First, your hands and feet always have to look flawless. We all know what that means…manicures and pedicures on a weekly basis. Clients are always aware of the little things – like chipped polish, dirt under your nails, and hairy toes. I didn’t think they paid much attention to these things, but trust me, I quickly learned that I was completely wrong. I’ve even been to castings where they specifically took pictures of my hands and low and behold, I had chipped polish.

Needless to say, I did not book that job.  I’ve found that the key to saving money when it comes to this type of maintenance is 1) figuring out how to do it yourself and 2) finding places that will give you a great deal when you promise consistent repeat business. I’m a little wary of the places that have unbeatable prices, but only because that may mean that the salon is not very sanitary (and listen, there’s no way a client is going to book you with a huge wart on your hand).

Another solution to this problem, at least when it comes to manicures, is press-on nails. They’re affordable and actually look great for a few days depending upon the brand that you choose.

Second, hairy is gross. Always. Everywhere (besides on top of your head). That means that you have to make sure you don’t grow a mustache or beard (which isn’t as hard as it sounds) and you definitely can’t have crazy unruly eyebrows, wolverine-like arms or legs, or private parts that resembles shrubbery. I’ve come to invest in Sally Hansen’s cold wax and a set of really reliable and sharp razors (that come with multiple refill cartridges). Sometimes if I am in the mood for a splurge, I go to a spa… but I do find it a little ridiculous to be charged so much for someone to give me a quick wham, bam, rip, and pull.

Since my background is Middle Eastern, I won’t lie – I’m a hair-growing machine. Dark Hair. This means that 1) I definitely can’t afford to go to a spa all of the time and 2) that my medicine cabinet is always stuffed with cold wax, bleach, tweezers, 10x magnifying mirrors, and bags of razors. And guess what? I’m still hairy!

Thirdly, my hair grows really fast, which means that my hairdresser is quickly becoming one of my best friends. Unfortunately, it’s immensely important for models to have healthy, clean, shiny, and silky hair. This means no split ends and no skimping on hair products. Haircuts are expensive and so are deep-conditioning crèmes. Sometimes, when I get lucky, the agency will work out a deal for me to get discounted cuts and colors, but I don’t bank on it. For me, this does mean getting my hair done on a fairly regular basis and taking care of it right off the bat (so that I’m not paying for special glazes and fix-it treatments down the line).

On top of these three maintenance must-do’s, you must also have everything in my little bag of tricks. This means, you must go out and buy certain items that make you more desirable to a client. Want the list? Lucky for you, you’ve come to the right place to get it:

- Hair Extensions. I’ve found that the best type are clip-ins that you’ve had cut and layered so they look natural in your hair. I buy mine at Wigs and Plus near Union Square and they cost anywhere between $125-$175 depending on the length that you need.

-Seamless Underwear. This means panties AND bras! Any brand of panty or bra that shows lines or marks is a big no-no.

-Padding. If you don’t know what I mean by padding, it’s exactly what it sounds like. More specifically, it requires you getting foam pads that are specifically designed to enhance and create the illusion of added weight to certain areas of your body – usually your hips, thighs, waist, and bust. Some plus models even go as far as getting a customized suit (but that WILL cost you a pretty penny.) In the padding department, I suggest www.FabulousFit.com. You get all of the necessary pieces for around $90.00. You must also have a great waist to thigh shapewear piece in which to stuff the pads.

-Chicken Cutlets (well, not literally chicken). Cutlets are silicone breast inserts that make your bust appear larger as well as giving you the option to create different breast shapes if needed. I also suggest having a set of back-up nude-colored pasties (aka nipple covers) for situations where you may need to appear topless. These can be foundfor $5 at Forever 21 and definitely do the trick.

-Plain Black High Heels. Models should always be seen as blank canvases and therefore must always carry a pair of plain black pumps in case a client wants to do an impromptu fitting. I also love how they lengthen and define the muscles in your legs (nothing wrong with that, right?)

-Tweezers. My favorite brand is Tweezerman. They’re a little on the pricey side (around $30) but they stay sharp and work extremely well. Tweezerman Stainless Steel Pointed Slant Tweezer.

