An older interview, from the Telegaph (website)
The secrets of my model life
Laura Bailey graduated with a First in English Literature but eschewed academia for the frivolous world of fashion. From Saturday, she joins The Daily Telegraph as a beauty columnist, but here, she reveals why modelling has been so fulfilling and shares her style tips
MODELLING was not my dream, but it became my dream life. I left Southampton University in 1995 with a First in English Literature, nursing hopes of becoming a writer. But, in many ways, I have learnt more in six years of modelling than I would ever have learnt had I continued in academia or if I had entered the literary world.
Model student: Laura was amused to learn that pictures of her on a Milan catwalk were pinned up at her old university, with a note saying 'Look what a First from Southampton can do for you'I was 21 and had just graduated when I was discovered on the King's Road, Chelsea, by an agent for Models 1. At the time, I still considered myself to be a student and was desperately trying to make up my mind about what to do next.
While auditioning for fringe theatre in London, I was working behind the bar at the Chelsea Arts Club. I had grown up in a village near Oxford, so the capital filled me with the wide-eyed awe you'd expect of a true country girl.
A schoolfriend dared me to take up the invitation to visit Models 1, but when I reached the agency, I felt ridiculous because everyone was staring at me. Polaroids were taken, and I remember gazing up at pictures of Yasmin Le Bon and Jerry Hall and thinking they were from a different planet.
By some miracle, a week later, I had my first job modelling - stripes and denim for the teen magazine Looks. Shoots for The Face and Dazed & Confused followed, and I worried about being late for my bar shifts. But as I started enjoying my new work, it was soon clear that my evenings spent making Bloody Marys and BLTs were numbered. Without taking modelling too seriously, I decided to give it six months and try to make some money.
During those months, I went to Mauritius for Tatler, Morocco for Marie-Claire and Paris for Italian Vogue. Slowly, I began to realise that modelling might be more than just a holiday job. I rented a house with some friends in Regent's Park, and suddenly my life was revolving around telephone calls from my agent, long waits at airports and snatched meetings with friends between trips - a world away from my student days.
As the daughter of an Oxford don and a lawyer, I have academia in my genes - so there were rumblings of disapproval from my parents about my choice of career. But I have never felt unsupported or had any sense of failure projected upon me. Living and working in New York for the past five years, however, has tested relations, as I have a complicated extended family. But my gypsy lifestyle has, if anything, strengthened my bond with my "chosen family" of trusted friends, who provide the foundations for a somewhat unstable life.
I was, at first, amazed by the glamour and sophistication of my fellow models and pleasantly surprised by the camaraderie among the girls, especially on trips. Although most of my closest friends in the business actually work behind the camera, there is little of the bitchy back-stabbing one reads about, and, as I spend so much time on the road, I'm always happy to run into old friends such as Sophie Dahl - whether backstage at a Paris catwalk show or at a pub around the corner from my flat.
I have much less in common with models who start out in their teens, but many of the girls I work with are juggling multiple careers and, like me, are grateful to be modelling rather than waitressing while they audition, make jewellery, paint or empire-build a la Cindy Crawford or Christy Turlington.
My school and university friends found work in advertising, teaching and television - and I suspect my career on the catwalk made a few of them suspicious for a while.
But, as they couldn't for a second imagine me as an anorexic drug addict and soon started inviting themselves on my modelling trips overseas, I think I was forgiven fast. They know that my life does not just consist of limo rides from catwalk to premiere (though they are the first to ask for tickets or gossip), and I don't think they really care what I do for a living, as long as I'm happy.
I was a shy teenager, certainly not confident about how I looked, but I didn't care too much, either. Uncool as it sounds, I loved school and, at 15, I was more suited to the hockey pitch and the local disco than to a Paris catwalk. My interest in fashion stretched no further than having the occasional quick flick through my mother's stacks of Vogue.
Although my university tutors had hoped I would go on to do an MA, I never felt pressured to stay in academia and they have followed my progress with interest. I was amused to hear from a fellow student that pictures of me on a Milan catwalk had been pinned to the English literature department's noticeboard, with a note saying, "Look what a First from Southampton can do for you".
I'm not sure exactly what an arts degree prepares you for, but I know it's not the modelling business. Yet writing last-minute, caffeine-fuelled essays at university was good training for juggling modelling jobs in limited time, and I have probably also learnt discipline from doing lone research, not to mention how to mix a mean cocktail and snooze undetected in lectures.
Even so, I emerged from university severely lacking any financial acumen, and have only organised my money properly since I bought my first flat in June.
Modelling can be very lonely - I know girls who become terribly homesick or boy-sick on trips. But I have always enjoyed a solo adventure, be it to the East End or to India. I have travelled to places I hadn't even heard of at college and, over the past six years, I have discovered a more confident, show-off side to my character that I wouldn't have found otherwise.
