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Size Counts...
Even For Plus and Petite Models

By Eve Matheson

When you don’t fill the bill as a perfect couture specimen, there’s still a chance for success — if you have what it takes.

Peite model Kristine Pratt

REALITY CHECK: Petite model Kristine Pratt took advantage of the new demand for real-life body types.

 

Hundreds of thousands of young women try to break into modeling every year. About one percent will have the height, body measurements, and other criteria to walk the runways of the world’s fashion capitals. Most will fall into two specialty categories of modeling — plus and petite sizes.

Girls who are not size 4-6, which is called a “straight” size in fashion parlance, can have consistent, lucrative, even fabulous careers, provided they know and understand this part of the industry. While they differ from the couture model in height and measurement, plus and petite-size models must have the same zest, vitality, persistence, and professionalism. Personality and attitude are just as important, and they also will have to deal with rejection on a regular basis.

The average American woman is size 12-14. Thirty percent are size 16 and over. A size 10 and over is considered a plus-size. These are staggering statistics, and it is little wonder that this market has increased significantly and provided a career break for girls who could never have dreamed of becoming models. This market has also offered a tiny solution to the immense problems caused by extreme dieting. Women, especially teenagers who have accepted that they will never be toothpick thin, are delighted to be healthy and happy modeling larger sizes. Model agent Gary Dakin said: “”Eighty-five percent of the women in this country are over a size 10, so it is inconceivable to have size four’s, six’s and eight’s representing the fashion industry.” Gary is particularly excited about the teenage model who is a plus size, saying, “They are starting to say, ‘Wow! We are beautiful, too. And that is because of, not in spite of, our size.’ ”

NO MORE BATTLE OF THE BULGE
Top models who had fought weight problems for years decided it wasn’t worth the risk to their health and became plus-size models. Carre Otis went from a size 2 to a size 12 over a 17-year period. She is now in constant demand here and in Europe as a size 12 model. Peggy Dillard was a high-fashion international couture model for 10 years. When I talked with her after she had done a major campaign in London — this time as a size 10-12 model, she told me: “It meant putting my ego on the shelf and being realistic. Here I was in my late twenties fretting over a little extra weight. Now I don’t have the same anxieties – ‘Are the clothes going to fit? Will the sleeves be too short?’ Now I love myself as I am.”

 

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