I stood as confident as one could in their bra and panties in a room of twenty. I wanted to laugh out loud at the absurdity of the situation but the fear that my ribcage was not adequate kept me quiet. It was then that the designer set down her tape measure with a smile which she made a point to direct at me and announced to the room of suits that my ribcage was indeed smaller than most...1/4 of an inch. My face turned red as I stood there half naked. I felt hopelessly aware of my miniscule ribs. I actually thought…how does one change their ribs? I guess I will add ribs to my list of flaws along with my thighs.
Don’t even get me started on what it’s like to be a fit model during the holidays. Thanksgiving has always been my favorite holiday. I think there is something so pleasing about eating all the food you want with no guilt attached. Everybody’s doing it! It’s what you do on Thanksgiving. Just before my favorite holiday, I landed a big t-shirt account. My first fitting was coming to an end, and I was saying my good-byes to all the designers in the room. I’d see them again the following week when I returned from my Thanksgiving Holiday on the East coast. It was then I heard...“Don’t eat too much!” the Head Designer said with a smile.
I thought she was joking so I laughed and even added a knee slap in for good measure. When no one else joined in, I got the message...she wasn’t kidding. She was attempting in the kindest of ways to tell me to starve myself. I have to say it took the fun right out of the turkey! I had to face the cruel truth. My body was no longer mine to stuff on the holiday. The world of t-shirts was depending on me to pass on the pumpkin pie. So this is how I make a living?
