Old Joliet Prison - Photoshoot Event

The Old Joliet Prison Event

On 9/20/18, myself, Mélange Studio and an amazing group of creatives had the honor of hosting the very first Fashion Photoshoot, at the Abandoned Old Joliet Prison, located in Joliet IL. It has always been a dream of mine, to get inside of the prison walls and when the lightbulb for a fashion focused photoshoot turned on, there was no looking back.

 I spent many months communicating with the City of Joliet and the Museum to determine if this brainchild was even possible. Once they gave me the green light, I started to curate models, photographers, hair stylist, makeup artist, production assistants, a videographer and three of Chicago’s hottest fashion designers. Everything was starting to come together nicely.

 I toured the prison 3 times prior to the event to make sure that I understood what was required and needed to keep everyone involved comfortable and safe in a building that requires major upgrades. To make this possible I knew that I had to provide mobile safety lighting, walkie-talkies, maps, a detailed schedule and a production assistant for each of the 7 shooting locations. It rained the night before so we had the hurdle of shooting in standing water, breathing moist stale air and an overall crumbling environment that is not ideal for custom designer outfits.  But did that stop us or put a damper on our event...no it didn’t. This event was an experience of a LIFETIME and I am so honored that myself, Mélange Studio and the wonderful group of creatives had the opportunity of seeing such a magnificent piece of architectural history as well as pave the way for all future creatives that would like to shoot at there.  

We also had the honor of having Leila B’ Smiths, Homan Wongs and Kim Gagliardo-smith photos published.

Leila’s images were published in a well known Fashion Magazine called Elegant Magazine http://www.magcloud.com/browse/issue/1548107

Homan Wong’s images were published in Red Silk Carpet Magazine and The Joliet Harold News, along with Kim Gagliardo-Smith. https://www.theherald-news.com/2019/01/22/almost-too-pretty-for-a-prison-lockport-director-stages-shoot-in-old-joliet-prison/ay8m4yg/

 Please enjoy the images below, Share the blog post and leave a comment letting us know your thoughts. We love hearing from our followers as you are our family and your opinions are truly what matters. XOXO

 Creative Director

·         Renee Lang–Schweikle 

 Event Director

·         Renee Lang–Schweikle 

 Production Manager

·         Mark Schweikle 

 Production Assistants

·         Lauren Cintron 

·         Ashley Fein

·         Daniel Rader

·         Erica Sosa

 Fashion Director

·         Renee Lang–Schweikle 

 Fashion Designers

·         Dovile Riebschlager, of doviArt

·         Mario Humberto Garrido & Jorge Diaz, of Mario & Jorge Designs

·         Sharisa Freeman, of SHARISA Couture Designs

 Jewlery Designer

·         Eric Duckworth of Cultist Crafts

 Rope work

·         Solomon Leviticus Abrams

 Models

·         Alexa Burmester

·         Chiara Christ 

·         Lina Panaras

·         Meghan Slattery 

·         Damariz Sparkles

·         Olha

 Head MUAH Stylist

·         Elizabeth Rajcan, of Mint Salon 

 Hair & Make-up Artist 

·         Abbey Carli

·         Samantha Cherise Ramos

·         Samantha Terry

·         Jennifer Pardon-Soto

·         Bianca Naranjo

·         Ruthy Escobar 

 Photographer

·         Alex Callejo

·         Vinc Cintron

·         Kim Gagliardo-Smith

·         Joshua Luttenberger

·         Leila B’Smith

·         Gio Sosa

·         Homan Wong

 Videographer & Video Producer 

·         Joe Hernandez

Photographer: Alex Callajo, Model: Sparklez Damariz, MUA: Jenny Soto, Hair: Ruthy escobar

Photographer: Alex Callejo, Model: Sparklez Damariz, MUA: Jenny Soto, Hair: Ruthy escobar

Photographer: Alex Callajo, Model: Sparklez Damariz, MUA: Jenny Soto, Hair: Ruthy Escobar, Designer: Dovile Riebschlager

Photographer: Alex Callejo, Model: Lina Panaras, Hair: Liz Rajcan, MUA: Samantha Cherise

Photographer: Alex Callejo, Model: Lina Panaras, Hair: Liz Rajcan, MUA: Samantha Cherise

Photographer: Alex Callejo, Model: Lina Panaras, Hair: Liz Rajcan, MUA: Samantha Cherise

