How Savemart changed my life

Clothes shopping used to be something I was crap at.  Looking, fine, but actually trying stuff on and making a decision?  Not so good.  The stakes just seemed so high, given that I usually didn't have much spare money and I'm very aware that I'm not necessarily a good judge of what suits me; when I look in the mirror, like so many other people, what I see is perforated with body-image baggage, some mine, some my mother's, a fair bit from Barbie, most from the media images I see All. The. Time.  

Not to mention my insidious fear of shop assistants in clothing shops.  Why do they always look so put together, and intriguingly edgy, and effortless, when I had to really think about what to wear and then ended up going for the safe option every time? I completely understand why Tina Fey so often wears a lovely dress in the same shade of blue to awards shows.

The first time I walked into the Onehunga Savemart I was intimidated.  So many clothes!  Then I noticed that the people who worked there were all in red t-shirts and jeans, the changing rooms were pretty beaten up, and the floor was uneven.  There were trolleys to put your finds in, masses of clothes of a million different types (really), books, more jeans than you would get at a Jeans West. My kind of place!  No one was going to judge me for what I picked off the rack or tried on, no one was going to try to sell me something, it was oddly peaceful and restful, because there is so little interaction between any of the people there.  Which is probably a bit sad for some people, but for me was rather nice.  

I think the first time I didn't even try anything on.  I suspect I bought a handbag - I've gone from having two "grown-up" handbags, both given to me by my mother, to rather a lot more, all from Savemart and all cheap as chips.  I vowed to return, with more time (I can never go for less than 2 hours) and an open mind.  

My fledgling op shopping confidence from my student days has returned, now with more faith in my body that has produced two children and I've come to feel more comfortable in.  Sure, there's heaps of dross, but also some amazing gems.  The best thing I've ever seen was a Vera Wang wedding dress for $60.  I didn't buy it, not being in need of a wedding dress, and I guess it might have been a fake, but it was in great condition.  My best buys to date have been wool jackets - I have little shoulders and seem to benefit from the cast offs of others who discover their new jacket is too tight.  

To start with I was still very harsh on myself, rejecting almost everything I tried on.  But the prices were so low (I often look at the "designer" stuff which can sometimes be as much as $60, but most of the rest is $10 or less) that the risk for me in grabbing something and finding out later I didn't have the confidence to wear it was almost eliminated.  I tried on stuff for fun, stuff I couldn't imagine ever having an occasion to wear, but what the hell, I probably wouldn't buy it, and there was always the chance it could be great.  My trolley got fuller, I worked out a system for myself of how to most efficiently try on masses of clothes while respecting the three items in the changing room limit, and I bought more handbags.

I started to take an interest in putting an outfit together (with a handbag of course), rather than only feeling comfortable in an ensemble put together by a shop assistant for me.  I clashed colours, ignored rules ("blue and green shouldn't be seen", whatevs), and started to value my body for what it does for me, not how it looks.  Clothes have become an expression of my personality, rather than a way to hide.  If something doesn't end up looking right after I get it home or wear it a few times, whether it be the fit or the colour or the style, then it goes back in the donation bin, having cost me often less than a hot chocolate.  If I find a better red shirt or green handbag then the lesser one gets handed on too.  

I have found my attitude has changed from "my body's wrong for this" to "that 's too big/tight/bright/dreary"; the blame shifted from me, my body, to the clothing instead.  This may seem like a very simple thing to many, but for me it was a revelation; it's the clothes that don't fit, not my body.

And that's how Savemart has changed my life.  

Once a month or so I try to shoe horn in a few hours to visit the Savemart in Onehunga, New Lynn or Northcote (I hope to venture to Manukau sometime soon) for a fix.  Sometimes I buy nothing (maybe a handbag) but usually I come home with something I'm excited to wear.  It's a long way from my teens when I wore black constantly not because I was a goth (that would require learning how to do make-up and potentially standing out) but because I wanted someone to ask me if I wore black all the time because of Dinky Bossetti (no one ever did).  

And I also own more handbags than I ever thought I could.  

So how does your lady garden grow?

This post is explicit, and links to pages which feature explicit photographs. Feel free to look away.

I admit to a passing interest in fashion trends. Well ok, maybe that’s exaggerating my interest. So this may not be breaking news, but I’ve been thinking about it since chatting with a lesbian friend 14 years younger than I am.

