Madame X and Lady Escher

No one paints a woman like John Singer Sargent. His most famous subjects may be 19th century socialites dressed in gorgeous outfits, but in some of their gazes, he captures vibrant, unflinching spirits. There's something contemporary about Madame X's attitude--a wonderful, I-am-my-own- woman. It seemed only fitting that we used Sargent's women as the inspiration for our "It's Time We Met" photo contest. We had a great idea. Pose a women of all sizes and shapes in front of Madame X and show the indomitable spirit of young women today. Sadly, my camera and the natural light hated each other and most of the pictures turned out blurry. I'm so bummed.

The whole group.

Abby and Kate looking awesome.

Ugh, the woman in blue! She ruined the best shot in the bunch.

I really want to do this shoot again. I want women of all races and sizes, a more controlled mixture of hip and elegant clothes in black and white, I want better lighting, and a better camera. Basically I want to do a Vanity Fair coverage shoot.