At 5 foot 10 inches, BIS senior Stephanie Melahn always wanted to be a model, but felt her size 22 figure prevented her from most modeling gigs.
But as she anxiously waited in line to get her portraits taken at Torrid's Model Search 2006 at Superstition Springs Mall Saturday morning, the 22-year-old economics and business major looked excited.
"There aren't many opportunities for girls my size," Melahn said. "And here, there's all different kinds of girls - from the girly-girls to the punk rockers."
Over 300 hopeful entrants turned out for the model search to get their portraits taken.
Torrid - a division of Hot Topics, Inc. - is a plus-size fashion boutique.
The winners of the model search will be flown to California for a photo shoot complete with professional hair styling, makeup and wardrobe selection. The models will then be featured on Torrid.com.
ASU business management alumna Kisha Hendrix heard about the modeling event the night before from a store flier. The 6-foot, size 16 blonde appeared confident as she waited in line and chatted with event coordinators after her brief shoot.
Unlike many of the entrants who had no prior modeling experience, Hendrix said she has done some modeling jobs before for stores like JC Penney and Victoria's Closet.
Even with her previous experience, Hendrix said she was excited to have the opportunity to model for Torrid.
"I do shop here [at Torrid], so it'll be nice to be picked," Hendrix said.
Torrid first opened in 2001 and specializes in trendy clothing sizes 12 to 26. Their styles reach out to the teenagers and young adults who typically had more limited options than their slimmer friends when it came to finding trendy fashions.
Alisha Maccoux, 20, went to the model search looking to have some fun with friends and maybe get picked out of the bunch to model. Before Torrid opened, Maccoux knew of other places she could go to for plus-sized clothing, but found most stores with plus-sized lines offered more conservative lines and styles.
"We love Torrid," Maccoux said of her and her friends. "It fits us. It's not only fitting for women our size, but for our age also."
Torrid's marketing director and ASU alumna, Christine Thompson, said Torrid filled a big niche in the market.
"About 62 percent of the market is plus-sized," she said. "Go to any mall and you'll find maybe one or two stores that met that need. So there was definitely plenty of opportunity there."
Web merchandiser and fashion stylist for Torrid.com, Shelitha Kimble, agreed.
"Just because you're plus-sized doesn't mean you can't be fun, sexy and at the cusp of today's fashions," she said. "Because you can.
You can have a great personality, a great attitude. And that's going to show in your photos."
Thompson said the selection committee wasn't restricting their choice based on any particular physical qualities.
"She just needs to be beautiful, happy and confident," she said. "She's not ashamed of herself, and she's not going to let society make her feel bad because she's not a size 4."
Reach the reporter at lily.yan@asu.edu.
