"So you admit it. You think you're really pretty."

Nov 21, 2007 @ 9:43am

Yesterday in the office, we talked about Doutzen Kroes, and why most girls don't seem to love her the way they dig Coco, Gemma, and Stam.

We decided it was due to one odd fact: Doutzen sent her own photos into the Dutch modeling agency Paparazzi, while the rest of the girls were "discovered" at concerts, or pushed into modeling by their friends. And for some reason, this bothers us.

But why?

Nobody argues when J. Lo says she can dance or Alicia Keys says she can sing. But girls aren't allowed to admit they're beautiful, unless they're the adolescent suffering kind on Oprah - certainly not if they're adults whose entire job is to be pretty. Just look at the Vogue story we dug up from 1993, where only Naomi Campbell admits her body is perfect, while Cindy, Christy, and Linda all argue their flaws.

In the fashion industry, acting as if you're unaware of your own beauty is obviously important for creating the right not-trying image. How many times has a model/actress bio read something like, “Her mother secretly sent in her photo" [Mariacarla] or “She tagged along to her best friend’s audition, but left after winning the casting agents’ hearts” [Gemma]?

We don't think everyone should sprint around, reminding their friends of how gorgeous they are. But still, isn't it strange that saying you're pretty has become a taboo?

posted by mckeb753

Nov 21, 2007 10:42AM

it's one thing to think you're pretty..it's another to think you're god's gift to the world. i think the same goes for guys, also...no one likes the arrogant dude who goes around kissing his biceps and rubbing his abs. everyone, including doutzen, has flaws; that's what gives people character..and being able to acknowledge them makes you human, relatable, and likeable.

posted by guest

Nov 21, 2007 10:54AM

Doutzen is gorgeous! She is prettier in a "bombshell" kind of way, so maybe that puts people off? The others are more quirky pretty, I think.

posted by ohsweetheart

Nov 21, 2007 11:35AM

I think self-confidence works wonders, there's a difference between loving and appreciating your looks and forcing everyone else to love your looks. I think if you're complimented, the best response is a grateful "Thank You." and let it be. As for Doutzen, I don't think because she sent in her own photo she is any less of a model. If she knew that she wanted to be a model and had the looks, why not

posted by hellonheels

Nov 21, 2007 11:40AM

I think Doutzen is exponentially prettier than any of the other models mentioned here.

Also, as someone who is tall, thin, and pretty (if I do say so myself!), I've been told constantly that I should pursue modeling since I was a teenager...I can only imagine that someone as gorgeous as her has heard it twice as often as me. So why wouldn't she go for it? You're forced to become much more conscious of your own attractiveness when you have to hear about it all the time.

posted by guest

Nov 21, 2007 11:44AM

doutzen is not pretty or gorgeous. i don't like her because i don't find her attractive in the least. and her attitude is horrible.

posted by bryanboy

Nov 21, 2007 11:57AM

uhh i prefer doutzen over coco, gemma and stam.

posted by guest

Nov 21, 2007 12:11PM

Though Doutzen is pretty, she just does nothing for me as a model. I don't know if it's because she pursued modeling herself and wasn't discovered or she just comes off as a very limited model to me. At first I thought she was extremely pretty and she still is, but the more I saw her, the less compelling she became. In comparison to other models I do like her face is highly commercial, her expressions banal and her vibe haughty.
I put her in a class of those models that are conventionally gorgeous but just mundane.

posted by Annmarie

Nov 21, 2007 12:49PM

Yet, everyone seems to get behind the Top Model girls, and they went so far as to make their own audition tapes and mail them to Tyra.

posted by FashionNoob

Nov 21, 2007 12:56PM

Saying you "can dance" is totally different from saying "I'm really good at dancing." Gloating in any form has always been unattractive and impolite.

posted by nicole

Nov 21, 2007 1:16PM

i think the reason doutzen isn't instantly likable is well, yeah, she obviously is pretty (most models are) but she doesn't have a big personality (coco), look like an alien (gemma), or date rockstars (stam). so she is pretty boring in the most literal sense.

posted by hannah

Nov 21, 2007 2:16PM

It bothers me that this bothers people. I think models should stop pretending they didn't want to be models in the first place.

posted by verylovelygirl

Nov 21, 2007 2:25PM

I think the question is, "What is the proper etiquette of a beautiful person? Should a person considered beautiful be able to agree openly without being thought of as arrogant?"

