WIN tickets to Ms Curvaceous UK – Sponsored by Simply Be
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Simply Be are proud to be sponsoring this year’s Miss Curvaceous UK!
AND we’re giving you the chance to WIN tickets to attend the grand final this Friday night in London, hosted by none other than international curvy supermodel Nina Blakemore and featuring the 15 finalists modelling Simply Be clothing on the catwalk.
We’ve got 3 pairs of tickets to give away – all you need to do is leave us a comment below and we’ll pick 3 winners at random!
Competition ends midday Wednesday 11th April – so you have to be quick!
Regional heats have taken place in major cities across the UK, with the final heat taking place in London this Friday hosted by none other than international curvy supermodel Nina Blakemore.
The lucky winner of Ms Curvaceous UK will be awarded a life changing modelling contract with the leading modelling agency for curvy women in the UK, Hughes Models. Ms Curvaceous UK will also get the opportunity to appear at London Fashion Week and Liverpool Fashion Week, and be featured in double page spreads in not one but five top magazines for curvy women, including Just as Beautiful and Evolve Magazine.
At the Grand Finale showdown the contestants will demonstrate their modelling ability, battling it out on the catwalk. They will be judged on their pose, posture, confidence, walk and ability to express themselves both physically and verbally.
When and where is this event taking place you ask?
7.45pm Friday 13th April 2012 held at 229 The Venue.
229 Great Portland Street
W1W 5PN (Opposite Great Portland Street Underground Station)
Leave your comment below for your chance to win tickets!
How to walk on the catwalk
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The winners of our model competition will receive some invaluable tuition on how to perfect their runway strut. But what if you want to get a head start? Simply follow our tips…
Get your posture right
Before you even take a step, you need to get your posture right. When you’re a catwalk model you need to exude confidence, so that means shoulders back and head held high! Imagine you’ve got a piece of string running up out of the top of your head holding you upright.
Walk the walk
Pay attention to those toes! You should walk with your toes pointed straight forward, and aim to place your feet in a straight line in front of each other – this will give your hips a sexy sway. Don’t bring your feet too far in with each step or you’ll end up walking a wobbly, drunken looking line instead of a straight one! Don’t flap your feet down – take a measured heel to toe approach. Longer strides look more elegant and confident than baby steps – you may need to lift your knees higher to achieve this. Try and let your arms and hands do what they would do naturally, with relaxed hands. Your upper body should remain as still as possible whilst your legs and hips do the work.
Pause for thought
When you hit the end of the catwalk, turn your body to the side but face forward, dropping your weight onto one leg. Pause and hold your pose for just a beat then turn and strut back down again, turning your head at the very last moment.
The eyes have it
Regardless of what you do with your body, you can’t look confident and sexy unless your face says so too. Look confidently straight ahead – and don’t watch your feet. The client will know what sort of look they are going for so follow the brief, be it smiley, sultry or tough. Practice different looks in the mirror.
Practice makes perfect
Even with all the best advice in the world, there is no substitute for practice. Get a close friend or family member to give you some tips, or ask them to film you so that you can watch your walk back again and see what can be improved. Once you’ve got the basics right you can add a subtle twist to really make your walk your own – your ‘signature walk’. Watch videos of some of the most successful models and see what they do to add character to your walk.
It’s time to get practising ladies!
Here are some of the finalists from last year’s model competition strutting their stuff!
Catalogue Modelling Tips
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Catalogue Modelling Tips
Modelling isn’t all about catwalks and fashion shows: you can have a very successful (and lucrative) career as a catalogue model. These days it’s not just about taking shots for paper catalogues – websites for fashion retailers are just as important, if not more so.
Catalogue modelling can vary greatly depending on what the client wants. Some retailers purely display the clothing, showing just the model’s body and not their face, so the model is literally used a mannequin. Often, shoots will take place in a studio, and sometimes they’re on location.
At Simply Be we do the majority of our shoots on location, and we’ve taken our models everywhere from Paris to Morocco! The advantage of the more exotic locations is that the light is so much better. The right location can also really add to the mood of a collection.
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Some of our Simply Be shoots are held in studios. This gives a much cleaner look and keeps the focus all on the clothing. This can be a more challenging shoot for a model as there are no props or scenery to interact with. Not that it’s a problem for our models!
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The main thing the client will be looking for from a catalogue shoot is variety. When a customer is faced with a catalogue spread or a page of dresses on a website, they don’t want to see the same facial expression or pose over and over again. So get in front of that mirror and see how versatile you can be. Remember though, if your pose obscures too much detail of the product that shot won’t be selected. You’ve still got to sell the product so make sure you show off the item as best you can. Does it have a full skirt or flowing sleeves? Work with the product to show it off to its best advantage. Do your research about the brand as well to see what style they prefer. At Simply Be we prefer smiles and giggles to moody pouts!
In catalogue modelling you’ll often be asked to work with props, be it a cup of coffee, a hat or a motorbike! It’s a great way to introduce variety into a shoot. The model’s job here to make it look natural. It can be a fine line between pulling off a natural pose with a prop and falling into a really obvious cheesy pose – and that’s when good models can show what they’re made of.
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How to take a good model competition entry photo
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We’re sure you’ve heard about our plus size model search by now – we’re on the look out for the new face of Simply Be! For full info on how to enter our model competition, visit Simply Be.
So you’ve got until the end of August to send your model comp entry photos to simplybefashion(at)hotmail.co.uk. We’ve asked for 3 photos from you, including a full-length shot, a headshot and side profile. The photos need to be either 6″x4″ or 7″x5″ in size but don’t worry too much about the size – as long as they are large enough for us to see you clearly you’ll be fine!
But where do you start with taking your photos? Firstly, think about the Simply Be brand. We’re about confidence and loving your curves! So let’s see that confidence shine through in your pics.
