CREATING BEAUTIFUL MOMENTS, ONE DRESS AT A TIME.

If you’re like me, being by the water, whether that is seaside or poolside, is a favourite pastime. Simply sitting and staring at the water for minutes on end, just daydreaming, is a peaceful momentary reprieve from the otherwise busy lives we lead.

When it comes to swimming though, as picturesque as the ocean is, I generally prefer swimming in a pool – I am really not much for waves… or for losing my bikini top for that matter! Pools also have a certain design charm too. As a designer, thoughtfully-landscaped, crystal clear, aqua-coloured pools, are an endless source of inspiration to me, and this is no surprise, given pools have long featured in fashion photography.

We need only look at the photography of Slim Aarons (1916 – 2006) to see just how beautiful poolside scenes can be. I remember walking past a small gallery and being completely mesmerised by a Slim Aarons print, and to this day, his ‘Poolside Glamour’ photo is one of my favourites.

Such is my appreciation for his work that I bought the book ‘Poolside with Slim Aarons’ which features more stunning scenes of people in beautiful poolside locations, and proceeded to decorate my coffee table with it, along with a few other magazines, just on pretty pools. Yes! such magazines exist.

And it seems I am certainly in good company when it comes to fashion’s fascination with glamorous poolside settings. Vogue published an article online in 2016, titled ‘The most inviting swimming pools in Vogue‘ and British Vogue also more recently published a gallery of ‘The most beautiful pools in Vogue through the years‘, both featuring a gorgeous selection of fashion photography by the pool, definitely worth diving into.

So, it naturally follows then that one of the things I daydream about when I am sitting by the pool… is sitting by the pool in an exquisite outfit – one that does not belong by the water (or in the water!) from a practical point of view. And so this year, to mark the end of summer, I decided to take a ‘sitting pretty by the pool’ photo of my own, wearing one of my very own gowns from my last collection.

I like to say that I create dresses so that my clients can create beautiful moments in them. And so here I am doing exactly that, and I hope to capture as many of these moments as I can this year. We only live once after all!

And finally, since you’ve humoured me enough by reading about me wearing an evening dress and sitting beside my little backyard pool, I thought I would share with you a few beautiful, inspirational, pools that I have been able to visit and photograph over the years, that you might also appreciate.

Now, if your idea of a wonderful holiday is relaxing poolside with a piña colada or margarita in hand, then these are for you!

And one last shot, this is a photo of our petite plunge pool at home full of kiddie floats, where we spend a lot of family time over the summer (dressed in more appropriate swim attire, I might add!), creating those little, big, moments that are just as sweet.

Dora xx