“Instead, she has been engaged by a variety of businesses that hire ‘model types’ to draw customers. In addition to her Abercrombie job, she says, she was offered a job at retailer Club Monaco and is frequently recruited for parties at Manhattan nightclubs, where the drinks and food are free for her. She has spent the summer being ferried to nightclubs in the Hamptons in club promoters’ Cadillac Escalades. Recently, she agreed to work at several clubs as a ‘bottle girl’ serving liquor to tables in return for tips that she believes will amount to ‘$600 to $1,500 a night.’ ” - on 18 year-old aspiring model Tatiana Stewart’s side jobs until she can lose enough weight to go from a size 4 to a size 0 (she’s 6’2”), in the Wall Street Journal.
2
posted by styleexchange
Aug 14, 2008 2:56PM
Well she's obviously doing alright for herself, even if she's not size zero and walking Prada runways or anything.
4
posted by KMoore
Aug 14, 2008 2:58PM
i gasped when i first read this.
and i gasped again when i read "guest" 1's comment
if you don't see the fact that at the core of the modeling industry there's an eating disorders discretionary clause than you have a problem.
I love fabulousness just as much as the next person but when people are hurting themselves physically and emotionally to become a model then there's a flaw at the foundation of the industry(period)
7
posted by guest
Aug 14, 2008 4:08PM
this girl tatiana has a profile on model mayhem. she actually has a pretty decent body for a commercial model but her face is too edgy and better suited to high fashion.
personally i'd be interested to see what she would look like if she had the high fashion body, she could have a future, although at 6'2 she's almost too tall.
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posted by guest
Aug 14, 2008 4:26PM
I read this article in its entirety. There is so much wrong here: 1) Why does the average WSJ reader care? I'm assuming they don't, 2) The mom is ridiculously shallow 3) if she wants to be a model, then lose the weight. I agree with commenter 1, who gives a ----?? This is not newsworthy, it's boring.
10
posted by hipstersdontlie
Aug 14, 2008 6:52PM
It's true that not everyone can be a model but for anyone to defend an industry practice that demands people jeopardize their health is ridiculous. I bet half of the people who tell Tatiana to lose weight are overweight.
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posted by guest
Aug 14, 2008 7:40PM
Whoa whoa whoa.....what is wrong with some of these commenters???
For those who don't seem to get it, let me help clarify for those who need it:
1. There is a small problem in the modeling/fashion industry you may have heard of - it's called an eating disorder and the advocating of it.
2. There has subsequently been media coverage of this sick phenomenon.
3. Fashion houses and modeling agencies, at best, pay lip service to this legitimate concern.
4. Nothing gets accomplished, so media scrutiny continues.
5. Repeat step 2 until things actually change.
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posted by guest
Aug 14, 2008 9:57PM
I hope you guys know that when an agent tells a girl or guy she needs to "lose weight" even if it's so clear she doesn't have to, is another way of saying , "you're not what we really want but will take you when we need a filler last minute. Oh yeah, just lose another 5 to 10 lbs while you're at it." I worked at a modeling agency in NY and we take girls who are clearly a size 4 but prettier than Tatiana.
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posted by guest
Aug 14, 2008 10:57PM
I'm completely shocked at most of the responses to the article. Obviously none of these commenters has ever suffered from an eating disorder, and has no idea what it is like to go through it and try to recover from it. Not only is the models' health at question here, but all of the girls and adolescents growing up reading the magazines, watching TV, and following fashion who are also receiving the very clear message that if "you just lose another 10/15 lbs and starve yourself, then you will be worth something. then you will be accepted." It has gotten to the point that these models are not even attractive looking, they are so thin, so what, exactly is the point?
btw- I think the last person's comment is interesting and probably right on. Reading articles like this makes me wonder about the ethics of my interest in fashion despite its blatantly hostile attitude towards women!
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posted by jess
Aug 15, 2008 10:01AM
umm- this girl has a great pr rep though, im sure of that...
theres another write up on the cut about her
http://nymag.com/daily/fashion/2008/08/one_aspiring_model_isnt_thin_e_1.html
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posted by guest
Aug 15, 2008 1:16PM
you need to be a certain height/weight to be a model. if you are not said height/weight or have an issue getting to be said height/weight then you need to choose another profession. the end.
and also this:
"She's decoration and conversation at parties, ferried around, serving drinks, and being paid very generously... the girl sounds like a Western geisha."
sounds like a damn easy way to make some money in this economy. props to her! where can i sign up?
22
posted by guest
Aug 16, 2008 9:38PM
being 6'2" and a size 0 is nearly impossible, i think, unless you become anorexic. tatiana would be disgustingly skinny if she reached her goal. maybe she just doesn't have the right look or is too tall, but being a size 0 certainly wouldn't help her model career.
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posted by guest
Aug 22, 2008 4:50PM
I personally think she should try to find another gig that won't force her to lose weight. Then people will say she's too skinny. If she's comfortable and healthy as a 4, there's nothing wrong with that; moreover, if she wants to lose the weight, that's great too. But I think she should do what she wants with ease...
~ Aly ~
posted by guest
Aug 14, 2008 2:43PM
I'm so sick of these articles about models told to lose weight. It's not really newsworthy any more. Models are very thin everyone knows that by now. The WSJ and everyone else fixating on this topic isn't going to change anything. Jobs (not just modeling jobs but all jobs) have requirements and if you don't fit into them maybe it is time for a new career path.