We were talking about our bodies, and how we felt about them, and she said she shaved all her pubic hair. I asked her how her lovers felt about this, and she looked shocked and said “they all have too, of course.” When I told her I have never slept with a woman who shaves all her pubic hair, she looked shocked again.

Now most of her lovers have been her age or younger, mixed racially, not identifying as feminist.

Nearly all of my female lovers have been my age or older, mixed racially, identifying as feminists (what can I say, women who love women and don’t like gender oppression, *sexy*).

So there’s a generation gap going on here, and possibly a different analysis about how women look after our beautiful bits between feminists and non-feminists.

Before anyone assumes I’m saying “feminists can’t shave their pubic hair”, let me clarify. Growing pubic hair is one of the changes our bodies go through when we move from childhood to adulthood, and I don’t know about you, but I love being an adult woman. Which includes, for me, loving pubic hair.

A couple of years ago in Wellington’s Comedy Fest, the only humour in common from all the wonderful female comics I went to see were “jokes” about their pubic hair being revolting. This is the bit that is anti-feminist as far as I’m concerned – cultural norms which tell us our ordinary bodies are disgusting and a return to a pre-adult look for our genitals is a must. But our bodies, including our pubic hair? Ours to do what we wish with, of course. Kinda a baseline for feminism.

Quite where our wishes come from of course is another matter. Pubic hair fashion, like all fashion, has changed over the years and most agree that Penthouse featuring shaved genitalia in 1970 kicked off a cosmic shift in hair removal.

90s porn culture targeted a new area of hair growth on women and deemed it unattractive and unacceptable. In fact, trimmed, shaped or completely removed pubic hair has become normative. It is difficult many to remember the previous aesthetic, an aesthetic that did not require a woman’s vulva to be shaved, waxed or shorn to be considered “attractive” or desirable.

The “attractive” thing is clearly not just heterosexual in gaze, as evidenced by my friend. It’s also strongly aged. One national survey in the US found that 38% of women aged 18-44 cf 3% women aged 55 and older believe most men prefer a manicured look to their pubes. And what men want is definitely part of selling the package of pubic maintenance to women:

Most women place a good deal of focus on their pubic hair not only for themselves but for their partners as well. In fact, many women are willing to indulge their partners when it comes to pubic hair styles. Why not?

In a recent study:48% of men preferred their women to get rid of it all.

29% of men said they preferred their women to be natural — that being trim and neat but not bare.
16% of men wanted their women to have a little tuft of hair or a patch — would that be a ‘soul’ patch, boys?

The rates of “heterosexually active men” who answered this small online survey were similarly clear about preferring little or no pubic hair, and the reasons for their preference:

Making oral sex “better”? I guess I have nothing to compare it with, but I’m not really sure how much “better” giving oral sex could get to be brutally honest. One in four men surveyed liking the woman they are having sex with to look younger or virginal while they are having sex with them? Just creepy.

Pubic hair grooming is big business, with a whole heap of options available. Which means companies making the tools to tend to our “lady gardens” can make awesome adverts:

Next time I’m-too-scared-to-call-my-beautiful-vagina-labia-and-clitoris-by-their-non -euphemistic-real-names I’m using tulip. But wait, there’s more:

But the most disgust expressed? The bizarre “neighbourhood is open” series, complete with canned laughter:

I’m really interested in how other people feel about this. But completely uninterested in misogynist expressions of disgust about women’s bodies, so please don’t comment if that’s your thing.

International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia (IDAHO) Round-up

May 17th is International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia (IDAHO), and I'm hoping to get a chance through-out the day to put up links to any posts through-out the NZ blogosphere showing support for this worthy cause.  If you spot anything not yet on the list feel free to add it in comments and when I get a chance I'll add it in. 

The twitter hashtag is #IDAHONZ and there is an @idahomophobia too.  And the NZ website is http://www.idaho.org.nz/ (where I've got most of the events from).