Photographer: Gio Sosa, Sparklez Damariz, MUA: Jenny Soto, Hair: Ruthy Escobar, Designer: Mario & Jorge

Photographer: Gio Sosa, Model: Sparklez Damariz, MUA: Jenny Soto, Hair: Ruthy Escobar, Designer: Mario & Jorge

Photographer: Gio Sosa, Model: Meghan Slattery, MUA: Samantha Cherise, Hair: Liz Rajcan

Photographer: Gio Sosa, Model: Meghan Slattery, MUA: Samantha Cherise, Hair: Liz Rajcan. Designer: Eric Duckworth

Photographer: Gio Sosa, Model: Lina Panaras, Hair: Liz Rajcan, MUA: Samantha Cherise, Designer: Dovile Riebschlager

Photographer: Gio Sosa, Model: Lina Panaras, Hair: Liz Rajcan, MUA: Samantha Cherise, Designer: Dovile Riebschlager

Photographer: Homan Wong, Model: Alexa Burmester, MUA: Samantha Terry, Hair: Bianca Naranjo, Designer: Dovile Riebschlager

Photographer: Homan Wong, Model: Lina Panaras, Hair: Liz Rajcan, MUA: Samantha Cherise

Photographer: Homan Wong, Model: Meghan Slattery, MUA: Samantha Cherise, Hair: Liz Rajcan. Designer: Eric Duckworth

Photographer: Homan Wong, Model: Olha, MUA: Samantha Terry, Hair: Bianca Naranjo. Designer: Mario & Jorge

Photographer: Joshua Luttenberger, Model: Chiara Christ, MUA: Jenny Soto, Hair: Ruthy Escobar. Designer: Sharisa Couture Designs

Photographer: Joshua Luttenberger, Model: Chiara Christ, MUA: Jenny Soto, Hair: Ruthy Escobar. Designer: Sharisa Couture Designs. Rope Work: Solomon Abrams

Photographer: Joshua Luttenberger,, Model: Olha, MUA: Samantha Terry, Hair: Bianca Naranjo. Designer: Mario & Jorge

Photographer: Joshua Luttenberger,, Model: Olha, MUA: Samantha Terry, Hair: Bianca Naranjo. Designer: Mario & Jorge, Rope Work: Solomon Leviticus Abrams

Photographer: Joshua Luttenberger,, Model: Lina Panaras,, MUA: Samantha Cherise, Hair: Liz Rajcan. Designer: Mario & Jorge

Photographer: Kim Gagliardo-Smith, Model: Meghan Slattery, MUA: Samantha Cherise, Hair: Liz Rajcan Designer: Dovile Riebschlager

Photographer: Kim Gagliardo-Smith, Model: Olha, MUA: Samantha Terry, Hair: Bianca Naranjo. Designer: Mario & Jorge

Photographer: Kim Gagliardo-Smith, Model: Alexa Burmester, MUA: Samantha Terry, Hair: Bianca Naranjo. Designer: Mario & Jorge

Photographer: Kim Gagliardo-Smith, Model: Olha, MUA: Samantha Terry, Hair: Bianca Naranjo. Designer: Mario & Jorge

Photographer: Leilani B’Smith, Model: Lina Panaras, Hair: Liz Rajcan, MUA: Samantha Cherise, Designer: Mario & Jorge

Photographer: Leilani B’Smith, Model: Lina Panaras, Hair: Liz Rajcan, MUA: Samantha Cherise, Designer: Mario & Jorge

Photographer: Leilani B’smith, Model: Meghan Slattery, MUA: Samantha Cherise, Hair: Liz Rajcan

Photographer: Leilani B’smith, Model: Meghan Slattery, MUA: Samantha Cherise, Hair: Liz Rajcan

Photographer: Leilani B’smith, Model: Meghan Slattery, MUA: Samantha Cherise, Hair: Liz Rajcan

Photographer: Leilani B’smith, Model: Olha, MUA: Samantha Terry, Hair: Bianca Naranjo. Designer: Discover Melange

Photographer: Leilani B’Smith, Model: Olha, MUA: Samantha Terry, Hair: Bianca Naranjo. Designer: Discover Mélange

Photographer: Leilani B’Smith, Model: Olha, MUA: Samantha Terry, Hair: Bianca Naranjo. Designer: Mario & Jorge

