Too Tall to Model

January 10, 2019

This contest is now closed. Thank you for all of your amazing entries. Stay tuned for more from Alloy Apparel.

I have been modeling since I was very young. As I grew, modeling agencies started telling me that I was too tall to model. They told me that they loved my look but that nothing could fit me off the rack and thus I couldn’t be a model. This continues to happen to this day.

There are many problems with this false reasoning. Not only should there be clothing for all body types represented in the fashion industry, telling someone that height is holding them back is ridiculous. Any woman at any time should be able to thumb through a magazine or runway and see clothes that fit her and someone that looks like her. While there have been many strides made, there are still so many women and body types that remain unrepresented.

Recently I was blessed with the opportunity to model for Alloy Apparel. Not only did everything fit like a glove, I felt completely seen and heard. Alloy gets it. They understand that there is a void in fashion and they are doing their part to fill it. It’s an opportunity that I will always be thankful for and you have the chance to do it too!

Alloy Apparel just launched their model search. They are looking for new faces. It’s a great opportunity for us and I hope that you enter. Check out the logistics below. I straight up copied and pasted them so you get all of the accurate details:-)

Alloy Apparel's first model search! Show us your best pose and tag us @alloyapparel on Instagram with the hashtag #myalloy

Winner Receives:

Flight and accommodations
Professional hair and make up
Photoshoot to be the face of our next collection

Rules:

Ages 18+
Sizes 4-24 and 5'9" or taller
Must be able to fly to California
Must be from the Continental US
THIS CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED. PLEASE STAY TUNED FOR MORE FROM ALLOY APPAREL.

Here is another fun BTS photo from the shoot. It was so much fun! Can we talk about how beautiful Jamie Lea is though! Check out my story about the shoot in my instagram highlights.

I can’t wait to see your entries! Opportunities like this may seem small but every movement towards change for the inclusion of all women in the fashion industry is one that needs to be celebrated. A win for one of us, is a win for all of us.

Best of luck in the contest but if you don’t get picked, DO NOT GIVE UP! The people who need to see you, will. Your opportunities are coming. Continue to move your feet and your purpose will unfold in the exact way that it should. You are set apart and will achieve exactly what you were meant to conquer. Don’t let anyones perceived limitations stop you from being who God created you to be!

My First Style Segment

December 05, 2017

I updated the last post with this video but just in case you didn't see it...this is my first style segment on Good Day Sacramento!

It was such an amazing day! My beautiful friends slayed the segment and we had a blast. It is truly a blessing to be surrounded and loved by all of the dynamic, successful women in my life.

We also got to meet the ridiculously gorgeous (inside and out) Goapele. We all definitely had official fan girl moments.

I am just so thankful to Carly, Monica, Monique and Lameka for doing this. It meant and means so much to me! I mean...just look at their beautiful, tall selves. I couldn't have done it without them!

To check out their looks...click the pics!

My dear friend Nikki (you may have seen her on MGL) went above and beyond for this segment. Her support means the world to me! She did all of the makeup for the segment and took amazing photos and videos after. I am so thankful for her talents but more importantly, beyond grateful for her friendship.

The entire day felt like one of those moments where you literally feel God doing His work. I was working right within my purpose all day, He showed me the love that He has created all around me and He certainly started my 37th year on this earth with a bang so I can't wait to see what He does next!

I am forever grateful to Good Day Sacramento for having us on the show. It was an amazing start to what I know will continue to flourish. My friend Courtney Dempsey is the real MVP for setting the whole segment up. I look up to you in so many ways. Thank you from the bottom of my tall heart:-)

Long Tall Sally Dress (last season) | Eleanor Anukam Pumps (shown in size 12)

Please let me know what you think about the piece (comment below or email info@TallSWAG.com). Personally, I am cutting it up and studying it like game film. We must always do, learn and improve.

Also, if you have any ideas/connections for more pieces, please let me know. I mean...a closed mouth doesn't get fed lol. I am here for all of the constructive criticism, suggestions and connections:-)

Thanks for reading about this awesome day...I can't wait to share many more with you!

Werk in Progress

September 20, 2017

It's here...The Werk in Progress podcast is live! Check out this introduction. I cant wait to empower and improve with you every week!

One Giant Night

September 17, 2017

Today is a GIANT day for many reasons..

1. Season 3 of My Giant Life on TLC premieres TONIGHT at 10/9c! I am blessed to have been added to the cast. I am proud to be the first African American cast member and hope that ALL women find inspiration through the lives of the women on the show.

2. I am stepping ALL THE WAY outside my comfort zone. Listen, putting your story in the hands of someone else is completely uncomfortable. It has stretched me and in turn I have grown in ways that I never would have. I now see the beauty in being uncomfortable and I know that no matter what comes out of this show, that I will be better in the end and God will ultimately use it for my good. It certainly will not look that way that I think it should, but I rest in the fact that it will be exactly what it needs to be.

