The Secret Life Of A Fittings Model…part one

The Secret Life Of A Fittings Model…part one

When I am not modelling or acting I have a weird secret job that no one outside the industry really understands. I am a fittings model.
It is a weird world. I get paid to try on clothes. Simple as that.
Below I have listed a few funny home truths that you tend to experience in this secret part of the fashion industry that you may not know much about.

{side note: I have been fitting for ten years now and I absolutely love my fittings jobs and everyone I have and do fit for.
This is not a negative article, simply a few fun facts. I will not be naming names xx}

{Google Images}

Fittings Model:
A model that has clothes fitted on them. You are the perfect size for a specific company.

Garment Technician:
The people that make the clothes fit you.

1. You will be stabbed numerous times
It is inevitable that you will be continuously stabbed and scratched with pins and safety pins.
Garment technicians are very rushed with their time and through no fault of their own they often forget you are a human.
Don’t blame them though, they have a busy schedule and probably thought, for a brief moment that you were just the mannequin.
When fitting trousers, it is common for the trouser leg to be pinned all the way down the back of the leg to achieve the right fit.
Once, whilst fitting a white pair of jeans I was pinned all the way down the leg. I took said trousers off, sliced (scratched) my legs and bled all over the trousers, whoopsy.

2. You may get a free haircut
I was once having a coat fitted on me and the hood was too tight over head. The garment tech then cut into the hood to make it looser.
I then watched a small chunk of my hair fall in slow motion to the floor.
I cried inside for a month.

3. You will share your lunch with everyone
When in a fitting, you have to be very open to sharing small spaces with those fitting on you.
The close proximity you will encounter is similar to that on a crowded rush hour tube at Oxford Circus in the peak of the summer holidays.
If you or the garment technician had tuna or onion soup for lunch, the other will definitely be eating those scented particles with you for the rest of the fitting.
Be kind to your colleagues and stick to plain rice and lettuce.

4. A million people are going to see you in no more than a thong
You can not have any inhibitions.
You will, without a doubt only have your thong to cover your modesty 50% of the time.
When fitting high fashion lines, you are likely to fit in just a thong, no bra.
A lot of the collection (in the early stages) will be made in thin see-through fabric.
Did I forget to mention you will also be in a room of at least 8 people.
These people will be examining the clothing you are wearing but you feel as if they are just staring at your nipples.

5. You will wear the most unsexy underwear
Never ever let your man see you in your fittings underwear.
Model underwear is and always will be a nude thong or panties and a nude bra.
You will feel and very much look like an elderly Bridget Jones.
**Top Tip: Do not buy expensive underwear.
It is common to have your underwear drawn on with a sharpie or tippex and/or sliced with scissors.
If you have a denim fitting session your knickers will turn blue. Even your bath turns blue when you have your evening soak.

6. Your changing facilities will not represent the personal shopping suite at Victoria’s Secret
I have fitted for about 30 different fashion houses and can only recollect two of those having carpetted flooring.
Among those companies, only five of them had a permanent fittings changing room.
My favourite companies to work for are those that have a fluffy dressing gown and slippers for their model.
These companies are the angels of the fittings world.

7. You will know how many millimetres big or small you are EVERYWHERE
You will be regularly measured to within a millimetre and you will slowly learn these measurements by heart.
You will know if your boobs are too high or your hips 1cm too wide or even that one shoulder is higher than the other.
You will learn not to care…just remember you are being paid a lot of money to try on clothes!

8. You will never feel less like a model
As a fit model you are meant to be a representative to all the women nationwide.
The “models” who are on the catwalk are there to show the designers garments in their best light by not clinging to the body but draping as if on a human clothes hanger.
You will regularly hear, “well on the model (not meaning you) it was much looser”, “on the actual models” …etc etc etc, blah blah blah.

9. You will conflict the seasons
It is very common that you will fit winter coats in the peak of summer and bikinis on the snowiest days of the winter months.
I am not sure what is better, trying on coats and feeling as if you may faint from the heat, or turning blue from trying on swimwear in December?

10. Your feet will burn with pain
You will often be booked for an eight hour fitting.
Your feet will 100% feel as if they are broken and will only recover at 8:55 the next morning before you walk in the office for the next day of tootsie torture.
I am still yet to discover the perfect pair of comfortable black heels. If you have found them, please let me know.

There is so much more for me to share with you so keep tuned to my blog…maybe click the subscribe button in the side bar or give me a follow on Instagram & Twitter @itsmegantaylor

Recommended London Fittings Modelling Agents
Fittings Division
Fit 4 Fashion