Are You Too Tall To Model? | The Truth About Height in Modeling ft. Briy and Lucky

Good morning everybody. You are currently listening to a Tall Girls podcast hosted by a tall girl named India. I hope everyone who is tuning in is doing it super fantastic. Today we are joined by two super super special guests. Today we have Bree and Lucky here too. Well, one model and one retired model, but she has she has experience in the industry too. Hi, guys, how are you guys doing today? Hey, India, I'm good, just you know, chilling. How are you? I'm in school, so that kind of answer me that question. But yeah, take a second or two to just like introduce yourselves and just like let the audience know who you guys are in your background and stuff. My name is Brie Jilgias. I started modeling like fourteen years ago. Yeah, fourteen years ago. I'm originally from the DC Metropolitan area, So I started down there DC. What the DMB in the building? Yeah, So I was doing all the local runway shows, and then like towards the end, which for me was year four, I was doing more like print work and then I moved to New York City in twenty fifteen. After I watched one of my first New York Fashion Week shows, and this is how how long ago it was. This is when they still did it at Lincoln Center. So that was one of the first and first New York Fashion Week shows I've ever watched. And then I moved to New York, like I want to say, like six months later, and then yeah, since then, I've done I've done print commercial, I did some TV work for a while New York and Paris Flash Week and yeah, so now I'm quote unquote works tired, but I do pop out for the right causes and for the right brands. So that's yeah, that's me. What about you, Lucky Yeah, well, hey guys, so you may recognize my voice somebody not in siagart Lucky Dee. Yeah, I have my mom's side disciplining artists. But we're here to talk about, you know, modeling. So I'm only been modeling compared to breed. I'm a baby. I'm a little over two and a half years old. I started modeling, and well, I guess I would say the beginning was when I first came out with my clothing brand, because I am a fashion designer, and so we first come out with a brand, we got the model to close, so I had to come from behind the screen, go onto the screen. And I was doing some modeling then and I met another model and she really kind of introduced me into the modeling world. That was twenty eighteen, going into my last year in college. That's really when I started, you know, trying to take it seriously, get into it, figure out what it is. And yeah, I've been doing it then to the year off for injury for you, so I have to go back into it twenty nineteen, in the twenty nineteen, twenty twenty, so we get so I'm a babies. Yeah, so what I have for yours. I am so sorry to hear about your injury, but you know, I'm glad that you bounce back and you are back better than ever. So I just want to, you know, get into your guys's journeys as a tall model and kind of the significance of height in your career, because you know, the most common thing that many people think when you see a tall person, especially a tall woman, if it's not like sports like basketball or volleyball or anything of that sort, they go their head goes straight into modeling. Oh do you model? Everybody thinks that every tall you can be a model. But I I am sure that there's a lot of challenges around that, especially a DM that I posted on my story. It was actually Lucky who sent me a message about a lot of her challenges with being tall in the modeling industry, and then that kind of just got me like a whole slut of messages not just from other models or former models of three, but also people who were just very unaware of the challenges relating to hype. So it doesn't necessarily have to be about high obviously, but can you guys, just like each reflect on your journey as a tall model, Like where you wear the challenges before entering the industry, Like what advantages? Also have you encountered the challenges you've encountered, and like have you always questioned pursuing like a modeling career full time? Like I just want to hear what the vibe is with that, Okay, Yeah, so I'll say in my case, my journey with all this started in my high school. I went to Blake High School in Silver Spring, Maryland, and yeah, and we had a fashion club and I remember even getting into the modeling in my fashion club wasn't a challenge for me. I had so many like I wasn't a popular kid by any means. I was definitely in the art kid and the art classes, and even when I finally got in, it was always a thing of like, oh, Bride just got in there because she's tall. So it was more working on my walk being better in whatever way. And I remember, now that i'm thinking about it, there was this terrible There was like some upper classman. I just remember. Her name was Jenny, and I definitely remember I messed up something during runway class and she just like yelled at me like she was my parent or something, and she was just really nasty and just rude. The more that I dealt with that within the industry, because it seems like I've always have dealt with some adversity at some point, whether it was like she's only here because she's tall, she doesn't know how to pose. There's always been that type of adversity. And it's just one of the times in my life where I'm like, I just want to do this thing that I think should be simple, but you're making it hard, and now I'm gonna push back and put my foot on your