When we scored tickets to the Jason Kieck gala, we (okay mostly me) decided this would be an ideal time to do a “Matric farewell style makeover”.

I called in some favours which included an incredible dress and jacket by Jason Kieck designs outfit and a Morne Originals suit which literally turned heads.

Our original Matric farewells saw Rob running to the shop with his grandmother (on the day of) to pick up some “church clothes” after she convinced him to go – he doesn’t even have pics to show for it. Mine had a bit more planning, but as I was incredibly tiny back then, my options for hiring a dress was limited. I also still straightened  my hair to heck and back, back then and the results are very not me looking pics see below, circa 2002…

So what went into our Jason Kieck gala makeovers?

1. My beauty treats

I had gel nails done by a friend who does nails here in Uitenhage. Sonia hooked me up with grey and gold gel (she does my nails regularly so if you are in Uitenhage and need a hook up, just shout). My brows and lashes were done by Sirens Cove at Sailor Joe’s in Uitenhage … I have an ambassadorship with them which means they keep my brows and lashes looking fleek (is fleek still a thing?) I had micro-blading done a while back which has left me with “just done” brows all day, every day, but for this special occasion Lisa decided to do a Henna tint and take me from natural fabulous to super natural.

2. The hair

Both Rob and I headed over to Serenity Hair at Moffet on Main lifestyle center for our hairstyles. Neither of us had been there before (brave for day of event hey) but I know they have a great reputation locally as natural hair stylists (among other things) they also do men’s hair (and kids) so it was super convenient. But I was still nervous. Thank goodness the nerves were not needed. I left there with an Asymmetrical Bob that hides the fact that I basically did the shortest big chop of my life. Shorter than my first big chop even. I just decided on a whim, that I needed to get rid of all the damaged parts and start fresh and I’m extremely happy with the way it turned out. I keep looking in the mirror and being shocked at how short it is, but I won’t lie, I love how healthy it is. Bonus, the guys at Serenity showed me how to style the new look so I’m not overwhelmed by the length.

3. The makeup

For my face I called on the guys at Woolworths Walmer Park Beauty. They have this amazing deal where if you buy two beauty products from a single brand like for instance; a Clarins Foundation and lipstick, you are entitled to a Clarins makeover. This counts for all their brands and makes for quite a choice. My MUA, Sheronece Swarts, helped me get over the nerves of venturing out without my glasses and I love her for it.

3. The accessories

My shoes were black and yellow strappy stilettos from Edgars, Robs brogues are from Edgars as well – neither were sponsored, fyi. My necklace was borrowed from my amazing cousin but my pretty earrings were a gift from Rob. He picked them up at the Locally Yours market from Lady M Jewellery. His watch which he is incredibly smitten with is Skone and his socks were Maxkosi by Laduma

4. The outfits

I won’t lie, I was nervous when I heard I would be dressed by Jason Kieck, he does amazing things, runway ready anyone? But I’m not exactly an “off the shelf model body, size”.  The only thing about me that is sample size is my feet at a size three/four – let’s be honest.  Luckily, Jason Kieck’s team know what they are doing and the suggestions were spot on, in fact, the first dress I fit on was the one I went for.

I have a vivid memory of Yiota (Jason’s wife and business partner) handing me this slip of black material and telling me to fit it on. I can still hear my heart pounding in my ears as I slipped it on, half expecting to get stuck half-way into the dress like a sad chubby burrito. BUT WOW. It hugged all the right places and I was smitten. Bonus, it has a slit to accentuate my favorite body part (my legs, did you know that, now you do) and a cape like jacket to bring all my Telanovela dreams to life.

Then there was Morne Originals with Robs suit. Morne was one of the the first designers I featured on my blog back when the blog (and my life) was largely fashion based. I met him back when both our jobs focused on making models look good – him on stage, me in the paper.  His ridiculously swanky studio saw my nervous husband standing on a turntable awaiting his fate. Morne had him in a beautiful dark suit which my shy plus one loved. Then came a call from Morne , a few days before the event; “I made a few changes to your outfit, can you come in”. Morne has a vast design repertoire when it comes to his design style… from demure church gentleman to flashy AF so we had no idea what to expect. Then enter this brown velvet jacket that changes colour as the light hits it and Rob went from “please can I sit at the table” to “I own the whole darn table”

— A giant thank you to everyone involved in this fun little experiment and especially to 39 on Church Guest house who acted as the back drop for our shoot as well as a base of operations for us. A review will be up soon but for now…. Thank you so much!

All pictures (except the before shot) by Odette Johaar Photography