Fit Modeling -- My Goals!
I'm way too short to ever be a professional model, or am I? Fit modeling, a lesser known and definitely less glamorous side of the modeling industry, is a part-time gig that would definitely help me save up for grad school. Problem is, the way my body is at the moment, I'm not the right size to be a fit model.
Fit modeling... in case you're wondering... is being a "model" for designers who need to check out the measurements of their patterns. So you don't actually pose for pictures or anything (well, there might be a few snapshots, but they won't be used for any advertisements). Fit models are worth a lot to designers because they rely on them to make sure their clothing sizes fit their customers.
If I get "fit" I could feasibly sign up to be a size 8 petite fit model with an agency in San Francisco. The job pays about $80 per hour! The problem is right now my waist is 1.5 inches too big, as are my hips and bust. But I think if I keep working on getting healthy I might be able to make the "perfect" measurements for a petite, size 8, fit model.
Right now my measurements are 37 - 30 - 40. I need to be 36 - 28.5 - 38. Seems do-able, given my proportions, right?
6 comments:
Sounds really interesting. How do you get involved in something like this - it sounds very lucrative!
Brooke: First off, you have to live somewhere that designers work. New York & LA are the best cities to do this, but other places have fit models to. I'm looking at an agency in SF that works w/ fit models.
The second hard part is that you have to fit their requested measurements perfectly. The measurements are surprisingly "average" but they're what a healthy, in-shape person would be at their height.
Additionally - at least with this agency, the only petite sizes they're interested in is 6 and 8. So even though I'm fit their women's size 10 measurements, they aren't interested in me yet because I'm too short for regular sizes.
If you're above 5'5 (or even taller) there are a lot more opportunities for you. Do you know your measurements?
I'm almost those exact measurements, 5'8", and live in the SF area. Do you have more information about this? I also have a bit of an interest in clothing design and fit because I recently started knitting and learning how to modify designs, so it sounds like this could be a great opportunity for me.
o.O;
OK, let's not conflate fitness with thinness, because they aren't necessarily one and the same. What if you were fit, but had put on some muscle? You still wouldn't fit their proportions. OK, women don't get big like men do without steroids, but it still makes a difference.
I can see wanting to make the income, it's completely understandable, but man... I wish all I had to lose was an inch and a half! ;) Even when I was at the right weight for my height I still wouldn't have been right as a fit model. I could never buy two-piece outfits for someone my size because I had wide hips and almost no bust to speak of. (A bra fitter told me I was a C cup--but it was 32C!) So if I was the right size from the waist down, I was too small for the tops. Maddening. It wasn't fatness, either. It was all frame.
Addy: The one agency I found is at http://www.marladell.com/
Dana: I honestly think my "healthy" proportions fit what they're looking for. I don't expect to be muscular, though I do want to be healthy. Being healthy, I'm about a size 8 petite. Being unhealthy I'm bigger than that or smaller than that. So I want to be able to maintain a healthy weight. Having one of my jobs depend on it will make me focus on my health even more, which is a good thing.
I don't want to be a downer, but if you're not currently at their perfect required measurements you might not have a shot.
Fit models must be able to keep their perfect proportions indefinitely. They're not allowed to fluctuate in the slightest...that's the point of being a fit model. You're basically a living mannequin.
If you think that you can get down to the correct measurements and stay there, then go for it! But just keep that in mind when you try out for the position.
Good luck!
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