Urgh, I could just tell they were a scam from the get go.

At the insistence of my mom, I went to one of those casting calls and it was ridiculous. A couple of my friends wound up getting sucked into it and, after essentially going through an etiquette class, weren't really quite the same; they were way more stuck up and caked on more makeup than a high school freshman should be wearing. They never got modeling jobs, despite all the promises made to them. (Surprise.)

It's just way too much time and money for something that has a thin chance of ever panning out. (After, of course, you fork out MORE money.)

I remember seeing these Barbizon ads in my Teen magazine that I used to obsessively read...haha.

I never did attend those Barbizon seminars, but my best friend and I did attend the info seminar of the John Casablancas school. Which is also a gigantic waste of money that they tried to convince us and our parents that we should attend.
But who doesn't dream of being a model, jet-setting across the world, trying on fabulous clothes and experimenting with exciting hairstyles and makeup all the while getting paid a boat load of money? Sounds like the life!

No, but I get told a lot that I should be one I guess after that happened a lot, I tried/try to look like one just for fun, but I never really thought of pursuing it as a career (too much uncertainty/competition etc.)

I did not dream of that.

I would have loved to become a model, but I knew that I could never be a model because of my weight. Plus, I always figured those modeling schools were a scam.

I just want to look Like one.

when i was young i always wanted too. my mom even sent in the pictures. they always said i had the cheekbones for it, but had lose weight..

Erm, at that age, I wanted to be an archaeologist. I had a subscription to Archeology Magazine and National Geographic, which were far more fascinating than TeenPeople. (Not that I didn't read TeenPeople, too, and YM, but they always had scary stories about young models. And one of them had a feature where they showed an up-and-coming model and she showed off all the tacky stuff she liked. So that put me off as well...)

I didn't think it was even real or a valid school or whatever it's supposed to be. I'm pretty sure I had a general idea of how modeling agencies work, so this training thing didn't make any sense to me. And also I didn't have interest in being a model.

I always dreamed of being a model, but definately knew that at 5'3", there was NO WAY!

MartiniLush: At 5' 3" you can model. No. Not on the runway and not for Eilene Ford. But you can do retail and promotional work, lifestyle/stock, swimsuit, fur, and lingerie. I don't know your age but if you're over 35 [even better - over 45] there is a HUGE demand for models in the stock photography industry. Getting hooked up is easy - Get some good candids, full body and head shots and set up a profile on One Model Place or [not as safe] place an ad on Craigslist. Too: Depending on where you are located, I may have semi-pro and pro photographer friends who could help you on a TFCD basis. PM me if you're interested.

Now back on topic...
I've seen those ads but I never dreamed of being a model. I actually got into it quite by accident when a friend of a friend of mine needed a model to show her retail clothing line. I was the size she needed and she offered me a nice day rate plus I got to keep the clothing. I was scared and never thought I'd be pretty enough [or whatever] but the show went off without a hitch and soon I was working for the parent company on a regional basis.

A few months of that and I was propositioned by a rep for a national lingerie manufacturer. A couple catalogs later I signed with an agency and started doing promotional work for a national truck manufacturer, an international steel company, a regional department store, etc. etc. I made a very nice living doing it for 5+ years.

LSMS: The agency I worked for had a 105 lb weight limit. If you weighed in 1 ounce more you didn't get any work that week. I liked to work and liked the money so I got myself down to 95 lbs. This way I was able to work regardless of the time of the month. Being an adult and weighing 95 lbs is no way to live and my career ended the day a doctor told me to either gain at least 30 pounds or be incarcerated in a hospital for a refeeding program.

hahahaha
barbizon is SUUUUCH a sham!
and i knew someone who went to that
piece of crap "School"
which makes me laugh even more at this topic.

and i've never dreamed or ever wanted to become a model.
i always grew up wanting to be a vet or a nurse.

oh! and you should never pay to go to "modeling school" cause there's no such thing...you should never pay for modeling, people should pay you

at least that's what tyra banks
always says.

