In case you missed my last post, I' ll catch you up.  During market week (explained in said post), I was a stylist for Stella McCartney.  I spent some extremely long days with 4New York City models, which proved to be quite educational.

As you might imagine, after spending 50 hours with a group of people, you get past the small talk and into the nitty gritty.  I mean, when' s the last time you spent that much time in a few days with your closest friends or family?  Point made.  All week (read: 4 days), we talked about food, dieting, love, boys, men, food, style, work, food, hobbies, and food.  By the end of it all, I felt comfortable asking some of the questions that have been burning in my brain since I entered the NY fashion scene three years ago.

Names have been changed to protect the beautiful.

Iris, Dominique, Vanessa, and Amanda have all been modeling for at least 3 years.  Iris and Dominique began their careers abroad and have found steady work in Manhattan.  All four were beautiful and thin with perfectly manicured hands, feet, and eyebrows. They each had perfect, dewy skin with invisible pores and no dark circles.  After 12 hours on my feet with no break, I looked haggard, but these girls looked fresh and polished.  Baffling.

A few of them were willing to speak openly about the industry that has brought them great success, but that also weighs heavily on them.

MJ:  What' s the hardest part about being a model?  (I am expecting some line about the long hours, the shoots in inclimate weather... too much America' s Next Top Model, maybe?)

IRIS:  Rejection.  And not fitting into the clothes.  That feels like a personal assault.

MJ:  How do you feel about the pressure to stay so thin?

IRIS:  It' s ridiculous.  It' s really hard.  There are protective standards in Milan, I was actually weighed and measured there [to make sure I wasn' t too thin].  But every place is different.  In Hong Kong, they like you to look like a baby doll.  Very wierd.

MJ:  Where have you found the hardest time, the most stringent rules on appearance?

IRIS:  New York.

MJ:  Do you have any friends in the industry who struggle with eating disorders or drug addiction?

IRIS:  A good friend of mine just died a few months ago.  She was hooked on cocaine and diet pills and couldn' t sleep, so she was loading up on sleeping pills too.  It was a fatal cocktail.

MJ:  What' s the shelf life of a model in NYC?

VANESSA:  Well, I' m 28 and I' m already getting less work than I used to.  [Note: this girl is adorable and super young-looking].  For some castings, I say I' m 21.  For others, I' ll say I' m 30.  It really depends on the job.

MJ:  What do you plan to do after the modeling work slows down or you' re tired of the game?

AMANDA:  I' m getting a degree in marketing.

VANESSA:  Probably something in the fashion industry.  It makes sense, I' m around high-end design all the time.  A lot of girls do that.

IRIS:  I studied art history and anthropology back home and worked in an art gallery before I won a modeling competition and started modeling.  But I love food and I want to open a health food restaurant someday.  I go out to eat a lot for research (giggles).

DOMINIQUE:  Maybe television.  I' m not really seeking it out, but if the opportunities are there-- and I think they will be-- then, I' d consider it.

MJ:  Do you have luck with men?  Steady dates?  Boyfriends?  Can they handle what you do?  Would you ever date a male model?

DOMINIQUE:  They' re all so intimidated.  Even now, I have men come up to me and tell me that they' ve had a crush on me for 10 years or something.  But they still don' t ask me out.  And male models, NO.

MJ:  But I' d imagine you' d have your pick.

IRIS:  Well, it' s still just as hard to find a guy that I like.  I' m not going to go out with just anybody.  I just saw "Juno" and I want to be in love!  And somebody better love me for me, because someday I might get fat.

MJ: Pardon me for being skeptical.

IRIS:  Okay, well not that fat.  Oh yeah- as for male models... they spend more time trying to look perfect than we do.

VANESSA:  I' ve been married for 4 years.  He' s an artist who is 8 years older. 

MJ:  Which reminds me- can a model come back after having a baby?  Does the industry frown on you starting a family?

DOMINIQUE:  Oh, god, there are so many opportunities for pregnant models.  I actually did a maternity shoot once, but I looked ridiculous with the fake belly.  But yeah, I have a lot of friends who have had children and lost the weight and are still modeling.

MJ:  Would you ever do nude modeling?  Topless?

IRIS:  No.  Not for me.

DOMINIQUE:  My boyfriend is a photographer and he takes tasteful nudes of me.

VANESSA:  I' ve done topless shoots before.  No big deal.

MJ:  How do your families feel about your work?  Some of it is hyper-sexualized.

DOMINIQUE:  My step-father was actually working with a shipping company.  He walked into the office and there were posters of me from a swimsuit shoot all over the walls.  He just told them to take them down (laughs).

IRIS:  My mom is just glad I finished school.  And I think she wishes she could see more of the work that I do.

MJ:  Do you think beauty standards will ever change?  Can we ever accept a size 6-8 as beautiful and normal on the runway?

DOMINIQUE:  Well, sometimes the clothes just look better on a skinny girl.  But I honestly think it' s an industry full of gay men who don' t want to celebrate the female figure.

IRIS:  I think we can change what we see as beautiful.  If we show a larger size, eventually, that will become the standard.

MJ:  I really hope that happens.  For all our sakes.

They weren' t dumb.  They weren' t mean.  They ate.  Not much, but they ate.  I didn' t get elevator eyes (scanning me up and down) from a single one of them.  They worked hard and didn' t complain.  Our lives are extremely different, and I doubt we' ll spend time in the same social circles, but I' d consider each of the girls a friend. 

The only real concern of mine is that after spending so much time with these impossibly thin figures, I began to feel self-conscious.  My own self-perception had become warped and suddenly my 5' 7 frame felt too short, my belly just a little too fleshy, my legs just a little squat. 

A few days out, I feel okay again (with only the normal nagging worries).  But these girls aren' t afforded such a vacation from body obsession.  It' s a life of scrutiny I would never want, and I hope dearly that the industry will someday become a healthier place.