Answering a Reader Question #903

Anonymous Wrote:

 Hi Dania, I'm 27 years old 5'9" 123lbs. I've always been told that I should be a model. I still get asked if I'm a model and that I should consider doing it. I'm African-american and Korean mixed so I do have unique features. I am often mistaken for still being a teen (sometimes as young as 14) because I have doll-like features even though I'm in my late 20's. I never really saw myself as pretty or a model, I'm a bit of a tomboy and for a long time I'm just recently overcoming low confidence, but after being told for years how I need to get into modeling I started developing an interest in it. Do you think its worth pursuing at this age? In your post 'How Old Is Too Old To Model' you say that commercial/print is the best route but what if you're like me and you have more of a high fashion look and not the normal conventional beauty? Also where do I begin if I don't live near any of the big cities like NY or LA?

Hi there, Anonymous!

Oftentimes, agencies will market a model in more than one division. It isn't uncommon for a fashion model to also get sent out for commercial/print/lifestyle work and vice-versa. In fact, that's a plus because it makes you more versatile and that means an agency can send you out for even more types of work.

So ideally, you'd be able to do both print and fashion. But that mostly depends on the market/location where you live. Since I don't know where you live, I can't readily say what kinds of agencies are close to you and how they'd be likely to represent you. You'll want to extend your online search for agencies to within a 2 hour's drive from where you live. There are small and medium sized markets that may not have as many agencies to choose from but if you can manage to find 2-3 to submit to, that is definitely better than nothing.

Additionally, small and medium modeling markets tend to have more flexible age requirements for fashion modeling so that could work in your favor if you aren't close to a large market.

That being said, I definitely say you should go for it and submit yourself. It will be up to the agencies to determine what kind of model they see you being and if you get signed, they'll take things from there.

If you need help locating agencies, send me an email directly at: daniadenise@gmail.com with the city/state you live in and I'll see what I can find.

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