I thought (for about five minutes) about becoming a fashion designer but discovered that I was held back by my inability to draw! My careers counselor kinda despaired every time we met, because I always managed to get her talking about a handbag I wanted or a pair of shoes I absolutely had to have!

Ten years down the line, I’m still the same, only I’m a fairly successful model and I get to fly around the world. I’m not one of the more famous catwalk models, I’m more in the shadows, but that tends to suit my personality, plus it means that no one ever bothers me when I’m not working. My job is, in many ways, my life and those I work with my family.

We all know each other, despite the amount of travel that we do, and we’re far more likely to exchange gossip about who said what, or what cool freebies we’ve gotten as a result of a recent campaign or shoot that we’ve done. And don’t get me started on some of the funny (and cringe-worthy) stuff that sometimes happens …

A friend of mine landed a quirky job last month. She was photographed wearing one of those ab belts, with the tag line ‘can you buy the flex belt in stores‘ blazoned across the advert footer. You couldn’t see her, only her mid-section (and that of a hot male model) and the ab belt thing around their waists.

As a result of the shoot, she got given (ohhhh the cool stuff we get our hands on!) two of the ab belts, the sports gear she wore for the shoot (there were thee different outfits) and a small box of those sports nutrition bars. She thought it the funniest collection of freebies, me – I thought the belts were cool and the clothing ok and the food bars … ok, they were odd!

Even though we look good, we have to work at it. The hype about models being lucky etc is exactly that – hype. Most of us do eat what we want but we almost all follow some kind of fitness routine. We also take good care of our skin and hair. We try and sleep well, and avoid too much partying.

Whilst it’s true that photo-shopping is rife in the industry, there’s only so much image manipulation you can do before the model/s start to look way too fake to pass muster. Trust me – models can look as rough as anyone else after too many late nights and not enough sleep.

Despite all that, I still love what I do and why I do it. If you’re lucky (like I was) you’ll get scouted whilst out shopping down the mall – no kidding. I was out with my girlfriends when I was 17 and an agent came over and the rest well … history! Now I have the coolest collection of clothes, a well-stamped travel visa and a truly awesome lifestyle and career!

In particular I found their 5 golden rules for pears to be very instructive.  I thought I’d highlight them here.  Check them out and if you like them, I’d strongly recommend buying the book for yourself.  There’s lots more useful stuff to sift through.

The 5 golden rules for pears

• Golden Rule #1: Lighter and brighter upper body – The point here is to emphasize your top half which, as you are a pear, will tend to be slimmer than your bottom half.  Light colors make things appear larger than dark colours so use that to accentuate your smaller top half.
• Golden Rule #2: Darker fabrics on the lower body – This is basically the opposite of the first rule.  As darker colors recede, they make whatever body part they are covering appear smaller.  So dark, matte colors are what pear shaped women should wear on their bottom half.
• Golden Rule #3: Align the shoulders with the hips – Your ideal silhouttee is where your shoulders have the same width as your hips (or the widest part of your body).  Wearing jackets with structured shoulders or tops with a wide boat neck will help create this balance.
• Golden Rule #4: Avoid hemlines at your widest points – If you’ve got hemline that stretching across your widest part, it wont flatter your one bit.  Your jackets should stop at a thinner part of your body.  Same goes for skirt hem lines and sleeves.
• Golden Rule #5: Don’t taper inwards from the hips – Any clothes that narrow at your ankles are going to make your mid-section look proportionally larger.  Not  good look for a pear!  So throw out those skinny jeans once and for all.

Nicole Richie was best known for her reality show with her old best friend Paris Hilton. Nowadays, though she is better known for her clothing line Winter Kate and her accessories line House of Harlow. The Nicole Richie clothing line is very popular and has been seen being worn by lots of other celebrities and in many different magazines.

Jessica Simpson started out as a singer, then an actress and is now known for her massive fashion line that includes shoes, handbags, luggage, swimwear, and jewelry. In fact she is probably better known for her hot pink heels she has in her fashion line rather than her singing or acting.