Now this may sound like a strange one, but make sure your photos look like you. We want the essence of your personality to come through; so don’t feel like you have to pretend to be someone you’re not. Plus if you get through to the final, we’ll be expecting to see someone that looks like your photos!
By all means do your hair and make-up – of course you want to look your best! But please don’t use Photoshop or anything similar to alter your appearance in any way. We want to see the real you.
Lighting is very important. Try to find a room with as much natural light as possible and make sure the light is to the front or side of you rather than behind you, or you’ll look really dark. And if you can pose in front of a plain background, all the better – it’s all about you!
Do you have any top tips for taking a good photo that you’d like to share? If so – post them below!
Simply Be & Plus Size News July Round-Up
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We thought we’d do a little round up of some of the things that have been happening over the past month, in case you missed any of it.
Following on from on Zandra Rhodes collection launch, there have been lots of fab write-ups from around the blogosphere.
LaCara from Oh La La Curves did a fab write-up, including some breathtaking pics of London from the top of the amazing Paramount venue.
Lauren of Pocket Rocket has some more wonderful pics and shares her take on the range.
Naomi of Diamonds ‘n’ Pearls got a lot of love for her pineapple print tunic dress too.
We gave some of our fave bloggers brand exclusives before our AW11 collection went live.
Lauren wrote about Bespoke and made a fab Lookbook montage.
Kat at Plus Size Beauty covered Frock and Frill after she wore the range to the Zandra Rhodes launch.
Em over at Boombands got an exclusive on Anna Scholz, as she’s such a big fan of the designer.
LaCara blogged about Angel Ribbons - some gorgeous lace pieces this season.
Em from Boombands also covered some of her recent Simply Be acquisitions
She looks so fab in her Joe Browns tunic top.
…and super glam in her maxi dress from our Very Berry collection.
And on the plus size news front?
Many of us in the plus size community were surprised to learn in an interview with model Marquita Pring that she ‘pads up’ for certain clients who require her to look larger than she is.
Hot on the heels of the Vogue Italia cover starring Simply Be model, Candice Huffine, Vogue Australia has featured its first ever plus size spread featuring the gorgeous Robyn Lawley.
Simply Be have been nominated for a Company High Street Fashion Award - vote for us here.
Oh yes and one more thing (although this is technically August news) – we have just launched our 2011 Model Competition! More on that to follow, but in the mean time, get all the deets here.
New In Joe Browns
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The Joe Browns collection has always been one of the most popular ranges at Simply Be. The Joe Browns style is so distinctive there really is no other range quite like it!
If you’re a big fan of the Joe Browns look you’ll love their latest additions – we think it could be their best collection yet!
Cat lovers will fall head over paws for this cat motif tunic dress - how cute?!
This tunic is so versatile that it’s no surprise they’ve called it the ‘All Occasion Tunic‘!
We love this red dress too – there is just so much detail with the gorgeous appliqué and embroidery around the neckline.
Tribal Safari Fashion Trend
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As the weather hots up, so do our wardrobes! There’s no trend that looks better in the sunshine than the tribal look.
Animal prints are key, be it big cat or zebra. Plait trims and fringing give a handicraft feel. Mix in khaki, camel and stone colours for explorer chic.
The Simply Be girls love the look too! Take a look:
Navy, new in at Simply Be!
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You know we love our labels here at Simply Be, so it’s time to introduce the newest name we’ve welcomed to the Simply Be fold – Navy.
Navy London was created by stylist Greg Lang after constant requests from models, celebrities and fashion insiders for clothing like the styles he sourced for his shoots. The first high street Navy collection launched at Top Shop’s flagship store in London, and now he has created a range for us! Immaculately on-trend, fashionable yet understated; looks like Navy’s hot for spring!
Fresh Spring Arrivals
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At Simply Be we’re always adding fab new pieces from all your favourite names.
Just in we’ve new additions from Angel Ribbons, including this stunning sheer shrug with peacock feather embroidery. It’s the perfect light cover-up for spring, day or night.
This fabulous print maxi, also from Angel Ribbons, will keep you lovely and cool in floaty georgette fabric, whilst looking undoubtedly hot!
The nautical look comes back on-trend every spring without fail, making sailor girl style a great investment for your wardrobe.
We’re loving these cute cobalt and white pieces from And Abigail, simple with a twist. Head’s up – cobalt’s going to be a key colour for summer too!
And we couldn’t update our collection without a little something new from Anna Scholz could we? This kaftan-style cover up has a pretty pompom trim and will add a riotous burst of colour to jeans and black basics.
Decades of glamour – at Simply Be
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This season, fashion gives a nod to two ever so glamorous decades of style. Both very different – and both very gorgeous!
Solar 70s
If you’re anything of a fashionista you can’t have failed to notice the resurgence of seventies style this season. We’re loving the flowing shapes and fabulous prints – it’s not often you get a look that’s so flattering yet that lets you make such a bold statement at the same time.
We’re celebrating the look with a brand new limited edition collection – Solar 70s. With gorgeous galactic prints and an edgy animal print twist it’s spot-on for spring. Don’t forget the accessories; Simply Be has a great range of platform and wedge shoes, wooden bangles and tasselled handbags for an authentic finish.
Vintage twenties – and all that Jazz
The 70’s isn’t the only decade making a comeback this season. Thanks to hit show Boardwalk Empire, we’re taking inspiration from even further back – the roaring twenties!
Boardwalk Empire is having such an influence on women’s wardrobes that people are even calling it the new Mad Men. To get the twenties look go for fab fringed dresses and tiered tops. Keep colours classy; a colour palette of black and cream is perfect. Finish with a medium heel and vintage-look clutch.