Consider this also a gentle reminder to get your blog on if you feel so inclined :-)

Events:

Everywhere - T-shirts for IDAHO - initiated by some great Dunedinites

Dunedin's Quizically Queer - Quiz night, part of OUSA's Diversity Week - Tuesday night

Wellington's Queer As Tea Party - Tuesday afternoon

Nelson's Candle Lighting Ceremony - Tuesday night

Auckland's Screening of Courage to Unfold - Tuesday night - & T-shirt making competition - Tuesday daytime

Bloggage:
Amanda at Pickled Think:  IDAHO:  International Day Against... Hate of (all types)
Julie at The Hand Mirror:  IDAHO:  Trying to do
C Connoisseur at missingsparkles:  International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia
Scuba Nurse at The Hand Mirror:  I'm not just a vagina who likes men (cross-posted at Well-behaved women...)
Lena shares her great t-shirt at In My Head
Octavia at her Spitfire Emporium:  Safe places for cis women
QoT at Ideologically Impure:  No refuge for some in IDAHO
Dougal at Nae Hauf-Way Hoose:  Shinjuku Boys

Let me know if I've missed anything by adding it in comments :-)

IDAHO T shirt competition at UOA Tuesday 17th

This sounds fantastically awesome. Looking forward to the pics :-)

IDAHO T Shirt Competition at UOA Facebook Event Page:

The 17th May is IDAHO, International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia.

Some awesome people down south have started a competition where they ask you to create a T-shirt with a slogan against homophobia and transphobia, take a photo of you wearing said T-shirt on Tuesday and put a photo up on the interwebs to show them

We though we'd join in at Auckland Uni so we'll have a stall set up on Tuesday with Fabric Writing Pens and all you need to do is bring along yourself, a white/pale T-shirt and your brilliant ideas. For those who don't hear about it till the day we'll also have pieces of material that they can decorate and safety pin to their tops.

We will have some small but very awesome prizes on the day.

There is also a screening at the Human Rights Commision organised by Rainbow Youth, UniQ and HRC in the evening.

And there is also the page about the T-shirts. Please do not feed the trolls.

It really warms my heart everytime I see some great new initiative from younger feminists (by which I mean younger than me!) like the stuff Campus Feminist Collective and WYFC are up to.

You can find out more about IDAHO in Aotearoa New Zealand here.

Bob McCoskrie missing the point of Slut Walk when he says Slut Walk is missing the point

Newstalk ZB has interviewed Family First's fax machine spokesperson Bob McCoskrie on the Slut Walk events coming up in Auckland and Wellington:*

'Family First's Bob McCoskrie supports the protestors' message, but thinks the rally's shock-value title is taking away from the real issue.

' "I think their cause is a completely justified one," he told Newstalk ZB. "I'd just like them to do it in a family friendly way so that the message gets across rather than with a negative connotation."

'Bob McCoskrie says the way women dress is irrelevant, as there's no justification for rape.'

Having got over my astonishment that I totally agree with that last thing there that Bob said, it seems to me that Mr McCoskrie is totally missing the point of Slut Walk.

Slut Walk by its very nature rejects the notion that the way women (or indeed men) dress is relevant.  It's been very clear to me, from all that I've read and seen about Slut Walk, that the idea is that you come along to walk in solidarity on the issue, and that what you wear on the Slut Walk itself is irrelevant too.  If you want to dress in a revealing manner that would disconcert Mr McCoskrie then you can do so, and you should feel safe.  Equally if you want to wear full burka, or a demure Victorian outfit buttoned up to the neck with full-length sleeves, a skirt down to your ankles and no waist, or a sweatshirt and jeans, you will be welcome.  

I'm not sure if I'll be able to make the Auckland event, but I will be trying to.  Not sure what I'll wear.  And it doesn't matter what I wear.  What matters is that I agree with the cause, as McCoskrie says he does too, and that I act in a way that doesn't undermine the issue by raising irrelevant objections.

*  If anyone can direct me to a Facebook event listing for the Welly one I'll ETA.  Ta.  Many thanks to Caitlin in comments.

I see your pro-choice t-shirt

up at LadyNews,

and I raise you a pro-choice Onesie:

Found via a friend's Facebook feed. Sorry I can't remember whose!

Adventures in baking, and fashion

This one's for Megan, seeing as how it is Friday Frock-day and all.

ANTM breaking news: filming in NZ this week

Via the Herald:

Several episodes of the next season of America's Next Top Model will be filmed in New Zealand, host and former top model Tyra Banks confirmed on Twitter this morning.

"Rumours are true & U R 1st to know. Top Model is goin to NEW ZEALAND for cycle 14! Can't wait to get there. Are y'all excited for next cycle?," Banks' verified Twitter account said.