neck. Period. So here's what happens Paris Fashion Week and we're all lined up to walk and there's this designer who came in with a shirt a picture of himself on the shirt, and I remember, now, mind you, this is this is about? I think this is yeah ten, it was twenty twenty, so I've been doing the modeling thing for ten years at this point. And I just see him, and I see him with the picture of himself on his shirt. I'm like, oh, this guy's arrogant. And then of course he's being mean to the models, saying like, oh you're walking, you look like a baby deer all this stuff. So I'm I'm like, oh, I've dealt with this type before. I'm gonna crush him. So I remember just this is the first time too where I'm like, I'm gonna channel all the anger i'm holding for its people like this, and I'm gonna put in my walk. So I walk. He pulls me aside. I'm ready to fight, and he supposed to be in front of everyone. It says, y'all need to walk like her, and I'm like, shot, but oh, he likes my walk. Okay, I already just decided I hated you, but okay, cool, I got it. I got the gig yay. So I think that's just been my journey with modeling in general. For me, it's always been a thing of like, oh, you can't do this because of this, And I'm like, based on everything I've researched, which I've done a lot in my journey too, I know, for damn sure I can do this. So I don't know why you think you can tell me that I can't, But I'm gonna show you I can. And I'm not gonna make you eat your words, but you're gonna eat my toenails too, because my foot will be on your neck, just saying. So that's been Yeah, that's that's been most of my career, which is probably why I got very tired. And I just this is why the former is here because it's a lot, it's a lot of stress, it's a lot of my liver. I'm pretty sure I'm sweating out my deodrant right now to just talking about what about you, Lucky, Were there like similar struggles as as free or different experiences. I would definitely say mine was a little different, especially being so restarted so much earlier than I did, and I didn't even start liking my height until I got into college, so the thought of modeling wasn't really there. I did grow up as an artist, a dancer and everything, but I ended up gaining stage fright and how others perceived me due to getting bullied for my height, so I kind of shied away from being in the spotlight the albums in So it wasn't really until, like I was saying, my sophomore year is when I started to create my fashion brand and I really started to you know, love my height, love myself, and I was like, Okay, I want to take this little further. And then I ended up meeting a model. Unfortunately we're no longer the associates or anything, but I still hold high regard for this person because she is a big factor on why I did get into modeling, because she invited me to go with her to like Boo Shoes, like some of her castings, and then her mom wasn't letting her travel by herself, so I ended up going with her to most of her castings and shoots like that, like this is this is fun. As someone who grew up an artist, I love I love this, and as a fashion designer, I did do a lot of research about tall models like, who's the tallest model out here? What the average height range for women over six feet modeling? And I can tell you the tallest you will get is six to one, maybe six two. There are some like I found maybe one six three, but you usually find six two six one, six foot five eleven five ten. And then you also have all the high caps that a lot of designers, especially nowadays, you see a lot of designers, and I guess I would say fashion groups in agencies that do put a lot of high caps on their I guess I would say casting flyers, like we're casting for this type of model. You need to be the spe of this sight. So you do see a lot of people who are taller than that high commenting under those folsts like okay, I'm this height of a model. Can I still submit my information? Because when it comes to submitting to agencies, you have to do your research. With research is very important to try to figure out which agency you want to go too and what would fit you the best, depending on where you want to go with your career. If we want to do aditorium, want to do you know, run away commercial? You know, I don't know what you want to be as far as modeling goes. So I've definitely had a lot of people tell me things about my height as far as modeling. I guess the most recent thing would be someone told me my arms were too long and my legs were too long. So I don't think we ever actually got y'all's heights before we like dive deeper into this. So can you please just like say, we'll start with Lucky first, Can you please just say how tall you are? I'm six to five and a half, and then you bree I am, well, professionally, I've been saying six to two, but I think realistically I'm probably like six one and a half. But it doesn't help that the other girls wouldn't say how tall they were to because when I was coming up, a lot of girls would say they were five to eleven but were like the same height. Yeah, so I think technically I'm probably closer to six one and a half maybe six one. But I've always said six to two because, oh, because I met Carly Klauss one time. We were the same height, So that's why, and you should you should, right, I'm like, she's a big inspiration to me, Like that was one of the names I found when I was doing my research, you know, on different pels. Yeah. Well I also as someone who has