Category: A Collection of Female Attire

The Collection: Stockings & Socks
#31- #33

Post author By Leah
Post date April 25, 2015
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#31- #33

(Please note: This is the “archive” of the collection of shoot props (generally lingerie/womens attire somehow) that I have gathered over the last 11 years of my career.
They are catalogued by number, and description for now as well as any other relevant information about their individual histories- how I came to have the items, what shoots they might have been used for, etc.
The style in which I document an item may vary according to the type of garment/object it is).

#31 – Knee-high socks
Knee-high cotton blend mens sports socks, sprayed green. I think I eventually found these at SportsUnlimited in Canal Walk after a mammoth search for any sock-style knee highs.
I was doing the pre-production for my first (!) Playboy Playmate shoot. The shoot was Rugby World Cup themed (all gold and green) and planned to be published in the September 2011 issue.

I found white socks a day before the shoot and asked the friend who was assisting me at the stadium to spray paint them green. I wouldn’t recommend this technique as they’re totally patchy- but it was the best solution at the time. Included is one of the published images from the locker rooms in the Cape Town stadium where we shot with Jade Fairbrother as Miss September.

#32 – Stockings
Thigh-high, black fishnet stockings, one size fits all. There’s this term “one size fits all” which would typically get attached to a mass-produced product like this and all it does in most cases (where the item doesn’t fit you) is leave women feeling inadequate I always think.

#33 – Knee-high stockings
Stripped semi-opaque and transparent, red knee high stockings. I bought two pairs in red and two pairs in fuchsia pink from a stocking factory shop in Woodstock years back.

Tags a collection of female attire, a collection of underwear, black fishnet stockings, cape town photography, feet, jade fairbrother, leah hawker, Leah Hawker cape town photographer, Leah Hawker photography, legs, one size fits all, playboy south africa, playboysouthafrica, Playmate shoot, red knee high stockings, rugby world cup 2011

The Collection: Stockings & Socks
#28- #30

Post author By Leah
Post date April 21, 2015
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#28- #30

#28 – Stockings
Cream fishnet stockings cut to things-highs. Size Large I think I started buying stockings in a far bigger size on purpose just so I could cut them into thigh-highs myself since they were almost impossible to get hold of in SA some years back. It doesn’t work as well with fishnet textiles (as you can see from the fraying at the cut line) but with normal nylon stockings it works like a charm (you just miss the punctuation of the wide re-enforcemnet line that comes with normal thigh-highs). These were a Woodstock stocking factory shop purchase.

#29 – Stockings
Black stockings with psychedelic design. These were a gift from a friend about 10 years ago. The design on them is something which doesn’t really speak to me although when I see them shot in this image I realise they are something I could incorporate easily. They’ve already got a bit of wear ‘n tear as do a number of items in the collection.

#30 – Knee High Stockings
Orange knee-high stockings, one size fits all. I think these come from a Chinese shop in the Golden Acre, Adderley Street, Cape Town. They’ve not been used but stored for years and years. They shoot well.

Tags a collection of female lingerie, a collection of womens clothing, cape town photographer, fishnets, knee high stockings, lingerie collection, orange knee highs, pantihose, psychedelic stockings, stay up stockings, stockings, stockings south africa, suspenders

A Collection of Female Attire

The Collection: Stockings & Socks
#25- #27

Post author By Leah
Post date April 17, 2015
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#25- #27

#25 – Stockings
Pure wool, indigo stay-up stockings with matching lace trim. These goodies were a gift from the friend who is actually modelling them in this shot for me. She bought them while on a road trip to Oudtshoorn, South Africa. Typical of stay ups, the latex grip which lies on the inside of the lace trim is almost always too tight and squeezes the thigh fat of almost every girl resulting in manipulation via photoshop to return the leg to its normal shape.

#26 – Stockings
Leopard print stockings, size small-medium. I think I bought these at a stocking factory shop in Woodstock about 7 years back. I’ve only shot with them once which was a for a test shoot with Anthea of 20Management. They’re almost totally opaque and have no visible gusset reinforcement which makes them appear like one smooth skin.

#27 – Stockings
Black, semi-sheer stockings with design and bow trims. Size medium-large. I bought these beauties in Marks ‘n Sparks in Paris in 2013 while shopping for lingerie with a client and friend. They have a semi-opaque design which makes out a thong, suspender belt and thigh-high stockings, resplendent with bow embellishments at the point where the suspender clips would attache to the stockings.

Tags a collection of female lingerie, a collection of stockings, a collection of womens underwear, a history of womens underwear, jade fairbrother, knee-highs, leopard print stockings, lingerie collection, marks and spencer underwear, mohair stockings, playboy shoot props, sheer stockings, socks, stockings, stockings made in south africa, vintage stockings

A Collection of Female Attire

The Collection: Panties
#21- #24

Post author By Leah
Post date April 13, 2015
No Comments on The Collection: Panties
#21- #24

#21 – Panties
Mr. Price, neon yellow, stretch lace, g-string, medium. I bought these in a three-pack (yellow, pink, orange) at Mr.Price one day just because their lumo multiplicity was so brilliant, it was screaming “shoot!”. I used them on one Playboy shoot in 2013.

#22 – Panties
Black stretch-mesh thong with fuchsia pink edging, butterfly- detailing and adjustable side ribbons. These were a gift from my school-time boyfriend after we broke up and he had returned from Thailand. They went into the collection, being used once only for a student time exhibition series for which one of my class mates posed for.

#23 – Panties
Black, small, La Senza, thong with removable suspender belt clips, satin bows and black feather trim. A good ol’ La Senza sale buy most likely from the time when they had that factory shop in Access Park in Kenilworth. I used these in a shoot where I distinctly remember the client or model saying that she felt like an ostrich when wearing them…

#24 – Panties
Size medium, cotton, Pep Store brooks. Boy-leg cut with pink, taupe & turquoise dot print and grey lace detail. I have a bit of quirk about buying strange items, especially underwear, in unusual spots; either on pumping African markets or in small town super market chains, which is how this pair came to the collection. I bought these in Pep in Lüderitz, Namibia in 2012 on route to a mini-rock concert in the desert.

Tags a collection of knickers, a collection of underwear, a history of womens underwear, collection, cotton panties, panties, panties from pep stores, panties with feathers