I believe you should be allowed to freely admit that you are beautiful if you are. I spent several miserable years as an ugly duckling to finally come into my own as a swan and while I don't stop everyone on the street to tell them I'm beautiful, if we're on the subject I won't deny it.

It doesn't mean beautiful people are any better or worse than others, it just means we're beautiful.

posted by Jacqueminette

Nov 21, 2007 2:27PM

I like Doutzen very much; her beauty is very different from most of the other girls you mentioned. Stam's beauty is also fairly easy to grasp, but Doutzen is definitely the "bombshell" that guest at 10:54 describes.

Note: I agree with hellonheels with regards to the second part of her comment.

When I was a kid, all people would say is "Gee, you're SO tall. You should either model or play basketball." This from people who, for the most part, had no clue what it actually takes to do either of those things well. Most other tall women with whom I have spoken reported the same thing. Extrapolating my somewhat small sample size to the general population of amazons, I would assume that all these girls were told the same thing; they just have the wherewithal and interest to actually go out and try.

posted by Shanna

Nov 21, 2007 2:34PM

Well, props to Doutzen for taking the initiative to go out and make her dreams happen instead of sitting around waiting to be discovered.

posted by guest

Nov 21, 2007 2:43PM

Doutzen is straight up the most gorgeous one of all. I think this pure beauty is a little less model-ly sometimes because a lot of times models have some freaky flaw that makes them more model-like. More unusual. Whereas Doutzen is so fucking gorgeous that anything she's wearing is secondary. Designers don't always love that. She's more of a 90s model in this way.

posted by guest

Nov 21, 2007 4:26PM

So what if she knows she's pretty. Going out and pursuing modeling herlsef just means she had a vision and wanted to do something about it.

Fashionista, you confuse me.

posted by Jac

Nov 21, 2007 7:51PM

I agree Jacquemint. Every tall, thin girl (pretty much every thin girl I too) I know has been told she should model. It's a type of compliment. I don't understand how someone can talk about how pretty they are (I lived in a sorority and this a common occurence). Like, when does it come up? If someone compliments you, say thank you and move on. I used to love being called pretty (a sort of societal validation), but now I love being called intelligent or funny or something that reflects more on ME. Even though I know that modeling does take hard work, it's hard to understand why some people want to pursure a career where your job is to stand and look pretty. I believe people should want more than that. It makes it a little better if the girl is thrust into it as opposed to choosing to do it.

posted by guest

Nov 21, 2007 9:03PM

people don't dig her as much because she's basically perfect...sometimes people find little flaws and quirks more appealing (in the cases of gemma, stam and coco). TBH doutzen is one of the most beautiful women in the world, she's the kind of beautiful that majority of people can't deny and if she doesn't think of herself that way then i'd find it more irritating.

posted by dumbbrunette5

Nov 21, 2007 11:58PM

i think shes probably much more beautiful than gemma or sasha (at least in a conventional way) but the thing that throws me off about her is not that she sent her own photos in, but the way she talks. ive seen her talk on tv and read interviews with her and she always manages to come off as far more of an airhead than the rest of them..but since her job is to stand and look pretty i doubt that will hurt her career very much

posted by guest

Nov 22, 2007 2:55AM

Doutzen's problem is not that she thinks she's pretty or perfect,it's that she looks too much like Denise Richards. Unfortunately for this young model Denise is one of the most disliked celebrity around. I have heard people make that distinction during shows and castings.

posted by guest

Nov 22, 2007 4:08PM

actually, the quote goes:

"so you think you're really pretty?"

thanks,

nicollette and jr

posted by RayBay

Nov 22, 2007 4:29PM

("I believe you should be allowed to freely admit that you are beautiful if you are. I spent several miserable years as an ugly duckling to finally come into my own as a swan and while I don't stop everyone on the street to tell them I'm beautiful, if we're on the subject I won't deny it.