Photographer: Leilani B’Smith, Model: Chiara Christ, MUA: Jenny Soto, Hair: Ruthy Escobar. Fashion Stylist: Renee Lang-Schweikle

Photographer: Leilani B’Smith, Model: Chiara Christ, MUA: Jenny Soto, Hair: Ruthy Escobar. Fashion Stylist: Renee Lang-Schweikle

Photographer: Vincent Cintron, Model: Meghan Slattery, MUA: Samantha Cherise, Hair: Liz Rajcan Designer: Dovile Riebschlager

Photographer: Vincent Cintron, Model: Alexa Burmester, MUA: Samantha Terry, Hair: Bianca Naranjo. Designer: Dovile Riebschlager

Photographer: Vincent Cintron, Model: Chiara Christ, MUA: Jenny Soto, Hair: Ruthy Escobar. Designer: Sharisa Couture Designs.

Video provided by Joe Anthony.

Chicago Chinatown & Bridgeport Event

I completely skipped over this fun yet extremely cold event. After shooting at the Magic Lounge I decided that I wanted to put together a spring photoshoot event in Chinatown and Bridgeport, both very artsy and beautiful neighborhoods of Chicago. I had such a great time networking at the Magic Lounge that I knew I wanted to work with the same photographers and Make up Artist & Hair(MUAH).

It was April 29th I believe and it rained the night before and the high for the day was estimated to be 42F and the event began at 9:00am. However, rain or shine, the show must go on. Main reason being…we as creatives need to know how to adjust to get the perfect image in the conditions we are dealt with. Its our job and what sets us apart from other production teams.  Plus we all have vehicles with heat and I had tons of heavy vintage blankets and hats to wrap around us in between shoots and outfit changes.

However, cold is never fun and wet and cold is even worse. Not to mention, we had two models that didn’t show up that day. Luckily, we had a wonderful MUAH, named Kendal Stanek, who jumped in and modeled for us. You would have thought that Kendal has been modeling for years with the content she produced. Noor Khalid and Ashley Fein, also provided MUAH for this event, along with Alex Callejo, Joe Underbakke and James Boyland as the photographers. I sure do love this group! xoxox

Enjoy:

Model: Jenny Valle, Photographer: Alex Callejo, Fashions: Discover Mélange

Model: Karina Zephyr, Photographer: Alex Callejo, Fashions: Discover Mélange

Model: Jenny Valle, Photographer: Alex Callejo, Fashions: Discover Mélange

Model: Kendal Stanek, Photographer: Joe Underbakke, Fashions: Discover Mélange

Model: Karina Zephyr, Photographer: Joe Underbakke, Fashions: Discover Mélange

The Pink Squirrel

Wow, time does fly when you are having fun. How have you been? I have missed you all so much!

Since my last post, I turned 35, started working with a modeling agency and hosted many of my own shoots. One of them at the Old Joliet Prison, the abandoned Statesville. That was a bucket list shoot so and I am still on Cloud 9.

Today I am going to share some of the photos from the Event I held at the Pink Squirrel, located in Chicago IL. I had so much fun working on this project and I have worked with so many people that were involved in this shoot, since the shoot, which makes this day very special to me.

The amazing team consisted of. Videographer: Kayleigh Kay Photographers: Kayleigh Kay, Hanna Walkowaik, Tom Finke, and Leila Marie. Models: Megan Nelson, Cassie Neuron , Fernanda Carrasco, Jessica Gardner, Karina Zephyr, Maria Breese. MUA: Kendal Margaret. Hair: Liz Rajcan and Sarah Scalpelli from Mint Salon. Creative Director: Renee Schweikle. Fashion Stylist: Renee Schweikle of Fringe and Creme Brûlée. Production: Renee Schweikle of Melange Production Ent. Location: The Pink Squirrel Clothing Brand & Accessories: Discover Melange

Enjoy!

Model: Cassie Negron, Photographer: Leilani B’Smith

Model: Fernanda Carrasco, Photographer: Leilani B’Smith

Model: Maria Breese, Photographer: Hanna Walkowaik

Model: Megan Nelson, Photographer: Kayleigh Kay

Models: Cassie Negron, Megan Melson, Photographer: Leilani B’Smith

Models: Jessica Rae, Megan Nelson. Photographer: Thomas Mark Photography

Models: Megan Nelson, Karina Zephyr, Fernanda Carrasco, Photographer: Thomas Mark Photography

Model: Fernanda Carrasco, Photographer: Thomas Mark Photography

Model: Maria Breese, Photographer: Leilani B’Smith

Model: Karina Zephyr, Photographer: Kayleigh Kay

BTS - The Pink Squirrel PhotoShoot

On May 7th I hosted a shoot at The Pink Squirrel in Logan Square Chicago with an amazing team of creatives. This was one of the most magical shoots I have produced and I am so happy and proud of the outcome.  I hope you like the BTS video. I will be sharing more photos through out the month of June. Enjoy! 