Yes, of course I have heard all the stereotypical jokes about blonde models, but I don't feel under any pressure to prove myself. My work speaks for itself, and I know it takes more than a degree or a pretty face to build a career.
University was the right place for me at the time, and not just in terms of qualifications. I grew up, lived with friends for the first time and worked and laughed like crazy. But I am a great believer in informal as well as formal education - many of my friends have never been near a further education institution.
If I ever have a daughter, I wonder how I'd advise her, should she one day threaten to flee university and run off to Paris. I could hardly refuse to allow her to model, although I would pray that her real confidence came from her brains and not her body. But I look back with no regrets.
Who is your favourite designer?
Karl Lagerfeld for Chanel. The samples fit me like couture and each piece is a mood-altering instant classic. I'm also a fan of Bella Freud for her quirky English style and Luella Bartley for everyday funky rock chic gear. I would love absolutely anything from Balenciaga in my dreams.
What is your favourite look this autumn?
Romantic hippy chic with a touch of Victoriana - a little lace and a high neck, sexed up with killer boots and the shortest skirt.
What are your key accessories this season?
Chunky belts and Russian-style fake fur hats and collars - Anna Karenina goes to war.
Which is your favourite glossy magazine?
I devour Vogue. I love Dazed & Confused and I read The Fashion for style that's a bit more off the beaten track.
Which is your favourite outfit of all time?
A long, grey evening dress that Chanel lent to me for the Cannes Film Festival this year.
Which is your favourite pair of shoes?
My favourites this year are my Prada alligator stilettos and my old pink Converse All Stars.
Which is your favourite high street store?
Topshop, for a fast cheap fix. It is always a good stop for accessories, underwear and the latest looks, without breaking the bank.
Where in the world do you prefer to shop?
I like shopping at Portobello Market, Rellik on Golborne Road and Something on Chepstow Road in London for vintage treasures. In New York, I love Marc Jacobs, Katayone Adeli and the boutiques on Elizabeth Street. I go to Paris for books and to window shop everywhere from Chloe to Cacharel.
Who does your hair?
Belle Cannon and Josh Wood at Real in Chelsea.
Which beauty products do you refuse to leave home without?
Yves Saint Laurent Touche Eclat (a brush-on, brightening concealer) which gives the illusion of a good night's sleep, and MAC Lipglass for kissable lips.
If your wardrobe had to be limited to 10 items, what would they be?
Marc Jacobs jeans, a little black dress from Chanel, Nike Air trainers, a white Gap T-shirt, Agent Provocateur underwear, Manolo Blahnik classic black stilettos, a Chanel handbag, a Bella Freud cashmere sweater, a Helmut Lang black trouser suit and a mini-skirt by Luella.
What do you keep in your handbag?
Chanel shades, a diary and an Agnes B purse. A Chanel black mascara, YSL Touche Eclat, MAC Lipglass, an Olympus mini-digital camera, a notebook and pen, purse-sized Chanel No 19 and the keys for my Vespa.
Laura Bailey graduated with a First in English Literature but eschewed academia for the frivolous world of fashion. From Saturday, she joins The Daily Telegraph as a beauty columnist, but here, she reveals why modelling has been so fulfilling and shares her style tips
MODELLING was not my dream, but it became my dream life. I left Southampton University in 1995 with a First in English Literature, nursing hopes of becoming a writer. But, in many ways, I have learnt more in six years of modelling than I would ever have learnt had I continued in academia or if I had entered the literary world.
While auditioning for fringe theatre in London, I was working behind the bar at the Chelsea Arts Club. I had grown up in a village near Oxford, so the capital filled me with the wide-eyed awe you'd expect of a true country girl.
A schoolfriend dared me to take up the invitation to visit Models 1, but when I reached the agency, I felt ridiculous because everyone was staring at me. Polaroids were taken, and I remember gazing up at pictures of Yasmin Le Bon and Jerry Hall and thinking they were from a different planet.
By some miracle, a week later, I had my first job modelling - stripes and denim for the teen magazine Looks. Shoots for The Face and Dazed & Confused followed, and I worried about being late for my bar shifts. But as I started enjoying my new work, it was soon clear that my evenings spent making Bloody Marys and BLTs were numbered. Without taking modelling too seriously, I decided to give it six months and try to make some money.
During those months, I went to Mauritius for Tatler, Morocco for Marie-Claire and Paris for Italian Vogue. Slowly, I began to realise that modelling might be more than just a holiday job. I rented a house with some friends in Regent's Park, and suddenly my life was revolving around telephone calls from my agent, long waits at airports and snatched meetings with friends between trips - a world away from my student days.