...Hindin Miller said Banks was due to fly to New Zealand this week and would be joined by the show's new judge, American Vogue editor-at-large Andre Leon Talley.

Filming would begin on Thursday or Friday this week, in locations including Queenstown and Auckland, he said...

Click through for the whole thing.

I thought this might be a good way to kick off a bit of a discussion about why people watch ANTM so fervently, despite the fact that on the face of it the show should be verboten to feminists. For me I think a lot of it is about Tyra and how she always manages to make it about herself, no matter what, which is kind of like a metaphor for the modern Fashion Machine.

What do you think?

Great read at In A Strange Land

Deborah considers how Mary Wollstonecraft might respond to modern women's fashion.

Quick hit: Gee, why doesn't Lagerfeld just tell us what he really thinks?

Via the Herald:

German designer Karl Lagerfeld has waded into the debate on too-thin models, telling a German publication that no one wants to look at chubby women on the runway.

His comments come a week after popular German women's magazine Brigitte announced it would no longer use professional models for its photo shoots.

"Fat mummies sit there in front of the television with their chip packets and say skinny models are ugly," Lagerfeld told Focus magazine in an interview published yesterday.

The world of beautiful clothes was ultimately about "dreams and illusions", he added, and no one really wanted to see overweight women.

Click through for the rest.

I guess I'm confused about what Mr Lagerfeld considers "overweight."

Also I prefer popcorn to chips, but otherwise, yep I'm all about the sitting in front of telly calling skinny people ugly. It's my preferred leisure activity. /sarcasm

Quick hit: Masculinity to join feminity as an Olympic sport?

From the Herald a while back (sorry I thought I had posted this at the time but hit the wrong button):

The Independent's Liz Hoggard on the pressures facing Hollywood's new-look male stars...

A friend has just had dental surgery. They put her on morphine.

"What does it make you feel like?" I ask.

"Normal," she tells me brutally.

"For the first time ever, my body didn't feel out of control. I didn't worry about my stomach, my legs didn't feel like giant Alice in Wonderland limbs."

So excuse me if I don't worry too much about the crisis in male beauty. Women have been feeling alienated from their bodies for centuries. No wonder we have to be medicated to feel normal.

At the weekend, the story broke that male actors were suffering. The rugged look is out as Hollywood signs up young pretty-boys (Twilight's Rob Pattinson, baby-faced Ed Westwick and cherub-cheeked Chace Crawford in Gossip Girl).

...It gets worse: movie directors admit that these boys with the faces of adolescent girls are perfect fodder - they can replace one with another with barely a pause for thought.

I had to laugh out loud when I read that one. As women we've lived through decades of identikit blonde women. I hate the fact that there are 14-year-old girls pretending to be 30 on my magazine covers - who weigh less than my hanging rail.

Because increasingly, femininity is a performance art. It's not enough any more just to brush your hair and wear a nice frock, there's a whole new bag of tricks.

Click through for the whole thing. Because it's worth it.

Quick hit: Sensible shoes a safety issue?

Greg Cain writes about the health and safety implications of high heels at work in the Herald:

There is a heated debate going on in the UK about, of all things, whether women should have the right to wear comfortable shoes in the workplace.

According to this report by Reuters, the Society of Chiropodists and Podiatrists passed a motion asking employers to work in partnership with trade unions, staff, and local Health and Safety representatives to ensure that proper risk assessments are carried out, and where high heels are deemed a health risk, replaced with comfortable shoes.

... The issue was purely about giving women in certain industries the right to say no to high heels in jobs where they are on their feet for a long time. Feet bear the brunt of daily life, and for many workers, prolonged standing, badly fitted footwear and high heels can be a hazard in the workplace, the Society said. It pointed out that wearing high heels can cause long term foot problems, such as serious foot, knee and back pain, and damaged joints.

The Times reported that Conservative Member of Parliament Nadine Dorries tore into the motion, saying it was intended to cut women like her down to size.

"My job is male-dominated, and the men I work with have killer instincts," the newspaper reported her as saying. "I am 5ft 3in and need to wear high heels," she said...

Click through for the whole thing, and a link to the report mentioned.

Quite interesting how the UK media, and the politician quoted above, have leapt to the conclusion that suggestions that women be given choices about whether or not they have to wear high heels in the workplace is somehow actually restricting their choices...

Because what you wear is all about him

Found at Spare Room.