Justin Timberlake launched the clothing company William Rast with a friend back in 2005. The company quickly became one of the most popular clothing lines for jeans for men and women. Timberlake still has a part in the company but is more well-known for being an actor now.

Gwen Stefani is another celebrity singer who has a popular fashion line. Her L.A.M.B (Love Angel Music Baby) is very successful and had an awesome showing at the last fashion week in New York.

Beyonce paired with her mother Tina Knowles to develop the line House of Deron. The clothing line includes dresses, jeans, shirts, and skirts for women of all sizes and shapes.

Victoria Beckham used to be just a Spice Girl and now she is looked at as a style icon. This style icon started her own denim line back in 2007 called dVb. She also developed a more extensive fashion line a year later and even got to debut it at New York Fashion Week.

Daisy Fuentes used to be an MTV vee-jay and model but now she is best known for her fashion line which can be bought at Kohl’s. Her line includes different pieces for women from dresses to leggings.

These are just some of the celebrities who have gone on to have successful fashion lines and some of them are even bigger in the fashion world than in the acting or singer world.

First of all it takes more confidence to be a swimsuit model than it does any other kind of model, with perhaps the exception of a lingerie model. Let’s face it, you’ll be called on to show a lot more of your body than if you were modeling winter down coats.

1. You should have a well proportioned body, regardless of your size. While the model shown in the picture above is wearing a small ruffle bikini by Cecilia Prado, you can find lots of work as a plus size model.

2. You’re legs should be shapely and lack cellulite if you want to be a plus size swimsuit model. In this case the booking agents can be brutal. It’s not the size of your legs but the shape and soundness. Many plus size swim suit models are actually a Size 16 and 5 foot 10 inches. So they have beautiful proportions and look a lot better in a swimsuit than a 5 foot 2 inch woman who’s a size Size 16.

3. You should have a well-toned stomach area, with a little definition – but not to much. This will help you look great in micro bikinis. You can’t always count on getting the Miraclesuit – “Lose 10 Pounds in 10 Minutes” – contract.
4. Your skin needs to be flawless and probably beautifully tanned. The more work you do, the less time the makeup artists have to spend perfecting you. Look like you’re ready to step on the beach and the photographer will spend more time taking photos. That’s where he makes his money.

But as with all kind of modeling jobs, it’s important not to take it when you get rejected because they don’t like the size and shape of your bellybutton. The next photographer might just love it!

Strength training is particularly important as women age.  Both men and women start to loose muscle mass as they age, so it is important to maintain and build on what you have.  Muscle also burns more calories than fat so the more muscle you have the higher your resting metabolism will be.  This doesn’t just mean doing belly crunches, incorporate strength training exercises that work your whole body from your arms to your legs and everything in between (including your abdomen and back).  Not only will strength training help you burn more calories, it will also help you keep that sexy muscle tone.

Cutting carbohydrates can also help you keep a trim tummy.  As women age and estrogen levels start to drop they become more insulin resistant, meaning their bodies may start to ignore those signals telling them to absorb blood sugar.  Other shifts in hormones can cause cortisol, the stress hormone, to rise.  This can tell your body to send fat to the abdominal area for storage and this fat can then interfere with insulin.  It can be a troubling cycle once the belly bulge develops.

Sleep is important and there is something to the term beauty sleep.  Not only will getting enough sleep help you avoid dark circles under your eyes, it will also help you control your weight as you age.  A lack of sleep can trigger hunger hormones that can intensify cravings for high fat and high calorie foods.  Getting enough sleep regularly will make it easier to maintain your weight and have enough energy for work and your workouts.

Here, you will be learning about an important thing that should be part of your life as a model. That thing is exercise. Now you may be of the thinking that since you have a slender body already, you do not need to engage in a fitness routine – and that is where you are wrong. Keeping your body healthy through exercise is a surefire way to make sure that you always look young, healthy, and oh so vibrant for your career.

