos, even if King was wildly problematic, and most of the really lovely brickwork that made the gardens special has now been fenced off or demolished because it’s an earthquake risk.

We’d originally planned to go to the Botanical Gardens, which I haven’t shot at with Theresa since our very first photoshoot, but I was tired and worn out after getting dressed.   So we settled for not fighting crowds of people to find parks, and not dealing with a bunch of people asking to take photos, and had a lovely time (mostly) to ourselves at the much quieter STK’s

It’s amazing to think about how many times we’ve done this.  It’s a little different every time, but always a delight.

And that’s because Theresa is a delight.  I am so lucky to have such a wonderful, generous, supportive friend.  And because she’s so wonderful, I’ve finally fulfilled her request and made her her own tag on my blog!  (it should lead to all the other photoshoots I’ve done with her)

Here’s to lots more photoshoots with this gorgeous lady!  Maybe next time we’ll be together in Sydney again…