Roxanne hesitated. There was an appealing eagerness about the girl, and she did have an exquisite figure. She was not beautiful, but possibly with the right makeup.…“Have you had any experience?”
“Yes. I’ve been wearing clothes all my life.”
Roxanne laughed. “All right. Let me see your portfolio.”
Kendall looked at her blankly. “My portfolio?”
Roxanne sighed. “My dear girl, no self-respecting model walks around without a portfolio. It’s your bible. It’s what your prospective clients are going to look at.” Roxanne sighed again. “I want you to get two head shots—one smiling and one serious. Turn around.”
“Right.” Kendall began to turn.
“Slowly.” Roxanne studied her. “Not bad. I want a photo of you in a bathing suit or lingerie, whatever is the most flattering for your figure.”
“I’ll get one of each,” she said eagerly.
Roxanne had to smile at her earnestness. “All right. You’re…er…different, but you might have a shot.”
“Thank you.”
“Don’t thank me too soon. Modeling for fashion magazines isn’t as simple as it looks. It’s a tough business.”
“I’m ready for it.”
“We’ll see. I’m going to take a chance on you. “I’ll send you out on some go-sees.”
“I’m sorry?”
“A go-see is where clients catch up on all the new models. There will be models from other agencies there, too. It’s kind of a cattle call.”
“I can handle it.”
That had been the beginning. Kendall went on a dozen go-sees before a designer was interested in having her wear his clothes. She was so tense, she almost spoiled her chances by talking too much.
“I really love your dresses, and I think they would look good on me. I mean, they would look good on any woman, of course. They’re wonderful! But I think they’ll look especially good on me.” She was so nervous that she was stammering.
The designer nodded sympathetically. “This is your first job, isn’t it?”
“Yes, sir.”
He had smiled. “All right. I’ll try you. What did you say your name was?”
“Kendall Stanford.” She wondered if he would make the connection between her and the Stanfords, but of course, there was no reason for him to.
Roxanne had been right. Modeling was a tough business. Kendall had to learn to accept constant rejection, go-sees that led nowhere, and weeks without work. When she did work, she was in makeup at six A.M., finished a shoot, went on to the next, and often didn’t get through until after midnight.
One evening, after a long day’s shoot with half a dozen other models, Kendall looked in a mirror and groaned, “I won’t be able to work tomorrow. Look how puffy my eyes are!”
One of the models said, “Put cucumber slices over your eyes. Or you can put some chamomile tea bags in hot water, let them cool, and put them over your eyes for fifteen minutes.”
In the morning, the puffiness was gone.
Kendall envied the models who were in constant demand. She would hear Roxanne arranging their bookings: “I originally gave Scaasi a secondary on Michelle. Call and tell them that she will be available, so I’m moving them up to a tentative.…”
Kendall quickly learned never to criticize the clothes she was modeling. She became acquainted with some of the top photographers in the business, and had a photo composite made to go with her portfolio. She carried a model’s bag filled with necessities—clothes, makeup, a nail-care bag, and jewelry. She learned to blow-dry her hair upside down to give it more body, and to add curl to her hair with heated rollers.
There was a lot more to learn. She was a favorite of the photographers, and one of them pulled her aside to give her some advice. “Kendall, always save your smiling shots for the end of the shoot. That way, your mouth will have less creasing.”
Kendall was becoming more and more popular. She was not the conventional drop-dead beauty that was the hallmark of most models, but she had something more, a graceful elegance.
“She’s got class,” one of the advertising agents said.
And that summed it up.
She was also lonely. From time to time she went out on dates, but they were meaningless. She was working steadily, but she felt she was no nearer to her goal than she was when she had first arrived in New York. I have to find a way to make contact with the top designers, Kendall thought.