Allison Cawley knelt on the edge of the bed in a dimly-lit room in the Hyatt Centric hotel in Center City, clad in a kelly green Jalen Hurts jersey, nude booty shorts, and with a deep smoky eye. Gabriella Lopez, a stylist with Three Boudoir, tousled Cawley’s hair and hiked up the jersey.
“Betty Boop the booty!” Lopez said, directing Cawley to stick out her bum as the camera clicked.
Cawley, 37, wasn’t posing for an Eagles calendar or salacious Instagram page. Rather, she was in the middle of a personal, Eagles-themed boudoir shoot to celebrate losing 70 pounds over two years. She’s one of many Philadelphia-area women who are turning to boudoir photography — and their trusty Eagles jerseys — for empowerment.
“I want to feel happy, and confident in myself again,” said Cawley, of Havertown. “And if I’m doing something true to myself, I’m in Eagles gear from January through December. Why not wear a jersey here?”
Eagles jerseys hold a lot of meaning in Philly. They’re just as much a uniform for players as they are for die-hard fans, but they also carry reminders of past championships and the city’s hard-earned, inescapable grit. And for the Philly women who come to boudoir to feel powerful, there is little sexier or more comfortable than Eagles green.
Donning the jersey made Chanté Douglas, of Northeast Philly, feel “like a mini superhero” during her Eagles-themed boudoir session on the roof of a Manayunk building in the dead of winter in 2018. She rocked former Eagles safety Brian Dawkins’ No. 20 and a pair of strappy black heels to help remind herself of who she is outside of motherhood.
“After you become a mom, you’re still trying to find your identity alongside being a mom,” said Douglas, a children’s book author and single mother of a 10-year-old son. “We’re constantly trying to feel beautiful.”
Local boudoir photographers say incorporating an Eagles jersey into shoots are common. Celeste Jones, who owns Celeste Patrice Boudoir in Port Richmond, says about one out of every 10 clients will bring an Eagles jersey alongside lingerie for the photoshoots, while Bare by Sarah owner Sarah Anne Cunningham, of Hatboro, said 80% of her clients bring some sort of sports jersey to their sessions.
Some clients choose to rock kelly or midnight green in their photos because their significant others ride hard for the Eagles. Others do it because the team holds sentimental value.
Though boudoir photography started in the 1920s as the precursor to pin-ups, the style has become a way for women to build self-confidence, mark milestones, or reclaim their sense of autonomy after trauma. Shoots, like Cawley’s, typically begin with a series of more comfortable poses — perching on a bed with tousled hair, for example — before moving on to more risqué looks.
The shoots can get emotional, said Jones, as clients go from nervous and vulnerable to out-of-this-world confident.
“I’ve had women cry in the studio, and leave saying, ‘You can’t tell me I’m not that girl,’” Jones said.
What makes an Eagles jersey sexy?
A lot of things. Champions have worn them, obviously. But the contrast between an Eagles jersey and the soft sensuality of smizing in some lingerie can help rebuff stereotypes around what it means for women to like — and play — sports.
“I grew up as a tomboy, and I was under the impression growing up that if I really liked sports, I also couldn’t like girly things … I think combining Eagles with boudoir is a clapback at that,” said Alexandra Hunt, an OnlyFans creator and former candidate for City Controller and Congress who combines sultry photoshoots with political activism on the platform.
When Hunt posted photos in a black bra and panties and an Eagles hat to OnlyFans after the Birds won the NFC championship earlier this year, she said she got “a lot of positive feedback” that the juxtaposition was attractive.
Sexism in professional football has recently come under intense scrutiny. In 2021, six state attorney generals urged the NFL to improve conditions for women working in the league following a New York Times investigation that found the NFL to have “a stifling, deeply ingrained corporate culture that demoralized some female employees … and left many feeling brushed aside.” And in May, attorney generals in California and New York launched an investigation into the NFL on the grounds of sex-based workplace discrimination.
“Women who love sports might be seen as [belonging] outside of this feminine narrative, so they’re bucking the system,” said Joanna Tiger, a former Playboy model and founder of Three Boudoir. “It’s about owning this part of themselves.”
For Cawley, football is as much a part of her as her other loves, the Jersey Shore and the Dave Matthews Band. As a child, her neighbor worked at Veterans Stadium, where he drove an oversized helmet on wheels every time the Birds scored a touchdown. Now, she’s known across the fandom for bringing lime green Jell-O shots to every tailgate.
For Cawley’s boudoir shoot, she brought midnight green lingerie and a lacy, red nightgown alongside her Hurts jersey, which she wore as a good luck charm.
Hurts is “a leader, he’s confident,” Cawley explained. “He represents the things I want to bring into the shoot.”
She doesn’t always feel that way in her Eagles gear.
“Usually on Sundays, I look like an idiot in all-green, with my knee socks and I think, ‘No wonder I don’t pick up guys at games,’” Cawley. “It’s not the jersey, it’s how you’re wearing it.”
‘An investment in yourself’
Cawley began her shoot timidly and looking for reassurance from Lopez, but as time went on, she became self-assured, moving through poses with little direction.
That’s normal, according to Tiger. Boudoir photography “is such a nerve-wracking thing … but once you conquer those nerves, you feel like a zillion bucks,” she said.
Though Cawley’s photoshoot was part of a discount promotion, the experience at Three Boudoir can cost clients up to $1000, Tiger said, between paying the photographer, hair and makeup artists, and for additional photos printed on calendars or T-shirts.
For Cunningham, packages start at $700, but most clients spend between $1,200 and $3,000.
“It’s an investment in yourself and in self care,” said Jones, who recommends looking at a photographer’s portfolio to see whether their style fits your vision and they’re able to shoot diverse body types.
Midway through the shoot, Lopez reviewed the photos with Cawley, one of which eventually ended up on Cawley’s account on X account, the platform formerly known as Twitter.
“It doesn’t look like me!” Cawley said with a smile. “They’re glamour shots.”
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