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A MODEL ON THE MOVE
A few years since her initial jump into the fashion industry, model
Julie Meise now splits her time between New York, Los Angeles and
Dundalk.
“Coming back to Dundalk, I feel like I’m overdressed all of the time,”
Meise said. “I always wear heels.”
Meise, 21, grew up on Tyler Road. Her parents and both sets of her
grandparents also are from Dundalk.
The Dundalk High School graduate said she has always loved fashion and
used to dress up in her mother’s clothes when she was as young as 5. She
played soccer and lacrosse all through middle and high school.
When she was 18, Meise signed with Cima Talent Management, a
Maryland-based modeling agency. She landed a handful of jobs through
Cima and was selected to be in a national commercial for Carmax and Dick’s Sporting Goods last
fall.
Other Internet gigs include interviews and shoots with a few online
periodicals such as C-Heads magazine, Black City magazine and Newyorkbestmodels.com.
Meise now works mostly through Model Management Group in New York, CESD Talent Agency in Los Angeles, and iModels in Los Angeles.
She has been in a few editorial shoots with popular local photographer
Roy Cox, also from Dundalk.
“[Cox] really got me started after I signed with Cima,” Meise said. “He
has such good advice.”
A series of pictures taken by Cox show Meise, dressed as a doll, ripping
through plastic and climbing out of a life-size Mattel box.
“Julie has a great build for fashion,” Cox said. “She can go from doing
soft commercial to harder editorial shoots.”
The model considers her best work to be photos shot for two print
magazines: Washington’s Finest and Supermodels Unlimited.
Washington’s Finest depicted Meise in an artistic four-page editorial
spread shot by Yvonne Taylor for a clothing designer. In Supermodels
Unlimited, she posed for a jewelry advertisement.
“I think it’s more fun doing editorial shoots, but the money is in
advertising and print work,” Meise said.
In Los Angeles, Meise has walked in runway shows for clothing brands
Nicole Miller, Affliction and True Religion. Though her runway gigs don’t pay much, Meise said they give models a lot of exposure.
Not all models can do runway. In order to be considered, models must be
5-foot-9 or taller with measurements close to 34-24-34, according to
Meise.
“New York was ridiculous for me. They always told me I was too feminine,” she
said. “They want girls with little boy bodies. It’s hard to fit into
that and I don’t think it’s good to promote.”
Meise is naturally thin, she said, and really watches what she eats only in the
few days before a shoot. “I love doing Pilates, and work out at the gym 4-5 times a week, I walk around the track [at Dundalk High School] whenever I’m home.”
In a field based on appearance, Meise said, learning to take criticism
has made her stronger. She has been told her cheeks are too big and her
110-pound frame is a bit curvy.
“You’re human, so I would cry a lot. You have to be OK with yourself,”
Meise said.
She had a rude awakening when she let an agency fly her to England and
France for some work. She lived in a house with a group of other models,
mostly 15 and 16 years old from eastern Europe, she said.
After becoming aware of an expectation for models to get physical with
bookers and photographers, Meise called her parents from the agency
phone in tears and left in a cab the next morning.
“The young girls thought it was OK, but maybe because I was from
America, I know that was wrong,” Meise said. “That happens all the time.
You want to be with a good agency.”
Meise plans on moving out to Los Angeles this month to try her hand at a
career of modeling and possibly acting.
On distinguishing herself in an extremely competitive industry, Meise
said she hopes her sense of humor and positive outlook shine through.
She will have to go with her physical assets, as well.
“Her skin is amazing,” Cox said. “Everyone always comments on it, and it
makes photographing her pleasant. If she gets in with the right people,
she could do really well.”
Meise said her family, her parents especially, have been supportive of
her aspirations to become a model or actress.
Though she said she is worried about making enough money to live in Los
Angeles, Meise doesn’t expect to succeed overnight. She said she plans
to support herself at first by working in retail or waitressing at
night.
“I just feel like no one is going to come to you,” Meise said. “You have
to go and get it.”
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