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Many people know me from way back, when I was blondish. Not entirely blonde, just enough to soften my hard edges (whether they were real or imagined).
After my short brunette pixie look caught on my modeling agency was against any changes, with good reason. I was working photoshoots every day, recognized by big brands, casting directors and photographers. A model works years to build a portfolio around a particular look and there’s a point where we need to ride the wave.
I was fortunate in my first career, but it’s time change it up, and now my passion for technology has allowed me a second successful career… Which means I get to look any way I darn well please!
Goodbye Quirky Pixie… Helloooo Empowered Blondie!
We’re raised in households where we celebrate children growing up and then one day *kabam* the world decides we’re getting old and heckles us with senility jokes.
The age of 30 seems to be that pivot point, hence the “29 Forever” phrase all adults throw around. Is this what we want to instill in our youth about their fates, that there’re only 29 good years in store?
I’m not without a sense of humor, but finding our intended path in life is hard enough without a timer ticking down the moment we’re hitting our stride.
So, on this birth day of mine I celebrate all I’ve learned, all I’ve accomplished and the potential of my future.
Birthday’s aren’t a time to judge, it’s a day to reflect and accept that change is happening… in whatever way you choose to shape it.
Model Paula Patrice At Estiatorio Milos Restaurant in NYC, March 21st 2014
There are three big, famous modeling agencies: Ford, Elite and Wilhelmina. They’re the powerhouses, but it’s hard to pivot a large corporate entity in a new direction.
And fashion, my darlings, is moving in a new direction. Either move with it or move out of the way!
Let me explain:
Fashion used to have a defined cycle: runway, editorial, catalog, fit/showroom, commercial advertising. Each had it’s own time of the year so girls would move one cycle to the next, walk the runway one month, shoot the editorials the next month, shoot the catalogs in the months to follow. Fit and showroom girls were a full size 6 and worked a local market with the Fashion Coterie week every six months. Commercial was a frowned-upon adjective that implied cheesy lifestyle-type work and less money.
Europe was where models built their portfolios, starting in Milan and hopefully ending up in Paris. Germany had the money. Models would only move to NYC once their portfolios were strong and they’d compete in the high-stakes world of ad agencies and department stores. Japan was where models secretly went on six-week contracts to pad their bank accounts.
Fast forward to today’s GLOBAL commercial fashion market generating over a trillion dollars per year. The Brazilians took over IMG’s booty-market (hello SI & Victoria’s Secret), Anina left NYC as an unknown model to break out as the most recognizable model in China, and Stephanie Winston Wolkoff took NY Fashion Week to Lincoln Center with the intention of making it a year-round event. The high-end fashion economy sunk to new lows and the retail sector reacted with severe downsizing and less-tailored garments; Macy’s acquired May Company, merging over 50% of US department store holdings into a single corporate entity while shuttering Macy’s West corporate headquarters.
Gone are the days of big budgets, trips to exotic locations with full teams shooting 6 shots in a day, and full-length catalog pages. Airfares hiked and models absorbed overhead costs in the hopes of keeping their clientele. Day rates dropped, but more models are willing to work for less, so clients cast a wider net. And then came eCommerce, the perfect solution for a resource-constrained retail world.
Ford NY has downsized to one division of models with a spectrum of ages & sizes. Consolidation is taking place across the entire industry.
Think I’m wrong? Ford Models NY closed their Plus, Lifestyle and Classic boards on July 1st, 2013. Over 500 models and 20 agents went running for the doors to find new homes. Other agencies have followed suit, downsizing to their strongest, often youngest core of talent. Boutique agencies like DNA, Q Models, One Management and Muse are standing strong with solid, diverse, selective talent. Less models equals less overhead, which equals a better profit margin.
Photographers are shooting everything on white seamless in studio, 40 shots per day. Clothes are shown as still-life shots. Soon, it’ll just be one quick 360 degree video of a model in the clothes, and digital stills will be lifted from there. Faster and faster, until it all ends up feeling nothing like inspired art and more like a mass-production factory.
Fashion modeling has become commercially-driven and Warhol-ian.
In the end, it’s a trillion-dollar business.
So, how does that affect my choice of agency representation? I’m betting on global commercial fashion and advertising to be the big consistent earners. … Keep Reading »
My first photo, ever.
