Shop Talk is written by OM senior editor Dayanti Karunaratne and Sarah Fischer, OM account executive and fashion maven.

This week in Shop Talk, we’re offering a glimpse inside the offices of St. Joseph Media, aka HQ for Ottawa Magazine and Where Ottawa.

A couple of weeks ago, we were prepping for headshot day (basically like school picture day, only with a much bigger circulation). The big boss, St. Joseph Media publisher Dianne Wing, wanted to do it right this time around, which meant getting the perfect hair, make-up, and clothing for Sarah Brown (OM editor), Dayanti Karunaratne (OM senior editor), and Misa Kobayashi of Where Magazine. We teamed up with some of our favourite retailers — Schad, Michael Kors, and Ça Va de Soi; the staff really helped us out, saving us precious time, not to mention generously lending us amazing clothing.

Avril Patrick and Sebastian Citro helped bring the looks together with beautiful haircuts and makeup to suit each editor.

Thanks also to photographer Dwayne Brown and Lindsay Ralph for patiently coaxing us out of our cubicles, and helping us keep the smile on!

Misa Kobayashi
Editor, Where Magazine (Ottawa)

The Hair
I was worried Sebastian wouldn’t have much to work with because I wanted to keep my hair long (I do bootcamp and boxing so I need to be able to put my hair up). The cut he gave me kept the length while taking off a lot of the weight, so it felt nice and light and healthy. I would describe it as a haircut where I could feel the difference more than necessarily see it. And when my boyfriend saw it he said “It actually looks longer than it did this morning.”

The Make-up
I learned a lot from Avril because she explained what she was doing as she did it. For instance, she went with more pink and plum tones because I have cooler undertones to my skin — who knew? Also, she really liked my eyebrows, and reiterated to me the importance of having nicely groomed brows, so I was glad I passed the test.

The Clothes
My outfits came from Schad. The look was really young and hip and fun, which are all things I aspire to be (ha ha). While I wouldn’t necessarily wear the outfits that I wore in the photo shoot to work, they had all the elements I love in clothes: bright colours, nice fit, and pretty patterns. I would definitely wear them to an art opening, or to the theatre, or out to dinner.

Sarah Brown
Editor, Ottawa Magazine

The Hair
Sebastian was great. He hardly rolled his eyes at all when he saw my great mop of untamed hair. I asked him to guess how long it had been since I’d had it cut and he hedged and guessed about three months. But he said the longer hair gave him more leeway to be creative — smooth, Sebastian! I gave him free rein to do what he wanted and I’m thrilled with the results. It’s now a lot shorter and easy to manage — basically wash and go.

The Make-up
Avril Patrick has been doing my makeup for the yearly editor’s photo for at least four or five years so she knows me well. She knows I barely wear make-up so keeps it really natural. The hardest part is sitting still. Avril and Sebastian are work and life partners and also run a really cool fitness business, so whenever I see Avril I have to quiz her on the latest fitness techniques and what she and Sebastian are up to.

The Clothes
I totally love Michael Kors. It’s dressy and professional but not too fussy. And it fits me perfectly — always key because I have a couple of kids so shopping, for me, means going to one or two stores where I know the clothes will fit. I called up Mandy Gosewich, who is the store manager at Michael Kors in the Rideau Centre. She knows me, my size, and my style. She immediately picked out three dresses from the new fall collection. Then she added some KORS Michael Kors glitter pumps. Presto! I’m 4 inches taller and have turned into a power editor!

Dayanti Karunaratne
Senior Editor, Ottawa Magazine

The Hair
My look usually makes for a boring salon experience, especially since I have wavy hair — no matter what I do it doesn’t really look that different. Sebastian was wary of using the B word, but soon it was clear: he was giving me bangs. And I love them! Definitely softens the look, and gives me more freedom to experiment with styles.

The Make-up
I gave full control to Avril on this one. I generally keep the makeup pretty light, and Avril didn’t stray too much, but she did add some flirty pinks and blues. Unlike Misa, I didn’t pass the brow test. I know I have an assymetrical thing going on with my eyes — thanks, in part, to an unfortunate meetup with the ground at age five — but I had no idea my brows were involved! Once she had filled and combed, I looked like a new person. Who knew brows were good for anything but arching suspiciously?

The Clothes
When deciding on a source for clothes, Ça Va de Soi quickly came up. I’ve said it before: high quality cotton, paired with simple and sophisticated designs, makes me feel like a rock star (or at least, a rock stars’ rich publicist). I treat myself to one piece from the store a year, and I have been thinking about this Amanda dress since I tried it on this spring. Thing is, I’ll never buy it in white.  I’m much too messy! So maybe this photo doesn’t reveal the true me, but headshots are all about keeping up appearances, right?

All photos by Dwayne Brown except where noted.