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Authors: Sharon Owens
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stacked up on every flat surface – though we should also give some consideration to the Daisy Churchill feature, of course.’
Emily didn’t intend for one second to put Daisy on the cover, but she knew Jane would throw a hissy fit if her pet project was ignored completely. However, Jane was even more belligerent than usual that morning.
‘Consideration, did you say? Daisy is only the country’s leading celebrity model,’ Jane snapped. ‘There’s no question about who is going to be on the cover.’
‘Daisy is a celebrity glamour model,’ Emily corrected her carefully. ‘And she’s very lovely, and so on. But our typical reader is more concerned with buttons than bosoms, wouldn’t you say? That’s why they read our magazine, Jane – to get away from bosoms. From implants that resemble ostrich eggs. I don’t know about you, but every time I see a cover featuring that woman I can almost hear the little chicks cheeping away inside her bra.’
There were some barely stifled giggles around the table. Jane wasn’t all that well liked, and there wasn’t anyone present who wouldn’t mind seeing her precious feature bumped to the back pages. They didn’t much care for Daisy either, after she’d dumped her normal boyfriend for a wealthy businessman the year before.
‘Daisy Churchill is a multimillionaire model and fashion icon. She’s the biggest star in the UK right now. She lives in a stunning mansion, and I styled that shoot personally,’ Jane said frostily. ‘It took over eight hours and was very tastefully done.’
‘Yes, I’m sure it was, Jane. But this shot of Daisy lying on a white rug on the sitting-room floor, in a white fur bikini?’ Emily said quietly. ‘It’s got the wow factor and everything, of course. But I’m not sure it fits our demographic. Is this really the sort of vibe we’re aiming for?’
Emily didn’t dare look up from the photographs spread across the table. She knew that Jane would be staring back at her, as if she were nothing but an annoying little upstart from the back of beyond, which she supposed she was. But Arabella needed her to be strong now and, really, Emily didn’t think a white fur bikini was the right image for the cover of Stylish Living . Usually they had a shabby-chic patchwork quilt and some embroidered cushions, or an antique lemonade bottle with wild flowers in it, or a nice friendly-looking couple sitting on a willow bench in their garden.
‘It was a winter wonderland theme,’ Jane said slowly, as if Emily were a complete idiot. ‘I used a white fur bikini because it was a winter theme.’
Petra Dunwoody, one of the more senior freelancers, could stand the tension no longer. She burst out laughing. Everybody else bit their lip nervously and looked out of the window. Really, that suggestive pose of Daisy’s was as far away from a winter wonderland theme as anyone sane could possibly imagine. More like a cheesy roller disco in the 1960s, if anything, Petra thought suddenly.
‘Jane, I admire you for getting the gig,’ Petra spluttered. ‘And Daisy probably is the most recognized face in the UK right now. But you’ve got to be sensible, darling. This is Stylish Living , yeah? Not Nuts magazine. Daisy hasn’t got the right sort of image for us at all. So I think Emily is quite right. Let’s go for the button-maker on the front cover. Look at those gorgeous little lavender bags hanging on the Shaker drawers behind her. It’s so appropriate for this new era of make-do-and-mend. We could do a little cut-out-and-keep pattern for making lavender bags, to run alongside? I’ve got something like that on file. We could drop it into the feature.’
‘Lavender bags, did you say? Screw the lavender bags. Arabella will be absolutely furious if you turn down a world-famous celebrity in favour of a two-room shack with exposed pipes and a six-socket plugboard in the background,’ Jane almost shouted. ‘I spent weeks negotiating that shoot so that we
Emily didn’t intend for one second to put Daisy on the cover, but she knew Jane would throw a hissy fit if her pet project was ignored completely. However, Jane was even more belligerent than usual that morning.
‘Consideration, did you say? Daisy is only the country’s leading celebrity model,’ Jane snapped. ‘There’s no question about who is going to be on the cover.’
‘Daisy is a celebrity glamour model,’ Emily corrected her carefully. ‘And she’s very lovely, and so on. But our typical reader is more concerned with buttons than bosoms, wouldn’t you say? That’s why they read our magazine, Jane – to get away from bosoms. From implants that resemble ostrich eggs. I don’t know about you, but every time I see a cover featuring that woman I can almost hear the little chicks cheeping away inside her bra.’
There were some barely stifled giggles around the table. Jane wasn’t all that well liked, and there wasn’t anyone present who wouldn’t mind seeing her precious feature bumped to the back pages. They didn’t much care for Daisy either, after she’d dumped her normal boyfriend for a wealthy businessman the year before.
‘Daisy Churchill is a multimillionaire model and fashion icon. She’s the biggest star in the UK right now. She lives in a stunning mansion, and I styled that shoot personally,’ Jane said frostily. ‘It took over eight hours and was very tastefully done.’
‘Yes, I’m sure it was, Jane. But this shot of Daisy lying on a white rug on the sitting-room floor, in a white fur bikini?’ Emily said quietly. ‘It’s got the wow factor and everything, of course. But I’m not sure it fits our demographic. Is this really the sort of vibe we’re aiming for?’
Emily didn’t dare look up from the photographs spread across the table. She knew that Jane would be staring back at her, as if she were nothing but an annoying little upstart from the back of beyond, which she supposed she was. But Arabella needed her to be strong now and, really, Emily didn’t think a white fur bikini was the right image for the cover of Stylish Living . Usually they had a shabby-chic patchwork quilt and some embroidered cushions, or an antique lemonade bottle with wild flowers in it, or a nice friendly-looking couple sitting on a willow bench in their garden.
‘It was a winter wonderland theme,’ Jane said slowly, as if Emily were a complete idiot. ‘I used a white fur bikini because it was a winter theme.’
Petra Dunwoody, one of the more senior freelancers, could stand the tension no longer. She burst out laughing. Everybody else bit their lip nervously and looked out of the window. Really, that suggestive pose of Daisy’s was as far away from a winter wonderland theme as anyone sane could possibly imagine. More like a cheesy roller disco in the 1960s, if anything, Petra thought suddenly.
‘Jane, I admire you for getting the gig,’ Petra spluttered. ‘And Daisy probably is the most recognized face in the UK right now. But you’ve got to be sensible, darling. This is Stylish Living , yeah? Not Nuts magazine. Daisy hasn’t got the right sort of image for us at all. So I think Emily is quite right. Let’s go for the button-maker on the front cover. Look at those gorgeous little lavender bags hanging on the Shaker drawers behind her. It’s so appropriate for this new era of make-do-and-mend. We could do a little cut-out-and-keep pattern for making lavender bags, to run alongside? I’ve got something like that on file. We could drop it into the feature.’
‘Lavender bags, did you say? Screw the lavender bags. Arabella will be absolutely furious if you turn down a world-famous celebrity in favour of a two-room shack with exposed pipes and a six-socket plugboard in the background,’ Jane almost shouted. ‘I spent weeks negotiating that shoot so that we
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