Answering a Reader Question #428

Anonymous Wrote:


Hi Dania!
I loovvvee your blog and that drawing is so amazing! I had a couple questions and didn't know where to post them, so I thought I should just post them here. I'm 16 years old, 5 foot 6 and 3/4 and my measurements are 34-25-36. Basically, here's a list of everything that may stop me from being a model: my face isn't very symmetric, like one of my eyes has a more asiany look to it while the other has folds and looks more like a non-Asian eye, and I also have acne scars, it's not that bad ( like if I wear make up you can't even tell, but, if I have to go to a casting call without make-up... well... it's not going to look that good. I also have stretch marks on my hips that kinda wrap around to my butt too, but I read your post on that and it made me feel sooo much better! But here's the one thing that really freaks me out: my stomach! I have this belly fat (it like starts from my belly button and curves down to my upper hip kind of belly fat) and it's so embarrassing! I couldn't even imagine what it'd be like if I had to show my stomach! But, I read that Dita Von Teese (my favorite fashion icon) hired girls who have "curves" and axed anyone too skinny. But to the point, is it necessary for a flat stomach in the modelling world? And if it is important, what types of exercise and diet should I try to implement into my life?

Hi, Anonymous!

Thanks for being a reader of my blog...I appreciate you!!! :-)

At your height and age, you're ideal for commercial/print modeling. The upside to that is you don't have to worry about showing a lot of skin so no worries about the stretch marks. As far as your eyes, that's a toughie. I'm sure that it is something that can be worked around, especially if it isn't super obvious. The acne scars could be a problem but if they're easily covered with minimal makeup, I don't think it will be a huge hindrance (when attending casting calls that agencies send models out on, you always wear some kind of makeup and never go without unless they say so, which isn't too often).

Having a flat stomach is ideal but not mandatory. As long as you don't have an actual "gut" it would just be a matter of wearing the right kinds of clothing styles to draw attention away from that area. Like I mentioned before, you meet the requirements for commercial/print modeling so you wouldn't be submitted for stuff where you'd have to show your bare stomach, unless it was for a swimwear company. But the majority of the stuff print models are submitted for involves being fully clothed so I don't think you need to worry about your stomach.

However, if your stomach bothers you to the point where you have doubts, it would be in your best interest to exercise and start eating right so that you can get your body to a point where you're 100% confident in yourself when submitting to agencies. Here is a helpful link that could help you out in that area:

http://www.livestrong.com/article/464449-how-to-flatten-the-lower-belly-area-in-women/
http://www.livestrong.com/article/523874-how-to-combine-foods-for-lower-belly-fat/
http://www.livestrong.com/article/509334-list-of-foods-to-avoid-to-lower-belly-fat/

The bottom line is that no matter what hang ups you may have, it's still worth submitting to agencies because you can't read the agency's mind and what may be a huge deal to you might end up not being such a big deal to them. And each agency wants something different so what doesn't work for one agency, could work perfectly for another.

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