Again, you never know when a wonky eyebrow hair may reappear…

-Mints/Listerine strips. There is nothing worse than having bad breath and talking to a client. They could absolutely love you but be completely turned off by what you ate for lunch. Unfortunately, chewing gum is just as unattractive as oral odor, so ditch the gum before entering any sort of work environment.

-Lotion. I’m prone to dry skin, so I always lather myself up with lotion before a casting or a shoot. You should do the same. Ashy elbows and knees are forbidden.

-Basic Makeup. You never know when you’ll be called to a casting or a shoot, so you should always carry around the fundamentals – mascara, eyeliner, lip-gloss, and blush. I would also recommend a travel hairbrush.

-Cash. You can never tell when you’re going to need to make it somewhere fast, which means having at least a $20 on you at all times.

The reality is, you never want a client to be able to say no to you for a trivial reason. As long as you have your bag of tricks and you follow my 3 rules, a client is going to have to come up with a really great excuse not to hire you. It also means that if you’re on a job with all of your necessities taken care of, they’ll be more likely to re-book you because they’ll see you as someone who is always prepared (even when they may not be)!

Visit Amanda’s website AmandaTice.com, Follow her on Twitter and Fan her of Facebook.

Click here to view more from the editorial at Ford Models.

“I am grateful to Noreen Flanagan, Editor of Elle Canada, for inviting me to share my research in such an intelligent and much admired fashion publication.”

Ben also shared some additional exciting news:

“The next phase of my research will focus on men’s consumer response to diverse male models in fashion advertising.”

We can’t wait to read more from Ben’s research! Read the full Elle Canada article here and be sure to show support by telling us what you think. Your voice is important! Join the talk at Twitter using hash-tag #diversityINfashion and leave us comments here and on our Facebook Wall.

Images by Ben Barry Agency, Models (top to botom): Kathryn, Nelia and Helen.
Collage by INGRID BAARS, Elle Canada 

In the beginning, working as a model can be very emotionally arduous and costly. Your first day at work, you can get called for a $5,000 jeans casting, you dance your butt off for the client in front of a camera, and you never hear back from them again. Or do you? Castings occur everyday for full-time models. That means that most of the castings that you go on, you’re competing with all of the other models that fit the client’s criteria. 

As much as you want to dwell on if you’ve gotten the job or not, you have to pack up and go to the next casting, travel to your next photo shoot, and schedule your next test photo shoot (a photo shoot at your own expense to keep clients updated with your look). A model’s lifestyle involves wearing a lot of hats and being able to switch them on and off at the drop of a pin. 

Before you get started as a model, you must begin by having someone take digital pictures of you and then you can submit them to agencies that you are interested in. If you are in high school or college and do not plan on leaving the area your live in, I suggest you apply to a local modeling agency that books jobs around your home; a quick Google search should help you locate a reputable agency. However, if you’re ready for a full-time job, I suggest you send your digitals to as many international agencies as possible. If you’re serious, I also suggest you attend agency’s open-call days; they usually have the time and place advertised on their website. This is a time where you physically go in to the agency’s office and meet with the agents in person—also a good time to bring your digitals as well as any of your strongest pictures (less is more, especially when you start off). Another option to becoming discovered is to attend a weekend scouting seminars for models and actors who sign up and pay a fee to attend a conference run by companies like ProScout, who have discovered many of today’s full-time models and actors. 

Alright! So an agency has called you back and wants to represent you and they want you to pay them for representation. That’s an automatic red-flag. An agency-model relationship is a two-way street and should be treated as such in a business relationship. The only thing a model should pay for up front is a portfolio book and the images from test shoots that go inside of them. Typically, a personal agency portfolio book runs around $50 and a professional test shoot with a photographer will cost around $400-600 for several looks. 

It’s the beginning of your modeling career, and your mother has told you that you’re the next Estee Lauder girl, right? That sounds familiar. Well, keep the hope and realize it may take a bit longer to achieve your goals; supermodels take time to develop.

