I’m a proud traveller mum and love dolling up my two-year-old daughter in designer gear and fancy jewellery
FOR traveller Lavinia Jeff there's nothing she loves more than dressing up her two-year-old daughter Valentina.
So much so, that Lavinia, who stars on Channel 5 series Here Come The Gypsies, booked a glamorous photoshoot for her mini-me, while decking her out in the best of her wardrobe.
In the episode, that airs on Wednesday at 9pm, the Romany mum-of-two Lavinia pulls out all the stops for her daughter's beach shoot - even if Valentina doesn't want to play ball.
She explains that as part of her culture, girls usually dress up in brightly coloured clothing and opulent jewellery, and her favourite tradition of all is making sure Valentina is always dressed in true traveller style.
That means going all out when it comes to her daughter's designer wardrobe and for Valentina's photoshoot, she dresses the toddler up in a frilly yellow dress completely covered in jewels and beads.
It comes with a bejewelled hair ribbon to match and Lavinia teams Valentina's dress with heeled silver shoes and lavish gold bracelets.
"Part of the traveller culture, [women] like to be seen like you know, 'oh, she was out looking her best; did you see her children; did you see how she was looked after?'" Lavinia explains.
Getting Valentina photoshoot ready is no easy task, though, as she throws her lunch on the floor, with Lavinia admitting: "It takes a long time for us to get ready, especially when she needs something nice on."
Explaining the importance of having her daughter photographed, she adds: "For us, photos are just a massive thing, we do rely on a lot of memories because time just flies by. Now she’s two, she’s going on 22… it’s important for them to look back on."
Little Valentina doesn't seem so keen on her lavish outfit, however, and throws a strop while her mum attempts to get her dressed.
She's then seen having a tantrum as they leave to head to the beach and not even Valentina's big brother Danny, eight, can tear her attention away from the sand to get her to pose for the camera.
"She's a nightmare," Lavinia joked, but determined to make the shoot work, she says: "To get the best photos of Valentina means so much, it just means the world."
Despite the hiccups, Lavinia is left "over the moon" with the snaps the professional photographer she hired manages to take.
"All [Valentina is] doing is digging up the sand and picking up seashells... I didn’t even think I was going to get anything," she says.
"The pictures he actually got captured her little character so well. I’m so over the moon."
Here Comes The Gypsies airs on Channel 5 on Wednesday at 9pm.
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