12 y.o dd just been scouted by top London model agency, isn't she too young?!

[seakelp]

A woman approached my dd and asked her if she'd been scouted before, she said no, she then gave her a card and I've checked the agency out, it's basically v. well known indeed.

My dd is only 12 though, surely it's a big mistake?

[DoubleDegreeStudent]

It wasn't outside the Oxford Circus Topshop was it, OP? Scouts hang out there a lot - I've had a few friends scouted when we were younger and it never came to anything, but it is definitely more exciting for the friend than the potential model!

You sound like a really good mum - I agree that you should both go along and just get a feel for it. 12 is young, but lots of major fashion houses use younger models - the girl from True Grit is 14 and is the new face of Miu Miu. The clothes in the picture aren't young by any stretch of the imagination, but they are tasteful. There's a middle ground between the Disney Store and Victoria's Secret!

A girl I was at school with has just started getting booked on some big projects - she's done a Barry M make up advert on TV (looking a bit ridiculous) but we had to stop mocking when we realised she has also done a Chanel magazine shoot .

Go and see them, and just go with your gut reaction.

[JoySzasz]

yousank you manke good points :)

Sometimes ...modeling is very good for a teens self asteem however.

When you are very tall,not girl next door pretty and picked on at school for being 'different' a modeling agency showing interest could do wonders.

I remember a girl at school trying to be bitchy with me:

"Oh clare is very beautiful.. but you joyszasz have the kind of face that would be on magazine covers..."

I have many covers... and I also have great self asteem at almost 40 :)

[TheOriginalFAB]

Some shops use children as models..

[kalo12]

do you want your daughter to model? does she?

answer these questions to decide what to do about it. i agree with others that say she will still be able to do it at 16 / 18 if she still wants

[JamieAgain]

"Anyone on this thread so far with a face like an old boot and an arse like the rear of a No 81 bus?"


Au contraire BornInAfrica - I have a face like the rear of a No 81 bus and an arse like an old boot.

[seakelp]

Thanks for all the comments. Dd has always had a lot of attention, even grannies have stopped me in the street to say how stunning they think she is, so she's totally used to it, not bothered by it and focuses on her studies and having a laugh with her friends.

When you see these tall, stunning, willowy girls they do appear another breed! I'm not like that, she is, so I do want to support her, so I do value the comments from those who have experience in this field. We are a stable, grounded family, she's more of a leader than a follower, but I'm still surprised that they'd be interested at her at such a young age (she is 5'9'' btw). So what sort of things would she likely be asked to do?

[microfight]

I would say if she is naturally extremely tall, thin and confident then maybe consider it. If she is likely to become anything more than a size 6 naturally through her teens forget it. She may not develop an eating disorder but the chances are significantly higher if she enters into the industry.
The chances of her trying class A drugs are higher than other industries and her having self esteem issues will be higher too. That doesn't mean to say you should rule it out because only you know your daughter but you need to consider whether these are risks you or your daughter wants to take.

[alistron1]

I'd be wary. Obv. she's not being scouted as a child model but for her future potential. Even reputable model agencies charge for photo's/transport etc..but they deduct from earnings. So they may well 'invest' in your DD but they will want their pound of flesh in the future.

If she develops boobs/curves (and a girls body can change a lot between 12 and 14) they will drop her or advise her in a very friendly, no pressure way to lose weight.

If she is 'successful' she will earn loads of money, but she'll be worked like a dog in order to make money for the agency.

It's nice she's been scouted, and a good story to tell. But I wouldn't want my DD's to go down the modelling route.

Disclaimer - my knowledge is only gleaned from watching 'The Model Agency' - there may be bona fide models on here who can tell you something different!!!

[JamieAgain]

What struck me about the programme is that the look they are going for for fashion is essentially pre pubescent or pubescent. So in other words, the minute a girls hips get too wide or their thighs become a more average size, pressure is applied (although to be fair, comments were made about one model getting too thin). So when you have a girl told at 12 that they could be a model, but then they fill out in an entirely normal way and become too big, then what message does that give them about the female body? It's a minefield

[JamieAgain]

Doh - I have said exactly what alistron has said.

