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Case Study: Alantae Berry

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Alantae Berry is an inspiring 4'11 model with a big dream. I had a passion for being in front of the camera since I was a little girl. I remember putting on heels and strutting through the house as if I was on a runway. I have always been petite for my age, but I was determined that one day I would be a star. The average height for American women is 5’5 and the qualifications for modeling is between 5’8 and 5’11. Fashion industries have these strong preferences and A study done in 2002 showed that among top editorial fashion agencies in Los Angeles and New York only 4% of the models were below 5’8. My hopes were once shot down when I was told that I wasn't "tall" enough to model. Petite fashion modeling is almost non-existent except at the very lowest levels of the industry, …show more content…

Sometimes shorter models get jobs as fit models, or in mall fashion shows, but there is very little opportunity in fashion modeling for smaller models. There is at least one current legitimate model agency in New York City that has a petite division although it is a commercial fashion/commercial print agency and not really a high fashion agency and the girls are mostly commercial print oriented. Even in that agency, the majority of the petite models are 5'5" or over, and some are as tall as 5'8", which is already considered average and not really “petite”. They suggest to us that a girl who does not meet the height standards for a fashion model should not spend a lot of time, effort and money pursuing that goal when the probabilities of success are so very low. Society forces young women to believe that the idea of a perfect woman is very slim and tall, but beauty comes in all different shapes and sizes. I may be small however I have a greater vision that no one can snatch from me. Nobody should feel discouraged or feel bad about themselves for not being the ideal height of perfect or not fitting

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