It doesn't mean beautiful people are any better or worse than others, it just means we're beautiful.")

One is "allowed" to do whatever one wants, in terms of vanity. Just don't be surprised when others roll their eyes ----- and let me assure you further, that much of the time it has nothing to do with jealousy. But rather, with the strange, mutable value that beauty has (it is both worthless and wondrous), and the inanity that emanates from those who are visibly in love with themselves.

As for Doutzen Kroes, she is one of my absolute favorites (that spread in Vogue a few months ago, with gnarly old Lapo Elkann, was awesome solely due to her talents as a model, her kineticism), but yeah, her look really is more that of a 90s supermodel. She has a kind of breathtaking, almost pushy beauty, one that makes you notice her face before you do the clothes. I suppose that could be a problem.

I can't really fault her for sending her pictures in, though. I mean, as much as I dislike people being insistent of their good looks in everyday conversation, modeling is a profession, and not a bad one. You get to travel around the world, meet interesting people, wear gorgeous clothes....nice work if you can get it. She might have lived her entire life without encountering a scout.

But in terms of real life.... If somebody compliments you, great, say thank you, glow a little, maybe. But let other people do the talking. If you really are as lovely as you think you are, there is no need for you to publicize it in conversation. I mean, if you must, send photos of yourself to an agency---- and if you subsequently find yourself being shot for a spread in Vogue, take it as a subtle sign that you were right.

posted by guest

Nov 22, 2007 7:54PM

OH MY GOD, I LOVE YOUR BRACELET, WHERE'D YOU GET IT?

posted by guest

Nov 22, 2007 10:13PM

This is ridiculous! Just because she sent in photos herself doesn't mean she thinks she's pretty--AT ALL.

Having modeling potential and being beautiful are two different things. You can't accuse someone of being conceited.

We all know now-days not all models are conventionally "beautiful". Perhaps she just thought she had modeling potential rather than "beautiful".

posted by guest

Nov 22, 2007 11:29PM

But isn't she Denise Richards?

posted by guest

Nov 23, 2007 3:27AM

Modelling is not about beauty, it's about body type. Some models are almost ugly but they have the good body type . Any girls who's tall and skinny thinks about modelling these days...
As for this yound lady sending her own pictures... Personally, it always makes me laugh when famous models swear they have been discovered by coincidence and never thought about modeling. Seems to be the compulsory item in their bio... Not very credible.

posted by guest

Nov 23, 2007 12:12PM

Im from Holland and I can tell you that she is from this very little village in the middle of nowhere. So what was she to do??? Wait untill an agency discoverd her ??

posted by guest

Nov 23, 2007 6:01PM

I don't hate her, but I never found her attractive or special..she is just boring..

posted by guest

Nov 23, 2007 6:02PM

I don't hate her, but I never found her attractive or special..she is just boring..

posted by guest

Nov 23, 2007 8:13PM

Can't recall if it was an interview or a scene from a movie, but Ingrid Bergman (or the character she was playing) smilingly responded, to a remark about her beauty, something like:

"Lucky, isn't it?"

Perfect response: authentic and unaffected.

posted by guest

Nov 25, 2007 11:29AM

To be honest, I knew how the rest of the girls you mentioned got into modelling but not Doutzen. For me, I've never seen her appeal. She looks breathtaking in the l'Oreal ads but her pout does nothing for me on the runway. I don't feel any personality from her at all -- she's just yet another pretty face with a commercial air.

There's nothing wrong with sending in your photos at all. It doesn't necessarily mean you think you're beautiful. It means you want to pursue a career in modelling.