Friendship, Feminism and Sisterhood.

By Abbie Miranda

It’s our pleasure to introduce you to these women, friends Noor and Tallie. At Beija we love to document and appreciate female friendship in all its beauty. This shoot took place at Tallie’s house and we feel lucky to be a part of such an intimate, empowering and sweet moment. Friends wearing Beija warms our hearts, and how bloody gorgeous do they look?

Tell us a bit about yourselves.

Tallie: Hey! So I am Tallie, a Camden based hypnobirthing doula! I became pretty birth obsessed after I had my daughter and decided to turn my obsession into a career - I now support all birthing people in various stages of their pregnancy, birth and beyond. I feel very lucky and humble that my clients allow me into their birthing space - it’s always an honour to hold space at a birth. I am a Mum of two smalls - and at 33 edging my way closer to mid 30’s! My heart feels young but my eyes say otherwise hahaha!

Noor: Hello! I’m Noor, a 30 year old Architect and born and bred South East Londoner with Trinidadian / Tanzanian roots. (This all sounds a lil dating app intro doesn’t it haha). I’m really interested in looking at how architecture has been used to give social constructs (such as class, gender, race and sexuality) solidity, and often marginalised people through embodying these ideas… I’d LOVE to work on how this can be dismantled. I’m also a keen netballer (shout out to the PCs) and part time uni tutor.Tell us a bit about your friendship.

Tallie: We met whilst I was working part time at an architects practice as their studio manager - our eyes met over the studio desks and our friendship blossomed over many lunches! Whilst our friendship began at work, we now very much see each other outside of the workplace and we spend as much time as we can in between keeping children alive, working and doing life! Whether it’s a nice dinner out or a quick coffee at mine before Noor heads up North to teach, it always fills my soul when I see her.

Noor:  It was love at first jacket potato, beans and cheese.Why did you want to be part of this project?

Tallie: Noor told me recently that she had never had a fitting, and as a bit of a lingerie snob I was aghast… I forwarded her the instagram post about the project as a bit of a giggle and here we are! Whilst I never thought I would be one to pose in my undies, I wanted to do it to show that I was proud and in awe of my postpartum body. We put a lot of stress on ourselves to ‘get our body back’ after we have kids. It is only recently that I felt like I didn’t need to get it back, it was always there and had grown and birthed two pretty amazing kids.

Noor: Yeah, when Tal sent me the post, I had honestly had no reservations about going for it. I kept thinking about how nice it would have been to grow up seeing a more diverse range of bodies and love that Beija is creating space for this to happen. I also hit 30 this year and finally feel like I’m getting to a stage where I’m feeling pretty accepting of my body (it’s taken a LONG time) and just thought it would be incredible to have some photos of us to cherish.

What’s your relationship like with your body?

Tallie: Up and down - I have only recently felt ok with the changes birth had brought.

Noor: It’s definitely a roller coaster, but my body has been through a lot (about a year ago I was hospitalised with NMDAR antibody encephalitis and as part of my treatment had an oophorectomy to remove a benign tumour). So generally, while this body of mine has been a tad dramatic, I’m so grateful for it.What advice would you give to your younger self?

Tallie: Keep going until you find what you love doing.

Noor: I wish I’d cherished my heritage more when I was younger, it’s been a really complicated process getting to a stage where I’m proud of my roots (for so many reasons) but I do wish I could have appreciated that from a younger age.

Who are you looking forward to spending time with this Christmas?

Tallie: I bloody LOVE Christmas - but my absolute fav bit is spending time with my kids and husband, especially of xmas eve when we go for a walk on Hampstead Heath and then grab a hot chocolate and cinnamon bun after, it's become a bit of a family tradition and defo a highlight for me.

Noor: Just the people I love, whether family or friends. I’m an only child whose parents moved abroad a few years ago, so sadly I won’t be with them and have no siblings to harass, but I’m so lucky to have incredible in-laws and amazing pals to spend it with!

Who are you looking forward to giving a gift to this year?

Tallie: My daughter when she gets a range of frozen gifts - she is obsessed but the joy on her face will make my heart glow.

Noor: Honestly, I LOVE giving gifts. It’s one of my favourite things - I love trying to find the perfect present… so really, everyone!Describe each other in three words. 

Tallie on Noor: Strong, inspiring, generous.

Noor on Tallie: Nurturing, encouraging, thoughtful.

Have you ever purchased from the same lingerie brand before?

Tallie: I don’t think so….


Noor: No, I don’t think we have either… but now that I’ve discovered Beija I won’t be going back…How did it feel doing a lingerie shoot together? 

Tallie: It felt like a massive laugh and real giggle.

Noor: It was so much fun - really liberating and just a wonderful experience.

Do you have a piece of advice you’d like to share with each other?

Tallie to Noor: Don’t look to the past, crack on and keep bossing it like the babe you are!

Noor to Tallie: Tal is a magical person, so honestly - just keep being you.

Buy your friend a Beija London Lingerie Gift Card for Christmas here and she'll thank you for it.