The amazing team consisted of. Videographer: Kayleigh Kay  Photographers: Kayleigh Kay, Hanna Walkowaik, Tom Finke, and Leila Marie. Models: Megan Nelson, Cassie Neuron , Fernanda Carrasco, Jessica Gardner, Karina Zephyr, Maria Breese. MUA: Kendal Margaret. Hair: Liz Rajcan and Sarah Scalpelli from Mint Salon. Creative Director: Renee Schweikle. Stylist: Renee Schweikle of Fringe and Creme Brûlée. Production: Renee Schweikle of Melange Production Ent. Location: The Pink Squirrel  Clothing Brand & Accessories: Discover Melange

Vintage Festival Fashion

Festival season is here and about to get into full bloom. With Coachella this weekend, festival fashion is all over social media and I felt that it was the perfect time to launch our Festival Season Collection. This collection is perfect for all types of festival goers with its BoHo to Rock influences. I am a sucker for fringe and this collection does not fail to deliver. All items were hand curated by me from all over the USA. I hope you enjoy this collection as much as I do. Let me know what festivals you are going to this year. xoxox - Renee

Square Dancing Golden Goddess

This is one of my favorite outfits. Main reason why, is that it is a vintage square dancing skirt and top. I can honestly say that I didn't even know there was such a thing as a square dancing outfit. But of course now that I have researched what it is, I am seeing so many beautiful square dancing outfits and it completely makes sense that they exist.

Throw back time....Did you have to square dance in middle-high school during gym class?? I did and man I wouldn't have complained as much if I was able to wear this bad ass square dancing outfit. LOL

I remember when I saw this set for the first time. It was hanging up on a rack with 100's of outfits and I wasn't really in the mood to go digging but I saw the gold ever so slightly sticking out, so I went in for a deeper look. Once I had her in my hands I knew she was coming home with me and I was going to find her a new mamma. Don't you just love the gold? Its all over this outfit and it is so shinny and bold. When we were walking through the Venetian taking photos, this dress was a show stopper. One twirl in this skirt and jaws will drop. 

For both shoots I styled the outfit more formal with heels and hair down. However, you can style it so many ways. You can wear it has a complete set, you can separate the two and wear the top and the skirt separately. You can pair with sandals, cowgirl boots and lots more to create your custom Melange Style. 

I hope you enjoy this look at much as I do. Keep checking back for more vintage goodies. 

XOXO - Renee

Models: @jodymarie_offical & @ohdarlingaurora - instagram

Photographer: @hazukiphotography - instagram 

Flower Dress ideal for all four seasons

Over Valentines Day, I went to Las Vegas, NV for the Magic Fashion Convention and decided to have a few photo shoots with our offerings. It was so much fun and I am now addicted to traveling and shooting and networking and getting out and meeting everyone and sharing my love for vintage and fashion. I will be sharing various looks over the upcoming weeks and I hope you enjoy them.

The model we used for the shoot was Kayla Kalisz who is a wonderful dancer, model, aerialist and actress based out of Vegas and California. You can book Kayla at kaykaykalisz@yahoo.com The Photographer is Carrier Pollard and she creates some amazing work. You can contact carrier at carrie@carriepollardphotography.com

This dress is great. It is form fitting and has the cutest flower pattern. When I saw Kayla in this dress, my heart melted. 

This dress can be styled year round. You can wear knee high brown boots in the fall, low white sneakers or boho sandals in the summer and ankle boots in the winter and spring. In the winter you can also toss a cute sweater over top of the dress to stay extra cozy. 

 I hope you enjoyed this look. 

How would you style this look? What hair would you rock and where would you wear this dress?

Chat with you soon.

XOXO

Renee 

Stop and Smell the Flowers

I just love this dress. I mean who doesn't love a maxi / hostess dress, especially when its vintage. They are just so versatile and flattering on all body types. 