[JamieAgain]

face like a bulldog, btw

[alistron1]

Oh yes, also have face like a bulldog licking piss off a nettle.

[TotemPole]

Will it necessarily be catwalk type of modelling? I've known people who signed up with an agency and they used to appear in catalogues and magazine ads.

No harm in phoning the agency to find out some more details. Ask about paying for photos out of future earnings.

Read the small print before you sign anything.

[piratecat]

oh go for it,i would, i'd be proud of my dd. ( who is heading towards willowy and is also very gorgeous!!).

nothing wrong with phoning them. ex dh was a model (where the willowyness comes from!) for a time, and it was very exciting.

The only thing i would say is don't pay out any money. It's up to the agency to pay for intial shoot for cards.

how exciting, and tbh she sounds like a great girl who is grounded and not fazed.

[alistron1]

piratecat, agencies pay for stuff but they will eventually deduct it from the models earnings and refer to the models 'debt' quite a bit.

[nevergonnahappen]

my ds is gorgeous he is gonna be better looking than that jacob boy from twilight!! i know it has nothing to do to help you op but any chance to boast and all that!!

[JoySzasz]

Well, I said further up that I lived the life of a fashion model for 20+ years.I was signed with a top agency in central London.

DH was also a model...

I know the industry very well.

A lot of what has been said is true,but if managed correctly the industry can be used to your daughters advantage and could secure her nicely $$ wise.

As I said,at this point they will want to see if she is photogenic and to see if she has any potential they can work with :)

[alistron1]

Joy, I missed your earlier post. Are you v.beautiful?

I'm sure modeling can be advantageous if managed properly. It's just that nowadays it all seems so brutal and sausage factoryish.

[Halogen]

I'd say, let her try it out. It sounds like she is a sensible girl and as long as school ALWAYS comes first, there is no harm in her possibly banking a bit of cash against future university/training expenses for later. I modelled a bit in my teens (was far too short for proper fashion modelling as an adult but shot up early and did various teen stuff for magazines etc) and it was money and it was a huge self esteem boost when people were always telling me I was too skinny as I grew up (too skinny, you say, well Just Seventeen don't think so.... not sure what today's equivalent would be - I don't suppose Just Seventeen exists any more). It was never something I could have done long term (too bolshy, too short, too easily bored) but I tell you, having that cash in the bank when I was older was very useful. Just don't ever let her do stuff when you/another responsible adult that you know and trust can't be with her and don't let her neglect her schoolwork. Any jobs she gets should be strictly part-time and in the holidays.

[Halogen]

Mind you, I am over forty now and the industry has almost certainly changed a lot. Trust your instincts.

[JoySzasz]

alistron I scrub up alright with a bit of slap :)

Main thing to remember is that there are many quite ordinary girls that just happen to be very tall and photogenic -sometimes they make the best models actually!

Your sausage factory comment really made me laugh...

[doozle]

From everything I've seen on this, the agencies scout models at 12 and wait for them til they're 16 or so. They don't expect them to start now.

The reason they scout them so early is that they're worried another agency will snap them up.

On that C4 series, the Head of Scouting said that any girl with serious model potential will have been scouted 5 or 6 times before she's 16. So they're anxious to get in early.

So I don't think the fact she is 12 is cause for concern in itself.

The big question is ... is it something you both want to enter into?

The C4 series is still available on demand. Well worth a watch if you want an insight into the agencies - the good, bad and the ugly

www.channel4.com/programmes/the-model-agency

[Fontsnob]

One of our students got scouted about age 14, her parents made her finish her a levels. So she did and then went to start her models career. She is doing really well. I'd let my dd do it buy with the provision that she competed her education.

[alistron1]

Oh man, I really want to be scouted now. But seeing as I'm nearly 40, short and not photogenic it aint gonna happen is it?!!