also done extensive research, I will say one of the toss models out there was actually Rushka von Lendenhorff. Uh So yeah, yeah, she's six three. She has the best interview about what she felt about her modeling career, and I think it's the funniest thing ever because she basically boiled it down to like, yeah, they just put stuff on me because I was interesting, loking and there was a gimmick. I'm like, you know what, I feel that it's definitely true though debsolutely true. Yeah, but as feel as though nowadays, especially in the DC area, being tall and being a model, I won't say it's you know, not easy, because nothing is ever easy, no matter what you are, no matter what you want to do, nothing is ever truly easy. But you have a lot of people that do not cater to tall women and almost kind of look down on your height to a certain extent. I've definitely had a lot of or maybe it is when you know your work as a tall person and you know you're being treated a certain way, You're like, okay, like you said, I want let us set the fire under my know and really stop. So I have some thoughts as the former DC girly only because I from what I remember about that market. Okay, so the way I remember it, because I actually got started with a specific of fashion Week. I'm only saying it like this because the last time I said something publicly, they threatened to get legal. I don't know if they actually yeah, yeah, I got to keep the words. Well, look, if it was up to me, I'll be saying all the things we're being for real. The owner of that company tried to act like a pseudo parent to me and a few other people. I was one of the favorites when I first came out. But what I can say is this, the reason I did so much research is because I'm like, the first season I walked for them, every designer I walked for, like literally all my first run with pictures were from a majority of the designers that showed that season, because I walked in and I was this, and everyone was just like, oh my goodness, all this now. I think what we're dealing with now, I think, over a decade later, is the rise of social media. And what I realized is that I think that as the fashion industry tries to be more relatable, I think sometimes they'll look at our heights and be like, oh, that's not realistic. Oh that's like, you know, we can't get someone from like love and hip Hop or Real Housewives in Atlanta to wear our stuff. And that's cute. But I also know for me, and I've always known this from the jump, I'm like, I was never gonna give that, yeah right right, But I was researching the designers and stuff I like, as someone who also has a fashion design background, I was living for like the San Labrons, the Yours, the like the specifically well yeah, so for me, I was like, I wanted to designers who knew what a woman looked like and what a woman with height could look like from a feminine standpoint, because it kind of feels like, dude, Sometimes they will look at our heights and immediately say oh and drops this, especially when I decide to be baldheaded, and I'm like, mm hmm. Just because I can genderflip every now and then, does not mean that's what my brand gives exactly, Like if I give if it's giving that for me, it's from a crazy, sexy, cool TLC kind of standpoint in my opinion. But what you're not going to do is try to take this and re brand it as non binary or something like that without my permission, because that's not how I identify. And there's people who do identify that way, and I want them to be represented correctly. So y'all try to put that label on me because you think this means something not for me. So and that's also why I decided to move to New York because I got tired of like the fastest shows were like I'm walking in shows the girls that are like five five even like trying to be right with the slipper shoes preach that's actually like that, that's actually these girls, especially no shade the ones of the troops. I was just say, with all of the weeds and stuff and the hair and the herring and everything, and the flipping just doing all the like the leaning all the way back in the and the legs stretched out looking like Clydesdale's at the ballroom. Because I'm a part of the ballroom as well. But there's a difference between your ballroom walk and your high fashion walk, you know what I mean, right, And the difference between the tour and urban, they're all different, and you have to be able to adapt and flip that switch, you know what I mean. Yeah, Well, and that's the other things. So the television show I worked on for three years was Posed. I was Dominique Jackson's standing on the show. Yeah. So I have friends in ballroom here in New York City and then probably babies, a couple of my babies. I probably do. But it's so funny because like, there were girls I was walking with the DC that I didn't know about. I didn't know about ballroom when I was back home. You're saying like ballroom and like a tour and urban, Like what exactly are the most terms? Okay, so so it's a community. Yeah, so I think Lucky should probably lead on this, since Lucky's actually part of the community. I've I've worked on sets with a lot of people from community, but I think Lucky should start the conversation first on that. Okay, So, as a CIS and sexual, non binary woman in ballrooms, there are still a lot of things that I need to learn about our history, but I can definitely tell you ballroom is a community, a community of different people. Houses. Houses are basically different