When I started modeling, I thought the day I signed with a big agency in NYC, I needed to give up my career to become a model. In fact, I was encouraged by my NYC agent to continue my career (outside of modeling) and wait to see how clients react to my images, after she had submitted me for jobs. Sure enough, the client’s interest grew and throughout my first months, I would get more and more castings and callbacks than the months before. The client’s were continuously watching my look develop and within my first year of modeling, with my persistence and testing every few months, I was booking international catalog work. 

To offer you my best advice in becoming a model, I would encourage you to look at successful models that have a similar look as you, and groom yourself accordingly. Of course, it is good to embrace your character traits that give you personality or set you apart; I am just encouraging you trim your beautiful long hair to an acceptable length, keep a natural manicure and pedicure, and clean skin at all times. Grooming is extremely important so when you do go to a casting, you feel comfortable in your natural skin with little to no makeup on. 

When I started out as a model, my hair was six inches too long. I loved my hair and thought it was going to help me book hair jobs. Alas, the nature of the business is that plus size women have yet to book a lot of beauty and hair jobs—this will change! When my agent asked me to cut my hair, I obligingly did so thinking it was not such a swift move, however, I ended up booking some of my biggest clients yet! 

Let me reiterate what I’ve said, modeling can be extremely costly and trying if you’re not patient and willing to invest into the beginning of your career. However, if clients take to your look, it can be a whirlwind of excitement, traveling and working with the most interesting people you’ve ever met. If you’re ready and wanting, I wish you the best of luck in your tenacious endeavors and hope to see you one day gracing the pages of my fashion magazines! 

~ Emily
A Model Life 

Stay tuned for more insight, tips and behind-the-scenes fun from Emily! You can also visit Emily at her website www.MLEstyle.com.

The day started with a long line of applicants (girls were lining up as early as 6:30 am), all waiting to see the Ford+ agents. First stop was the lobby in Tribeca’s super-glam Skyline Studios, where applicants signed in, received their number, and filed into another line to be measured. Measured? Yes. It was no joke, ladies – at this casting, you had to meet or exceed the required height minimum, no exceptions – and not just the height you tell people you are! An assistant was at the ready with the *official* Ford measuring stick. (The stick is about 12 feet tall and, according to legend, it’s the original Eileen Ford measuring stick, over 60 years old and having measured everyone from Lauren Hutton to the star-studded class of 90’s supermodels, and beyond!)  If a model met the height requirement, she was placed into the group of applicants invited to come to the penthouse, meet an agent and, hopefully, get a call-back.

As you exited the elevator at the penthouse level, you were ushered into the casting room where the scene was set:  long tables facing outwards out where several Ford+ agents sat, along with Beniamino Marini from vogue.it, visiting Ford+ models, and a few other industry tastemakers. Each hopeful applicant spoke with one agent, showing off their book or images and answering any questions. Madison Plus had the exclusive privilege to observe and absorb all these exciting, high-style moments (we even captured a few on Instagram, so our fans could check out the action in real-time – see our snapshots featured throughout this post!)  Applicants who were asked to return received a pink sheet of paper, had their picture taken, and then were asked to wash off all makeup.  (A word to the wise: When they ask you to arrive “au naturale,” they mean it!)

The Ford+ agents saw 120 applicants out of hundreds who lined up. Of that group, 19 got called back. Break time! During the break, the Ford+ team and Beniamino took some photos to capture the scene, lunch was served, and we all got the chance to check out images taken of the 19 call-backs.

Models  Inga Eiriksdottir, Georgina Burke, Marquita Pring, Myla Dalbesio, Amber Tolliver, Jessica Collins, Wendy Brooks, Chloe Marshall, Tate Cutler, and newer faces Kaela Humphries and Sophie Sheppard, all stopped by at various times throughout the day – just to say hello and give the applicants their advice and words of wisdom. Very classy ladies.

Congratulations, you got called back!  …Now what? For this nerve-wracking part of the process, all 19 applicants lined up outside the casting room and were brought in one by one to interview with all the agents at once. If your height was close to the minimum, you were measured again and in some cases your other bodily measurements were re-taken. Then you were interviewed and asked to speak about yourself. We found it quite refreshing to hear the Ford+ team ask questions about nutrition, making sure applicants were at a natural weight and not forcing any changes either way on their bodies.