3. I get to share my story on a major level. I was built to tell my story. It's part of my purpose. This opportunity was mapped out for me before I was even born. Having the faith to be so vulnerable in front of hundreds of thousands of people is a step of obedience. I am blessed to have been given this responsibility. If I inspire just one person from this show, my transparency will have been worth it.

4. This is a huge step in loving myself completely. Man...when ya girl saw the trailer I was like ummmm that's not the way I look! I freaked out. I wasn't used to seeing myself with natural hair (as I stopped wearing a weave a short time before the filming), the angles aren't the most flattering and I indeed look taller than everyone else. Well Alicia, I hate to break it to you (in my sarcastic voice) but you are. See, we tend to only show the world our best angles. We can scream we love ourselves from the mountain tops until the perspective changes. Can your confidence remain strong despite an unsavory viewpoint? Will you continue to stay resilient despite what others think and say? Without a doubt, this is a test of self-love and I'm here to pass it.

5. It's an accomplishment. It took a lot of work to get to this point and really, this is just the beginning. I'm going to work harder than ever but tomorrow is a time to celebrate this milestone in my journey.

6. I get to share this win with all of you. God has given me a community that I share every accomplishment with. I am honored to be on this journey with friends and family which includes you. We are standing Talll every day, in every way together and today is no different. Thank you for your support. It means the world to me!

Those are just some of the many reasons that today is truly a giant of a day. Check out the preview below as well as a segment that I did with Right this minute previewing tonight's premiere. I am blessed to have had many opportunities to tell my story which I will share with you soon!

See you tonight at 10/9c...it's going to be a wild ride!

Click for a preview of season 3 of My Giant Life

I had so much fun with the Right This Minute Crew. Click to check out my segment on RTM!

Too Real to Model

September 06, 2013

Do I look too tall in these photos?Since the moment I started to dream, I have aspired to be a model. Even in my years of low self-worth, I had an undying aspiration to be on every cover and catwalk. My Mom enrolled me in every class she could and even scraped up every dime we had to send me to a model competition. While we all know that a lot of these 'model activities' are schemes to get money, the experiences I had were invaluable and in some ways helped sand my confidence into what it is today.

I had my first photo shoot at 6 years old and was signed by ABC Kids (a then small agency in Portland, Oregon). As I began growing, even though I was still a child, I literally outgrew most of the jobs at the agency so we went looking for another route. At 15 an agency asked me if I would go overseas however my Mom was not comfortable with me going on my own and as a single Mom there was no way she could travel with me. Thus, that opportunity was out. At this point, I was growing like a weed and had reached 6'3". No matter where we went, they began to tell me that I was too tall.

Too tall to model?

Yep. Everyone said that they liked my look and presence but that I was too tall to wear anything off the rack and thus were of no use to them.

My dream has never changed but my focus did as I started playing basketball and worked hard to gain a scholarship to The University of the Pacific. After playing for five seasons (I redshirted), I decided to walk away from the sport and pursue my life long dream of becoming a model.

Yes. They told me I was too tall at 6'3" and I was now 6'6" but tell me I can't and I will show you I can.

I flew to New York and hit the pavement. For a month and a half I went to every single agency in that city and EVERY SINGLE one of them said they loved me but didn't love my height. Rejection. Rejection. Rejection.

Meanwhile, My Mom heard about an agency in Portland called Sports Unlimited. It's specialty was providing models with sports experience for athletic and lifestyle retailers. It was and is a great agency but the fact remained that I was only retained because of my basketball background and not just my abilities as a model.

I moved to California and began my career in the NBA but I never let my dream die. I go after every opportunity and through my blog I have been blessed to model for retailers like Height Goddess and Candid Art. I will continue to attack my dream until I succeed. That you can be sure of.

Recently while traveling I picked up the fall fashion issue of Harper's Bazaar. There was an absolutely beautiful spread with amazing women entitled Carine Roitfeld's Singular Beauties: An Homage to the Diversity of Women. 6'8" model Erika Ervin (also known as Amazon Eve) was featured and might I say looked absolutely stunning.

6'8" model Erika Ervin (also known as Amazon Eve) appeared in Harper's Bazaar Magazine in Carine Roitfeld's Singular Beauties: An Homage to the Diversity of Women. Photographed by Karl Lagerfeld.While I am extremely happy that Erika was featured, I couldn't help but to be mad at the fact that it takes an homage in order for a woman above 6'3", as well as the various different types of women featured in the spread, to get every woman represented in a fashion magazine.

It has to stop.

Every single, solitary woman should be able to thumb through a fashion magazine and see a version of herself in the pages. A feature every now and then doesn't cut it. The fact that the industry has standards of what is too short, too fat, too tall and too real is something that needs to be changed immediately.

I dare every magazine to use real models on a regular basis. Throwing real in every now and then is nice but making a continual movement to show the world that every shape, color and age is beautiful would be epic.

But you can just continue to make every woman in society think she should be one certain way. It's easier and takes far less courage.