Exercise has a whole lot of benefits for your body. Aside from keeping your body lean, supple, and toned, it will also benefit your skin and complexion greatly. Another great bonus is that exercise will give you the energy you need to face those long days of work in your modeling career.

If you want to get a good piece of exercise equipment to use regularly, you should check out some reviews of Proform treadmills and look for the treadmill from that line which best suits your needs. You can also consult treadmill ratings to make the search easier for you.

One of the keys to having great-looking skin is thinking about the future in addition to doing something about your face now. That means you have to have a much broader approach rather than focusing on the odd pimple that you have today. Even if you have a breakout, it’s important to stay calm without overreacting. There are still professional models to this day who use improper skin care methods to deal with situations like acne and blackheads. They might be able to get away with it, but for someone just starting out in the business you have to think about what your skin is going to look like in a couple of weeks.

As you may have guessed, it’s important to refrain from popping your pimples and zits. It might seem like a suitable solution, especially right before a photo shoot, but you have to think about the consequences. Sometimes you have to weigh this decision carefully and you might actually following the side of popping those pimples. Just be prepared to live with the repercussions because it might provoke further outbreaks in the future. Dealing with how to get rid of acne is never as simple as popping is it or blasting your face with an expensive cream.

Daily washing will always be essential, and healthy lifestyle factors will help as well. For example, drink lots of water and make sure that your face is moisturized before and after your modeling session. You’ll also benefit from exercise which is probably something you’re doing already. A good diet will help to maintain your body chemistry to prevent overactive hormones and too much oil on your face. And if you find that dealing with how to get rid of blackheads and acne becomes too overwhelming, that book an appointment with a dermatologist. There are many dermatologists who work directly with models to ensure they have long-term skin care in mind with great treatments.

Goth fashion lovers have adopted snake rings and taken them to a whole new level. Today’s Gothic snake rings start on the index and crosses over to several more fingers. Can’t picture it? Well take a look below.

There you go. If you’re a mainstream woman making a presentation and want to get their attention, where this to the big conference. I would only recommend this, if you don’t mind being the center of attention. I guarantee that EVERYONE will want to know where you got it and what you were thinking when you decided to wear it.

For today and tomorrow’s fashion accessory wear a snake ring.

Obviously I’m working, and the trips are less about sightseeing and pretty much all about focusing on a product line or related to gaining the inside track on upcoming trends. One of my latest trips was to watch a few days worth of fashion shows over in Tokyo. The focus (for me at least) was all about Oakley sunglasses, in particular the half-jacket range.

They’re a beautiful, well-crafted product and featured in some of the worlds most high-end publications. They’re also used (quite heavily) in product placement in film and TV, as well as worn naturally by the rich and famous – which is a truly awesome way of pushing any product … free advertising!

All of the above is a part of what I do because it’s my job to promote a product, boost sales and introduce new products to the market in such a way that they will (hopefully) enjoy the best possible exposure to consumers. Merchandising is a varied role, one that can find you needing to wear many hats.

In the world of fashion (which is my particular field) merchandisers get to know each other, more so at the top end of the market. Large, well known brands don’t employ many – they tend to employ the very best ‘sales people’ (because that’s what we are) and so you get to recognize faces as you move around the various fashion circles and big stores when you’re heading a new promo campaign.

If you fancy getting into the world of fashion but know in your heart that you’re not designer material, or you’re no good behind or in front of the camera, consider working as a fashion merchandiser. In fact there are quite a few interesting roles that you can move into if you lack the talent or looks normally associated with the fashion world.

Trust me – a little fashion know how, a dash of luck and some hard work and you can live the fashionista dream!

To get an inside glimpse of this type of industry, check out the show Project Runway hosted by Heidi Klum. This is a show where designers are chosen out of thousands to be on a show where each week, a challenge is given and a contestant is eliminated. You’ll get a feel of the stress that can be involved in the fashion industry as well as just how serious designers in this field take their work. The grand prize is money as well as a contract and the change to display their designs during fashion week, a dream to most designers. If you’re good and people like your style, especially celebrities, you could make huge amounts of money.