At this point each would-be model was given honest constructive criticism and professional advice. If not right for Ford, the applicants were given some recommendations on where they could look to continue their career in modeling. All the girls we saw were so gracious; it seemed like everyone really valued the experience.

Now, onto those new faces that made the cut!  Meet (Clockwise from left) Christina Andrews, Christine Hauer, Lauren Chan & Sara Marchiori. Congratulations ladies! It was such an honor to watch dreams coming true, tears being shed, and lots of laughs as four ladies’ lives changed that afternoon!

A special thank you to Ford Models, Gary Dakin, Jaclyn Sarka, David Lott, and Maia Holmes as well as Beniamino Marini from Vogue.it, Italian Vanity Fair writer Simona Siri, and celebrity hair stylist Francky L’Official.

Read more at Ford Models and vogue.it.

Instagram images by Kari Hansbarger
Finalist images by Ford Models 

Aimee shares her expertise in fit, styling, working the trends and more, just for your curves. Be sure to watch out for this printed piece coming to your mailbox very soon with some of your favorite plus models modeling the latest from Macy’s, and in the meantime here is a sneak peak!

Are you the next Ashley Graham? Candice Huffine? Kaela Humphries?

We are so excited to share this opportunity with all the up and coming ladies who want to be the next plus size sensation. Ford Models, is announcing their first open call in over a decade! Ford Models has teamed up with Vogue.it  to help them find the next big name, and that could be you!

Where: Tribeca Skyline Studios
205 Hudson Street, Penthouse

When: Saturday, May 5, 2012
10am-2pm (line closes at 1:30pm)

Criteria:

– Aspiring models must be between 5’8 – 6′ tall
– Size 10 to size 16
– Between 16 to 25 years old

If chosen for a call back, you will be given a pass to return later that same day for final selections!

… and we hear that some of Ford’s top models will be popping by too!

Good Luck!!!

Click here for all the details.

Model: Fine Bauer
Agency: MUSE
Photographer: Ashley Grey
Stylists: Steffany Bready-Edwards

Check out Fine’s personal “Model Off Duty” style here!

Come say hello to Meaghan (Little Lime Dress) as our Brand Ambassador for the event!

Madison Plus will be providing racks of samples from our showroom in a collection of sizes from designers like Igigi, Simply Be, Asos Curve, Michael Kors, DKNYC, T-Bags LA, and more. Many pieces were featured in your favorite fashion magazines, on national TV and in plus size editorials!

In addition to clothing, we’ll have a collection of wide width shoes and some accessories, including pieces from Aimee’s personal closet as well as favorite bloggers like Gabi Gregg, Nadia Aboulhosn, Stylish Curves and Kellie B.

Wanna see a sneak peak? Visit our Pinterest Board here!

Get to meet some of your favorite bloggers and shop at a discount for your favorite brands! We hope to see you there!

Date: Tuesday, May 1, 2012
Time: 6-9pm
Location: Tammany Hall
Address: 152 Orchard St, NYC

Model: Deborah@Brigitte Models
Photographer: Suzanne Rensink @Claudia Trucco photographers

Do you have a style, fit or tip question? Don’t be shy! I would love to answer any of your style questions! Send them along to info@madisonplus.com
 

L-R: Heather Hazzan, Fine Bauer, Stephanie Shiu, Kaliee O’Sullivan, Harriet Coleman, Melina Querel, Camilla Hansen, Kristyna Misovcova, Lizzie Miller, Denise Bidot, and Anna Adams.

Click the image below to watch the video!

Image by: Jessica Lucassi

This ASOS Curve mesh panel top is now sold out on the website, but you can still shop some amazing pieces at ASOS Curve here. There are so many pieces we are in love with!

We are thrilled to be back in the magazine, thank you Weight Watchers!

Every Late At The Met piece is draped and handmade on a mannequin in New York City, sculpted to flatter the body with a sense of lightness, whimsy, and ease. Here are some of our favorite pieces from her collection!