groups of people in the community that come together support one another. And at these ballroom shows, we would say they're basically and in its higher event, it's like the met gallon of the community every single time it comes around. You have different categories that you're walking. You have bimbo, you have old way, you have New way, you have you know American runway, you have regular runway. There are so many different categories. You have body bas bas okay, And it's such a beautiful thing to be able to be around so many people who are similar but yet so different, but still have a love and support for one another. It's almost same as being a part of the tall girl community. There are so many of us, we're all so unique and so different, but we all still have similar common factors that bring us together. And that is what ballroom is for the LGBTQA plus community. Okay, it's just because I've never heard of that before, so I was actually interested in knowing. But that honestly sounds amazing. So you guys are essentially saying that you have these women who are or people who are five or five with super high heels. Were they lying about their height to get allowing them to be. In recent I did not feel any I would say anger, hate, envy, or jealousy towards the shorter woman who do want to be a model. My issue comes in where designers feel as though they are no longer they no longer have to cater to tall models, and where tall models now feel as though they are now being ostracized and pushed to the side for a woman much shorter than them. Okay, because at the end of the day, the world and how society pushes models, they are these beautiful Amazonian goddesses. They're tall, they're elegant, they have long legs, long strides, they are the typical it girl or taller. That's how society tries to push it. But coming up in the industry being a new model, especially nowadays, growing up in DC, you do see a lot of shorter models, and well heaven in that. So I can't really say so I have some commentary on that, and this is part of the reason I left. So when it got to the point because when I was when I was in the DC metro area, I you know what, I'm gonna shout them out just because it's whatever. There was an agency I don't know if there's still an operation, but it was thch Artistsman Artist Agency, and they were the ones who were able from my back then to get models from the DC metro era and have them walk New York shows and get paid. So I knew that I could do the New York market because DC and this is the biggest thing, and this could be part of the reason why you're seeing that pushback. DC is not a fashion market as much as you anymore. I swear it never has been, which is why and that's why I'm saying that, Like even when I was there, Like there are people who try, but at the end of the day, it's like the ones who were really about it come out of there. Oh yeah, that's everyone. As far as artistic things. Everyone that I had met that was from DC ended up leaving, and I'm in the process of planning on leaving as well, because it just seems as so what we're getting so much pushback from our city. Yeah, well it's here's the thing. You can't take it personally, because the thing is is that DC has no reason to be a fashion market, even when I worked retail out there, because you know, a girl always has to have a side job in this industry. Even when work at Bloomingdale's, the people who would shop at the stores were not looking for the most cutting edge of fashion, even though they tried to act like it. A lot of times, they're picking the most popular thing and kind of assimilating. That's kind of what it always gave. So when I made the decision to move to New York, it was mainly because like, like, like we said, there are the girls who are putting on six foot high heels to walk with us, And I'm thinking from a business and fashion standpoint, most fashion shows they want that uniformity with all the models. To this day, even with now that we're doing more diverse body types, most runway shows they're keeping the heights pretty the same. And I've experienced that here in New York too, So that's like the biggest thing. And I think that the like at least with New York, like you have the fashion schools here, you have Parsons FT, even like the community college like Kingsborough is another college that does a fashion program. Here, all the ones that are interacting with international fashion markets that know that most of the time the model standard is about five nine to like six feet if you're doing a contour. And that's one of the other things ready to wear because it's based on the average standard of people here in America, and I think like the average standard the average woman in America is five three right, most of the sample sizes, they don't want it to fit some they don't want it to be too long, otherwise they get returned. All those things. Most people can afford tailoring, or don't believe they can. So when you're going into these markets, they do want to try and keep the clothes to a certain size. But however, I do notice that luxury fashion most of the time does fait the taller person because those are the people who have the money to get things tailored adequately. So that's the thing. So the biggest thing I can say, and DC may not like this, but this is the truth of the matter. DC is not a luxury fashion market, and that's why they do the whole Oh, we can't use a tall model because then you see your stuff is not luxury. What