When I was little I adored Valentine’s day. Red heart-shaped decorations, red candy, and a bag full of cards and trinkets. Then I got older, the mandatory all-class Valentine’s card exchange turned into a handout of single red roses for the very lucky, and I traded red for black, hearts for spades, sweet M&Ms for fishnets and Doc Martins.

Valentine's Card

I’m over it. February- the middle of winter- NEEDS Valentine’s Day. Maybe not the schlock and sap, but definitely the red, especially when there’s six feet of snow on the ground with no thaw in sight. A few warm hearts help too. After all, it’s pretty cold out there.

Valentine's CardValentine's Card Valentine's Card

Happy Valentine’s Day everyone!

***** Kayt

Credits:

  • Date: Friday, February 13, 2015
  • Location: Worcester, MA
  • Photography/hair/makeup/concept: Kayt Silvers
  • Model/custom corset/bow: Sarah (Starlight) Sybicki
  • Custom skirt: Dory’s Historicals

*****A note on how this shoot happened:

It was something I thought of in August. A girl in the snow, wearing a red-velvet heart-shaped corset and a skirt of matching hearts. I had no idea how it would happen, or if it even could happen, but I knew (a) Sarah could make a corset, (b) I wanted her to model it and (c) we needed snow. So, planning to shoot it as soon as we could, we designed the costume and waited for snow. We waited most of January. Then there was snow, we planned the next week, then there was three feet of snow. Then it was too cold. Then there were six feet of snow. The woods were no longer a location option. I found an outdoors alternative we could at least access. Then there was another snow storm. We had one more chance- yesterday, Valentine’s eve. It was zero degrees Fahrenheit with a -16 degree wind chill. Long story short, shooting outside didn’t work. After some tea and sugar, we tried again in my little apartment-sized make-shift studio. TJ- who usually does the lighting- was at work. I was on my own to figure out how to use all the equipment, which turned into a bit of a crash course. I was determined to get SOMETHING. I’ve been editing the photos for the last 24 hours. Let’s just say it was a labor of love.