When I was pregnant I was quite wistful about Hot Milk, which I couldn't afford, but now I'm feeling like it was a lucky escape if it can make you so baby-brained and clumsy and fixated on turning on a man that you break valued possessions.

PS I'll be away all this week for work so might not get much posting done, apologies in advance!

Quick hit: Doesn't just sound sexist, Viva

From the Viva section in Wednesday's Herald:

Do you secretly long to appear in the social pages? [ah, no] Do you dream of having your photograph and name included with all the usual A-list types in the Sunday papers? [hmmm, if you put it that way... still no] Well, by following these six simple steps we reckon you can improve your chances of being successfully snapped tenfold. [oh goodie! Not]

1. Presentation
It goes without saying that smart clothes, glossy hair, some makeup and a bit of bling are pretty much party essentials. But a few cunning tricks will help keep you ahead of the pack. Plenty of bare skin is always a winner, so try to have a decent amount on show. Now, we're not specifically talking cleavage although that clearly never goes amiss [not even in a society which devoted column inches to the PM wearing trousers to meet the Queen]. Bare shoulders, bare arms, bare anything, in fact, are more visually interesting than bodies shrouded in light-absorbing black jackets...

...4. Partner
Leave the husband at home [gosh I'm glad you added that or I never would have thought that the intended audience of this article was hetero-females-only! /sarcasm] and take a girlfriend instead. It may sound sexist but two (or more) women wearing colour and showing skin will always look more attractive on the society pages than a dime-a-dozen conventional couple - one of whom will be in a predictable corporate suit.

Click through for the whole thing, if you can be bothered.

Quick hit: Modelling gets unionised

From Stuff:

Two Australian models working in London are about to set up the industry's first code of conduct to protect models from exploitation by agents and photographers.

Victoria Keon-Cohen and Dunja Knezevic campaigned for London's Equity union in 2007 and since then have represented models who have been cheated out of money, physically hurt on photo shoots and subjected to sexual harassment by photographers.

The women, who between them have modelled for Versace, Levi's, Vogue and Marks & Spencer, say they hope to change the culture in an industry where models are treated as expendable.

...The models have enlisted the support of their agency, IMG, one of the world's biggest, for the new code.

The two are also negotiating about the code with the British Fashion Council and the Association of Modelling Agencies.

Click through for the whole article.

Some of the stories of cases they have dealt with are really sucky.

Fashion Schmashion

I actually quite like fashion - but on other people. Personally, I can't be arsed with it. I feel vague envy of the tastefully, expensively dressed women I work with from time to time; but I like those who turn up looking unexciting but comfortable. I belong in the latter camp. I also love those creative types who combine eccentric op shop clothing with great flair, and I take my hat off to those who are skilled enough to make their own clothing - that's a talent I'd love to have.

Shopping isn't much fun for me. I find shops claustrophobic (particularly when I have fractious small children with me), and they tend to remind me that I don't have much money. It was even worse when I was overweight - going to the shops just reinforced that I was poor and fat. What a barrel of laughs that was.

In the last couple of years, my late-to-arrive environmental commitment has led me to buy secondhand goods as much as I can - particularly clothing. (A limited budget makes my green principles far easier to uphold.) My kids are still a little too young to have succumbed to sartorial peer pressure, so they don't mind. And I actively enjoy it: I've spent many a happy hour browsing Trade Me or op shops. Down the road from my house is a small tailor's shop - the woman there will alter the garments I pick up for myself for a very low price. It all gives me a righteous glow of thrift, community belonging and environmental harmony.

How do other THMers interact with the world of fashion? And do you have any recession-friendly fashion tips?

To pierce or not to pierce?

My older baby is growing up, and feeling peer pressure for the first time. She's seven, and has decided she wants her ears pierced.

I remember feeling exactly the same way - that everyone else had their ears pierced but me - and I wore my parents down with a sustained campaign of nagging. Eventually, when I was ten, they gave in. I was so excited and overwhelmed by my entrance into the world of fashion that, shortly after the piercing, I fainted in a sorry heap on the street!

My daughter and I discussed the pros and cons of piercing. I said solemnly, 'You know, once you've got holes in your ears, they stay there for good'. She pondered this and replied thoughtfully, 'I can't think of any reason why I'd need intact ears'.