Haircut by David Kastin @CutlerSalon. Styled by Jacob Hyzer @MACcosmetics.
well maybe not literally, but figuratively
I'm selling off all of the crazy fashion, couture and little "trucs" i've acquired during my globe-trotting modeling years.
It's a 300 square foot climate-controlled closetful so I've got my assistant Loni to help me, and it'll take a few months.
You can view the action as it goes down on my personal eBay page (click here) .
If you've got a size 10 / 41 shoe or wear a size 6, this may be your lucky season!!!
Galliano, Chanel, Louis Vuitton, oh my gosh the most gorgeous Gucci vintage stilettos… and hot pink stiletto patent leather Stuart Weitzman boots!
Check me out, please give my stuff a good home! xo
here's the link for Mittens. thanks everybody xo
Wishing you a meaningful Memorial Day.
i had to submit a photo of me & my mom for an upcoming tiffany's campaign.
i dug up this one, a fav. we were celebrating.
my mom is so cute xo
PP and Baby Milo
Milo’s Baby Pics
Milo’s Baby Pics (In Pajamas)
Milo’s Baby Pics (Modesty Pose)
Milo’s Baby Pics (Ralph Lauren)
Milo’s Baby Pics
Milo’s Baby Pics (In Camo)
It’s something we often don’t think about ’til too late. PET INSURANCE.
When i was shooting my recent L’Oreal campaign with celebrity hairstylist Christopher John of Garren NYC, he was going through a tragic loss of his beloved pet. Suffering from a fatal condition, his cutie patootie dog was in the veterinary ICU clinging to life for days before he peacefully passed on.
The cost of ICU care? Almost $3000/day. This is not a NYC price, I’ve heard this from friends across the USA. My sister’s cat was uninsured, and when he was diagnosed with diabetes he had a two-day emergency stay that cost $2000. Once diagnosed he was fully treatable, but that’s a lot of money to get to a diagnosis!
No matter what our position or success in life, no matter how much love you have for your pet, one will take pause & consider spending 3k per day on a sick pet, cuz it’s a heckuva lot of money! If your pet is sick, and the vet is promising that “treatment can work” that’s $21,ooo for a week of treatment. There are CT Scans, MRIs, blood tests, x-rays…
Common sense tells us to weigh the possible life term of the animal with the cost. Human sense tells us to pay whatever it costs to save our pet. This is not a position i ever want to be in!
UPDATE: I am happy to announce that as of April 20th, 2009 Milo is insured! (there’s a waiting period of 2 weeks from time of enrollment)
From that date on I will breathe a sigh of relief, should anything go tragically wrong, Milo will be covered for $10,000 of medical care with a mere 10% co-pay every single year for the rest of the years he blesses this earth. Cost of my peace-of-mind? $220/year.
I’ve researched all the pet insurance companies and decided that, in my opinion, Embrace Pet Insurance is the #1 choice. Milo agrees. He points out that they are underwritten by Lloyd’s of London. He’s into name-dropping
The Customer Service reps have been fawning over him via email and phone since enrollment. These are pet lovers, real people who answer the telephone and pass cute pet pics around the office. They also offer the most customizable plans, so you don’t pay for what you don’t need.
EYE OPENER:
The pet care products placed in vet offices are PAID placements. The food, the brochures, it’s all ad revenue for the vet. I don’t blame them, after all they are businesses, but still… VPI pet insurance, most prevalently advertised in vet offices, only gets a 4.5 out of 10 by customers who reviewed it. My choice, Embrace, received a 9.2 out of 10. Don’t buy into a plan that’s going to try to weasel out of every claim. What’s the point?
Even worse than realizing too late that you need insurance is thinking you have the insurance and realizing too late that it sux. If no one picks up the phone or acknowledges your claim it’s as good as having no insurance!
MONEY-SAVING TIP:
The drop-down menu on the site registration only allows you to select pure breeds. i signed up online, paid… and then called a couple days later to update his policy that he is a Pekepoo, not a Pekingese. They said “You get 1/3 of what you paid refunded. Hybrids are healthier than purebreds, so they cost less to insure.” That phone call saved me $75.
Should Milo one day hurt a paw or eat (another) plushie toy appendage, he will have insurance, and he will thank Christopher’s dog for the lesson passed on in his legacy. ♥