you're seeing is that all those clothes you got off Ali Express or you stitch together or whatever, they're not giving actual fashion on a market that's gonna on a level that's actually gonna be scalable and be made into a real business. And that is once again another reason why I left. That's exactly why I love that I've come across someone who's been very vital in my model courage, who has helped place me in positions and their places to give me the recognition that I deserve as a model. She's bringing cature to DC, and not just plature from the US, but international plature from all over the world, all over the world. She just put on the Global Fashion Tour Week in DC. It was hosted at one of the government buildings right beside the White House, and let me tell you that was argeous. It was. I walked for designers from Panama. Shout out to the ancestry, my Grandfa, but there were designers from Panama, Spain, Mexico, e Buador, Brazil, all over the world. And I'm just really loving that there are people in the area who are trying to bring the tour to DC, and in that doing so is creating more opportunity for tall girls like me in the area. Even though I don't see myself being there much longer, I do plan on moving out of the country soon, so I plan on taking this thing in the national and we'll see how that goes too. Wow, that was a lot, But there was a lot of stuff in there also that I wasn't even aware of either. And it sounds like you guys really had a lot of challenges to get to where you are today and just be I at least consider you guys successful one way or the other, because success looks different in any and everything that you do. But I just think that getting through the journey and being to where you are today is success in my book. So I want to ask, what is one piece of advice that you guys would want to get to the tall girls listening right now who are struggling with their self esteem because of their height, and for those who may be looking to get into modeling. Can you start us off? All right? So my advice comes from my background and also for a while I was I've been a model coach for an agency or two. So what I can say is this, definitely, make sure that you have the basics down figuring out how to pose facial expressions runway. Those are the three biggest things, because those are the things that are gonna separate you from the people who are just saying they're a model, especially in this age of influencers and just people who are just saying they do it. Don't. Actually the most important thing for me as a model is you need to be able to do the be the noun and the verb. So you need to be a model that models, So especially for the taller girls, because the most people are gonna gun at you for either reason, whether it's the people who are shorter than you that are like, oh, she's gonna get it anyway, or the people who are like, we don't know how she's gonna fit in a collection. So you need to see your height and how you stand out as an asset, especially when it comes to fashion or like fashion, sports editorial and if you have a cute face, beauty too friget like yeah, So finding your key things within your personal brand and then going from there. So that kind of means you kind of have to like stop slouching, like take your height as an advantage because for better or for worse, it is you're gonna stand out anyway, So just profit on that. You're literally a billboard, so be the best billboard. I like that. What about you, lucky? What advice. Would you ta get to us? What do I even say? Where do I even start? She done went off on the mic and just luck it the burn. Now I'm over here. Got I get the virus or clear out to figure out what I'm about to say? Okay, Well, were definitely has a lot more experience than I do as a model, being as though I'm still new to modeling. This is my very first New York Fashion Week, so I can't really give off as much wisdom as far as modeling goes, But I can say some things that I have learned in the past couple of month that I've gotten really back into my modeling career after going away for some time and overcoming you know, the trials and tribulations of being a little small girls taller than everyone else and getting buggly. Really, the trials that you go through as a model and the things that you here are as a model are the same things that you went through as a child. If you have ever gotten bullied for being tall when you were younger, those same slava marks are the same slav marks that you hear when you become a model, Because, like Brie said, you will have people that assume oh you got this just because you're tall. Then you will have people who just will try to not fit you into their work because they already have a scope of Okay, I don't have anyone that care to that tall. So you really have to not even to sound generive, but really stand on it and stand tall, because first of all, there's an entire community out there in the world that feels as though they are not being catered to. Within the fashion industry, there needs to be more true size tall models because there aren't a lot of brands that are catering to us. We have created those brands that will cater to us. The brands that cater to the rest of the society. Is rare that you'll find pants long enough for our heighten as bre were staying earlier, Even if it is a brand that does cater to us, it's very generic. There's no style to it, no pizaze. You won't find that same kind of different, unique pieces that