ChocolateSushiCouture- Photo shoot, October 2009

I never thought that doing modeling on the fun occasion would warrant crawling all over my friend's patio and onto the ledge of her roof. But hey, I've never done anything half way! Friend and clothing designer Niehla Ollie, creator of Chocolate Sushi Couture, needed a few shots of her skirts from her the fall line. I volunteered to model and spent a wonderful afternoon playing dress up in a plaid "Donna" skirt, grey "Marilyn" skirt, and beautiful opera coat in robin's egg blue. Veronica Romero was our lovely photographer.
Very sweet.
This was no an ordinary photo shoot. The three of us, Niehla, Veronica and I, were putting our heads together and auditioning for a reality show. Cast Iron Production Company approached us looking for women living and working in Chicago that were plus-size. The idea was to showcase a group of girlfriends that were plus-size and willing to be candid about their lives, their bodies and their struggles towards getting in shape and/or staying in shape. We thought it would be interesting to at least apply and audition for the show. So, we spent the afternoon of October 4th, 2009 running around on Niehla's rooftop, videotaping ourselves being silly. It was a great afternoon. Thankfully my friend Jeremy (Veronica's boyfriend, as well) was patient enough to videotape our escapades with grim humor. Bless you, Jer.

I had internal reservations about being involved in a reality show. The idea of my privacy being violated by cameras everyday did not have a ton of appeal. So, why did I decide to audition? Because in the fashion industry a size 8 is considered plus-size. There are girls literally starving themselves to death in order to walk the runway. I'm not okay with this. I figured that if I could be a part of a dialogue about beauty and bodies then somehow I'd be helping.
With the photo shoot done and our video created, we gave our audition tape to representatives of the company when we were interviewed. Nothing came of the audition or tape, but we still have our pictures from the shoot. Again, being a private person, I'm not super bummed about not being involved in this project, and as far as I know, the show never left the ground. It's still a priority of mine to have honest and positive discussions about the feminine image in our society, but I'm doing it on a small scale instead. One poem or blog at a time, or better yet, every day when I look in the mirror, being understanding and loving of myself, so I can pay that strength forward when I have the chance.
For more information and a longer rant, you can see it here.