As a child I went to John Casablancas modeling and career center... the founder of elite models.. it was a fun time! I was so good at runway that they allowed me to teach the adult class! I was 8 at the time..

Wasn't my thing when I was younger - I was a bit of a tomboy - and it still isn't. Now I love hair & makeup, but it's as much in the spirit of fun as anything else.

Hey, bailaoragaditana - I wanted to be an archaeologist too! (Part of me still does.)

I did this. I was 13 and my best friend and I got picked to go through this school. 2,000 dollars later...I was just another poor scammed kid with dreams of being a model that never happened. Of course I always go on Fordmodels.com and still contemplate sending in pictures but I don't know how modeling would fit in my life right now.

I have since then done some modeling here and there for local things like some clothing companies and runway for local shops and whatnot (I live in the suburbs of chicago) and people come up to me all the time and tell me that I would be a perfect model which at 5'9" and 125 LBS I can understand that people see a model in me but I'm just glad that I was able to experience as much as I have in modeling so far and am kind of happy I never did go on to the big stuff...I would've missed a lot of opportunities that I had as a kid.

Anyways, I'm glad though that I went to Barbazon. They did teach some pretty great people, makeup, and etiquette skills that have come in handy for me throughout my teenage life and as I approach my twenties (I'm 19).

Speaking of Barbazon though, they still call me from time to time - six years later - and tell me they get recommendations from others to me and want me to sign up with the agency haha of course I would have...six years ago LOL

Oh man, my parents got scammed into enrolling me in "Beverly Hills Studios" because I wanted to act. It was THE biggest scam ever. They had unemployed actors posing as acting instructors (you know Efren Ramirez from Napoleon Dynamite? He was one of my so-called "teachers"!). I guess my parents just wanted to give me self-esteem so badly that they felt into the trap. I still have an immense sense of guilt for being responsible for the fact that they blew a huge wad of cash on this crap.

For the record, this was in the 90's and years before anyone knew who Efren Ramirez was.

When I was about 10 I went to "modeling" school with a friend of mine. Dear lord...

We learned to do a "new york" turn.

wow all of your stories are really amazing! Thanks for telling them, there are alot scams people don't know about...including me.

wow all of your stories are really amazing! Thanks for telling them, there are alot scams people don't know about...including me.

wow all of your stories are really amazing! Thanks for telling them, there are alot scams people don't know about...including me.

When I started modeling, my agency had me pay for my photos and some training, but I made all the money back after working a few jobs. I wish that I could have more training on how to walk though. My agency always wanted me to do runway, because I look better in person than in photos, but I was never that great at it.

I remember those. I wanted to look like one. Glad I didn't fall for the scam!

Yup I did. But I really wanted to be an actress. My mom actually brought me to an agent when I was little, but my parents thought they were awfully sketchy so the whole plan was just scrapped. And then there was the fact that my mom didn't really know Manhattan, which is essential for auditions and whatnot. I still want to be an actress though and I wouldn't mind doing print modeling. There's no way I could be a runway model, I'm about 8 inches too short lmao

My daughter begged to go. Several other girls in town were modeling, so we enrolled her in a Barbizon class. She actually did quite well, as long as she looked like she was 8! She quit when she got tired of auditions. BTW, the other girls are still modeling, and one went to Broadway as an Annie! Guess it depends on the time and place!

I just wanted to look like one, but I never went to Barbizon for help. I think one of my friends did though...yeah, nothing too great she said.

mind over beauty any day.

I never even considered it. I'm half Asian and petite. Back in the late '80s when I was young enough, it was blatantly obvious that I didn't have a chance. Things have changed a lot since then and if I was a teenager now I might consider giving it a try on a small scale, but back then it wasn't even worth dreaming about it.

I was never interested. I did go with my friend one time and realized it was a scam when they told her she could be a model. The girl had burns all over her chest and on her chin. They also told her she'd be a plus sized model when she was a 6.

aah the dreamss...
and oh, jaimeleah, she was a size 6 and they say a plus size?
wht d*ck heads are they??? this size is supposedly in the SMALL category!!

No, I had no interest.