Did you hear all the talk about the 51 year old model, that has the fashion scene all a twitter?? According to news reports, ex- Chanel model, Ines de la Fressa, “stole the show” at the recent Spring 2009 Gaultier show.
It’s no news to us that the fashion industry has continually snubbed its nose at us “real” women, although we are the ones that are doing most of the buying!
But the tide seems to be turning… As we have reported in past posts, there is a glimmer of hope, and the industry is seeing the light! With new modeling agencies popping up that specialize in “older” models, there is still a chance to fulfill your lost dream of modeling!
Speaking of a comeback… our friend and author Christopher Hopkins just let us know of a Real People model search and make-over contest that is going on over at the AARP website.
Here is a photo of last year’s winners:
We hope to start seeing more mature models strutting their stuff on the pages of mainstream magazines soon!!
The face of beauty is changing before our eyes. Advertisers are finally starting to feature women 40+ in fashion ads and on television.
The result- a huge growing demand for mature and sophisticated women.
The Red Model Management would lov e our readers to be a part of their new division of models who are over 40, called the S-Class Division.
They are looking for vibrant, photogenic, elegant women between the ages of 35 and 65, and taller than 5’8″. And get this: No experience necessary!
The first open call will be in New York on April 26th at their NYC offices:
Red Modeling Management
15 Broad Street
Suite 3320, 33rd Fl
At each open call the potential model will be asked to fill out an application, bring a current photo of themselves and pay a $45 processing fee. Participants will have the chance to meet with a Red NYC S-Class agent on the spot.
We asked our modeling expert Judy Goss if this is the real deal…and she said, “YES!, it absolutely is!”
JoJami was in New York this week and got to meet former model, Christie Dinham, the new director of the S-Class division and owner of Fashion How. “Chrisitie is such a remarkable women, she truly has a desire to help give women a chance to fulfill their lifelong dreams”, says JoJami. If you are interested in exploring modeling or other areas of fashion, check out her site for upcoming Fashion How workshops.
So please, keep us posted…we want to hear from all of you who go out there, and go for it.
Update July 2010- Sorry Ladies we heard earlier this year this agency CLOSED due to lack of business. What wrong with advertisers. Don’t they know that we 40+ GALS are the clients. We have money and are ready to buy but it’s tough to see products and clothes on 20 year olds and feel motivated to buy them. We need models our age so we can relate!!
If you ever wanted to try modeling, but thought you were too old, think again!
More Magazine, was recently on a nation wide search for 10 top models, all over the age of 40!
Judy Goss, More Magazine’s booking and castings editor recently told us that several of the women who entered the contest had many challenges to overcome to just enter.
Lani Ridenhour was one of those women!
We interviewed Lani recently to get the inside scoop on what it was like to enter a national modeling contest.
Lani topped 6 feet when she was in high school, and had to overcome all the teasing you can imagine that went with being exceptionally tall and having clothes that never fit right.
However, all along she had a deep desire to be a model.
Fast forward, to 35 years old, when she saw the More/Wilhelmina Model Search in her local store (westchester).Lani got in line, asked a million questions and they told her it was FOR 40+ women.
When Lani turned 40, the timing wasn’t right. She was married to a marine and had a son entering high school. Lani had to support a husband who traveled all over the world and continue to raise her son.
In 2005-2006 Lani’s husband was in Iraq, she promised herself that if he made it back safely she would try to enter again. By the time, Lani was 44.
Still,after nearly 10 years since she first stood in line, she was back again! Her persistence paid off. Lani made the cut and became one of the top 10 finalists out of 14,000 women around the country. She even appeared on the Today Show and plans to pursue modeling full time.
“I just feel so blessed to be doing something that I love and am passionate about” says Lani. “I hope my story will inspire others not to give up on their dreams”.
To read more about the winners go to: www.more.com
If you’ve dreamed of being a model, but figure it’s too late. It’s not! The demand for 40+ models is on the rise.
Calling all models (even over 40)
Just ask Judy Goss, MORE magazine booking agent and author of:
Break into Modeling For Under $20.00
Judy, a former FORD model will be our special guest for a FREE one hour teleseminar to teach you how to get into the biz without getting ripped off and to answer all your questions about modeling.
This call is not limited to to mature models. If you have a daughter, younger friend or co-worker who would love to be a model too, be sure to tell them about this exciting FREE teleseminar.
How to Break Into Modeling, No Matter What Your Age!
Monday, Feb. 25th at 9:00pm EST (6:00pm PST)
For more details and to sign up, just CLICK HERE!
Interesting post at Newsweek about a new trend happening with models. It seems there’s a swing away from serious looking pencil thin young glamazons to more real looking models -everyday people of all shapes sizes, who exude their own unique kind of personal style no matter what they are wearing.
Apparently, it’s all because of bloggers like Scott Schuman, who we’ve written about before, from The Satorialist. His candid person-on-the street fashion photos have inspired the fashion industry to make the change.
First it was the Dove Pro-age ladies… now this. Looking forward to seeing many more magnificent midlife mamas and boomer babes!
(Let’s hope these real models smile and laugh a little. We’re sick of looking at photos of teenage girls with sucked in cheeks and sour faces. Life is too short to be frumpy and too short to be so serious!)
Dove Pro-Age Ad
It’s hard to stay motivated to keep looking great when you feel like you are invisible. Let’s face it, past 40 there are very few role models out there representing mature beauty and style… no one to inspire us or make feel validated.
That’s why we’re thrilled that MORE magazine, the sole publication that celebrates women our age is once again running their annual More/Wilhemena 40 plus Model Search. They’ve just come out with the finalists and these gals are fabulous-smart, beautiful and vibrant.
We love them all including Michelle Griffith Hilliard, a physician, wife, mother of six and a natural cover girl. Now there’s inspiration. She’s enough to shake any 40 plus woman out of a gloomy midlife crisis and motivate her to get going!
Reading over the profiles of these amazing women it is interesting to see that when asked, “If you could go back to your 25 year old self what would you say?”, all of these gals said basically the same thing.
Have faith in yourself, be confident, take chances, enjoy every moment. It’s something that seems so natural to us now, but be darned if we could have lived that message at 25 no matter how many times we were told it.
Thank goodness for this wisdom - It’s the best gift of aging.
Just got back from NYC and saw the new Dove Billboard of the nude “Grandmother” in Times Square.
If you haven’t heard, Dove has a new campaign out out that boldly challenges the “only-young-is-beautiful” stereotype. The campaign, called Pro-age, features real 50+ plus women tastefully un-covered, wrinkles, grey hair, curves and all.
Now when we first heard about this we wondered, “Do they really need to have these women naked on a billboard to prove that older women can still look great?”
But after seeing at the beautiful photos by photographer Annie Leibovitz, we’re thrilled that the issue of women 50+ being invisible in the media is finally being challenged.
It’s empowering to see these attractive, vibrant boomer women with real bodies up there, proving that you can be stunning at any age.
Bravo to the models. They really have guts! We applaud you for being trailblazers and helping so many women feel good about aging honestly.