you will with the tall collections then you will with every other collection that they produce. So if you want to see that to be that point blank period at the end of the day, be the person that you desire to see make a change in your world. Be that change, because if you're not gonna do it, who is? And that's just what I tell myself. If you ain't gonna do it, nobody else wanna do it because no one is you know, one can do things the way you do things. No one is as unique as you are. So do it and stand on it. I honestly love the little rhyme. If you don't see it, then be it, girl, what bars I'm gonna put that on like no weed because it's your saying, no you, because it's your saying you need to put that on a shirt, and I'm gonna buy it from you. I'm gonna buy it. I'm gonna buy that shirt. You're gonna have to text me what that phrase was because I was just going on. I can't even say what I remember. But honestly, that was great advice from both of you guys. It was just very I feel like you guys provided a lot of insight in this episode, especially with a lot of the assumptions that people make. If you're tall, the taller you are, the more likely are to be a model. It's just very interesting to hear like different perspectives and how yeah, like people have been called like been saying that you for example, like you were saying earlier, you could be too tall, your arms could be too long for certain brands. And it's just I feel like this is something that needs to be spoken about and where this needs to be brought to it because even I didn't know about that, Like people are looking at me saying, oh, you're not even that tall, and it's like, well, you know, I'm in the range to be a model. So I don't want to hear anything from you, guys, But thank you so so much again for the great advice and sharing your stories. I'm pretty sure the audience appreciates it too. Where where can we find you guys on the interweb? Like this is your time to like plug yourselves, plug your Instagram's, your websites, whatever you want to do. Where can we find you guys? Okay, we'll wait. We'll start with Bree first. Okay. Uh so I have It's at b R I Y G I L G e O U S on almost every platform out there except for Twitter because no. And then have a I have a fashion diary. I'm a little behind on some posts, but that is called what Bree b R I Y war so w O r E so. And it's also I think it's linked on my main account too, but I'm doing a seventy five card style challenge there, so you basically get to see sustainable outfits on a tall person. So if you want to check that out, that's what I'm doing. Oh, I thought that's so cool. I actually need to follow that after after we get after we're finished with this. What about you, Lucky? Where can we find you? Oh? She says, she followed me. I found you girl cool. I think I got you boom got well you. I do a lot so my my model accounting. People want to follow my model journey at a Tall Life, a tall life literally a tall life, but all of my other pages because I am a digital creator as well, it's just a tall life with UGC. You want to follow my TikTok, it's a tall life Twitter, It's a tall life. But you really want to see me on there as much right now? If you have a big O and you like watching live streams, I'm on there too, a whole life as well. If you're wanted to find another tall girl brand and follow a tall girl brands, Sky Rose Design Sky with an e that's my fashion brand. If you want to join the community of tall girls from all across the world who come together and support each other and you know, showcase all of our talents on a plectora of a scale. You know, you can follow the Tall Girls Ink Cage in. Dana's a lot about that age. He's always on the story on there. The goal is really to just promote and bring tall girls together from all areas in corner of the world, so that they know they're not alone on this journey to loving theirself and finding out who they truly are, who they truly want to be, because it can be anything you want to do. I like that. Well, it's okay, don't worry y'all. It's all going to be linked in the description because I knew that that was a lot, but I'm going to have the links to all the mains in the description and then I might as well just plug myself here. You can hit me up at a Tall Girls podcast on Instagram, TikTok, and Pinterest. You can let me know what you thought of this episode. You can hit Lucky up, you can hit briup for any more advice we've thought about this episode. Any and everything that's within reason, of course, and thank you so so much again guys for joining me today. I really do appreciate it. It was it was just so nice to hear from you guys and hear your stories and stuff. So thank you again for being here. Yeah, no problem, Thanks for having us, No problem. It was a last week here. I've been dying to come on your podcast, dying to have you one I might have to have you on my podcast too. Girl. I love bringing on the tall girlies that are doing great things in their areas of life, because we deserve lights showing on us too, because we're doing the thing out here. So thank you for to shine some light on both of our journeys as models and what tall females go through when chasing their dream to become a model, of course, one hundred and ten percent. And I definitely want to end this episode of a super super high note, so I'm gonna end it here. Thank you once again, dear listeners for tuning in, and I'll catch you guys to the next one. Good night and goodbye, bye bye.