I don't even know why this bothers me. My life hasn't been blighted by the presence of a small hole in each ear. I enjoy wearing earrings. But this seems like the first of a lifetime of little bodily modifications a woman makes because she's not good enough as nature made her. I don't think my daughter's starting down a slippery slope that will end in yoyo dieting and boob jobs. I just wish she saw herself as I do: perfect the way she is.

Dora's new silhouette announced

Back in August, The ex-expat wrote about the makeover Dora the Explorer was getting. Like so many other makeovers, it wasn't sure exactly why such change was necessary.

But the change is still coming, and this week Mattel published the silhouette of the new and, ah, improved, Dora.

Creators of Dora the Explorer, a favorite character among preschoolers that teaches kids English and Spanish, say they are just making her move with the times.

The tweenage Dora will live in the big city, attend middle school and have a new wardrobe and accessories.

"For nearly ten years, Dora the Explorer has had such a strong following among preschoolers, catapulting it into the number one preschool show on commercial television," said Gina Sirard, Mattel's vice president of marketing.

"Girls really identify with Dora and we knew that girls would love to have their friend Dora grow up with them, and experience the new things that they were going through themselves.

"The brand captures girls' existing love of Dora and marries it with the fashion doll play and online experiences older girls enjoy."

Critics say they would prefer Dora to grow up true to the character she is as a child.

"If the Dora we knew grew up, she wouldn't be a fashion icon or a shopaholic. She'd develop her map reading skills and imagine the places she could go," the petition says.

"It's such a sell out of Dora, of all girls."

Click through for the whole article.

The petition mentioned in the article can be found here. The letter to Mattel and Nickelodeon heads which the petition organisers are asking people to sign begins:

Dear Mr. Eckert and Ms. Zarghami,

Don’t give Dora a tween makeover. She is beloved by little girls and boys everywhere for her adventuresome spirit, curiosity, and bravery. If she is to grow up in doll form, please keep her true to herself rather than follow in the footsteps of the makers of Strawberry Shortcake, Holly Hobby, and Trollz. We don’t need any more tween dolls teaching girls that growing up means turning into a fashionista, excited about secrets and crushes and going shopping. We don’t need dolls that replicate the thin ideal. The APA Sexualization of Girls Task Force report shows that teens only rarely achieve this body type and when they don’t they are vulnerable to depression and body image problems. Please don’t push this version of what it means to be a teenager on young girls. It limits them, narrows their options, and leads them to think that what matters most about themselves is how they look and what they buy.

Wriggly's not old enough for Dora yet, but I was looking forward to introducing them in due course. Now I'm not so sure.

The new Dora is planned to come out in the American fall, so I guess about September. Here's the before and after:
























Depressing? I think so.

Grass-stained baseball cap tipped to Tamar who emailed me about this via Facebook.

Quick hit: Miss Universe NZ regionals coming back to Wellington

Under the headline "Teen drunks inspire pageant", Stuff has this today:

The sight of drunken teenage girls wandering city streets has inspired promoter Glenn London to revive the Miss Universe New Zealand regional competition in Wellington.

"It's about bringing back some charm and elegance to young Wellington women, providing a bit of glitz and glamour and going to a nice social occasion rather than wandering the streets at all hours.

"If you go down the middle of Wellington on a Saturday night and look at the young women you think, 'Oh no.'

"I have two teenage daughters myself and would like to see it become an iconic event in the capital it is a lot better than bikini competitions in pubs," said Mr London, who plans to stage the pageant at Wellington Town Hall in October.

Click through for the whole thing.

The wordz; I haz not got dem thiz mornin.

Quick hit: NZ's Next Top Model a set-up? Quelle surprise!

According to the Herald on Sunday today:

Fashion industry insiders have branded New Zealand's Next Top Model a sham after it emerged at least two finalists were catwalk professionals.

Application forms said contestants were not eligible for the TV3 reality show if they had modelled in "a national campaign within the last five years".

They also said any girl who made it on to the show had to cancel existing agency contracts.

TV3's website went further - describing the show as a chance for the winner to "launch herself into the world of professional modelling".

But two of the final 13 - Ajoh Chol and Rebecca Rose Harvey were represented by agencies when they auditioned.

Click through for the whole article.

The series starts on our screens on March 13th, presumably filling the slot of America's Next Top Model on Friday nights. Anna has started up a thread to discuss the most recent episode of ANTM (and Project Runway if you follow that too).