One of the features that I love on this dress is the V-neckline which then draws attention to the diamond on the chest. The flowers on the dress are so bright and pretty you just want to stop and smell them. This is such a fun dress.

For this look, we styled the dress more formal with black high heels and more dramatic hair and make-up, done by the amazing ladies over at Mint Salon. 

What a lovely time. They opened the salon an hr early to fit us all in, last minute. Such a blessing to have them in town. Kendra (3rd from left) is also my stylist. Love me so Mint!

My Personal MelangeStyle would be to style this look with Nike Chuck Taylors, Frye Erica Stud Oxford, or DollsKill Dr. Martens Iced Metallic Pascal Boots. I would pair all shoes with the ModCloth Hell Bunny Spell It Like It Is Bomber Jacket and toss my hair in a messy bun and call it a day. 

I hope you enjoy the look below and the styles I suggested for my own MelangeStyle. Please leave me a comment with what you would style along with our Stop and Smell the Flowers Dress.

If you are interested in buying this dress you can purchase it here but don't delay too long, there is only 1 available. 

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The leaves have fallen

Its a beautiful day in Chicago, its estimated to be a high of 55 and sunny. Walking around this morning, I noticed that all the leaves have pretty much fallen off the trees. So, in honor of the final falling of the leaves, I am going to share some photos of this super cute vintage skirt I found while visiting Milwaukee.

The pattern is abstract so I am pretty sure not all of you will see leaves but this skirt 100% reminds me of falling leaves. The skirts ankle length with a tapered waist with button closure. It has pleating in the front and back near the top to create more of a figure. This skirt is just so super cute and I am so happy to be sharing it with you. 

We paired this skirt with a white tank top and suede vest with wool lining as it was 85 the day we took this photo. You could however pair this with a blouse, turtle neck, t-shirt, boots and lots more. It's super versatile so its all about being creative and playing around to discover new looks. I would also wear this skirt for work, girls night, shopping, date night and pretty much anywhere else.  

I hope you enjoy this skirt as much as I do. What would you pair this skirt or vest with?

 - Renee -

P.S. don't forget, most items in my blog are for sale in my boutique. Email for pricing and sizing 

Vintage Hostess

I often scour the web for vintage and i find it so interesting how some items can go undetected and how other sell for hundreds of dollars or hit their reserve within minutes of going out to bid. As a business owner I often have to take my buying experience and build that into your shopping experience. The one thing that any online company will tell you, is that the product photos need to be clear and cohesive for a shopper to click on it. My best friend when shopping is that disgustingly bad photo that no one wants to click on. I live and breath for those ugly photos. Which is exactly why I choose this Dela-Ann Creations Hostess Dress to feature for this post. 

I will have to admit that at first, I passed this dress by. The photo was so bad and had a yellow tint to it but after a few minutes of searching something told me to go back to the dress. It had zero bids and just over an hr until the bid ended so I clicked and I am so glad I did. Look at how beautiful she is. 

I have lots of favorites when it comes to the Dela-Ann dress but my absolute favorite is the pockets. I am a sucker for a dress or skirt with pockets. I don't often want to switch out purses or even bring one so pockets are ideal. But in my experience pockets only work on heavier fabrics as the contents in your pockets stick out too far if the fabric is too light.

My second favorite part of this dress and yes even i am surprised its not my favorite is, the skirt. The colors are to die for. The colors and the design are bold and scream 60/70's. What may be difficult to see in the photos is that this skirt is quilted. So, its super soft and great for those cooler seasons. God bless Meghan for humoring me and wearing this dress in August. Love ya girl(kisses).

Now another neat detail is the detailing on the zipper pull. Its so retro and I can just imagine wearing this and having a dinner party with hard drinks that require olives or sugar cubes and music playing on the record player and finger foods being passed around. You know...when times were a little more simple and good conversation is all one needed to get dressed up and to have a get together. All without leaving the house. 

Another win, win for this dress is that its a size 16. Vintage is difficult to find in plus size or even a average size and this dress is true to size, even with todays sizing charts. It also has a built in belt that ties so its perfect for adjusting to different body types. 

So, as you can see, I love this dress and I am so happy that the original seller had lower quality photos and that I was able to gobble up this beautiful piece of history and share it with the world.

Thank you for taking time to read my blog. Please leave me a comment below and let me know if there is anything that you would like me to cover as a fashion blog topic.

xoxoxo