As the daughter of an Oxford don and a lawyer, I have academia in my genes - so there were rumblings of disapproval from my parents about my choice of career. But I have never felt unsupported or had any sense of failure projected upon me. Living and working in New York for the past five years, however, has tested relations, as I have a complicated extended family. But my gypsy lifestyle has, if anything, strengthened my bond with my "chosen family" of trusted friends, who provide the foundations for a somewhat unstable life.
I was, at first, amazed by the glamour and sophistication of my fellow models and pleasantly surprised by the camaraderie among the girls, especially on trips. Although most of my closest friends in the business actually work behind the camera, there is little of the bitchy back-stabbing one reads about, and, as I spend so much time on the road, I'm always happy to run into old friends such as Sophie Dahl - whether backstage at a Paris catwalk show or at a pub around the corner from my flat.
I have much less in common with models who start out in their teens, but many of the girls I work with are juggling multiple careers and, like me, are grateful to be modelling rather than waitressing while they audition, make jewellery, paint or empire-build a la Cindy Crawford or Christy Turlington.
My school and university friends found work in advertising, teaching and television - and I suspect my career on the catwalk made a few of them suspicious for a while.
But, as they couldn't for a second imagine me as an anorexic drug addict and soon started inviting themselves on my modelling trips overseas, I think I was forgiven fast. They know that my life does not just consist of limo rides from catwalk to premiere (though they are the first to ask for tickets or gossip), and I don't think they really care what I do for a living, as long as I'm happy.
I was a shy teenager, certainly not confident about how I looked, but I didn't care too much, either. Uncool as it sounds, I loved school and, at 15, I was more suited to the hockey pitch and the local disco than to a Paris catwalk. My interest in fashion stretched no further than having the occasional quick flick through my mother's stacks of Vogue.
Although my university tutors had hoped I would go on to do an MA, I never felt pressured to stay in academia and they have followed my progress with interest. I was amused to hear from a fellow student that pictures of me on a Milan catwalk had been pinned to the English literature department's noticeboard, with a note saying, "Look what a First from Southampton can do for you".
I'm not sure exactly what an arts degree prepares you for, but I know it's not the modelling business. Yet writing last-minute, caffeine-fuelled essays at university was good training for juggling modelling jobs in limited time, and I have probably also learnt discipline from doing lone research, not to mention how to mix a mean cocktail and snooze undetected in lectures.
Even so, I emerged from university severely lacking any financial acumen, and have only organised my money properly since I bought my first flat in June.
Modelling can be very lonely - I know girls who become terribly homesick or boy-sick on trips. But I have always enjoyed a solo adventure, be it to the East End or to India. I have travelled to places I hadn't even heard of at college and, over the past six years, I have discovered a more confident, show-off side to my character that I wouldn't have found otherwise.
Yes, of course I have heard all the stereotypical jokes about blonde models, but I don't feel under any pressure to prove myself. My work speaks for itself, and I know it takes more than a degree or a pretty face to build a career.
University was the right place for me at the time, and not just in terms of qualifications. I grew up, lived with friends for the first time and worked and laughed like crazy. But I am a great believer in informal as well as formal education - many of my friends have never been near a further education institution.
If I ever have a daughter, I wonder how I'd advise her, should she one day threaten to flee university and run off to Paris. I could hardly refuse to allow her to model, although I would pray that her real confidence came from her brains and not her body. But I look back with no regrets.
Who is your favourite designer?
Karl Lagerfeld for Chanel. The samples fit me like couture and each piece is a mood-altering instant classic. I'm also a fan of Bella Freud for her quirky English style and Luella Bartley for everyday funky rock chic gear. I would love absolutely anything from Balenciaga in my dreams.
What is your favourite look this autumn?
Romantic hippy chic with a touch of Victoriana - a little lace and a high neck, sexed up with killer boots and the shortest skirt.
What are your key accessories this season?
Chunky belts and Russian-style fake fur hats and collars - Anna Karenina goes to war.
Which is your favourite glossy magazine?
I devour Vogue. I love Dazed & Confused and I read The Fashion for style that's a bit more off the beaten track.
Which is your favourite outfit of all time?
A long, grey evening dress that Chanel lent to me for the Cannes Film Festival this year.
Which is your favourite pair of shoes?
My favourites this year are my Prada alligator stilettos and my old pink Converse All Stars.
Which is your favourite high street store?
Topshop, for a fast cheap fix. It is always a good stop for accessories, underwear and the latest looks, without breaking the bank.
Where in the world do you prefer to shop?
I like shopping at Portobello Market, Rellik on Golborne Road and Something on Chepstow Road in London for vintage treasures. In New York, I love Marc Jacobs, Katayone Adeli and the boutiques on Elizabeth Street. I go to Paris for books and to window shop everywhere from Chloe to Cacharel.
Who does your hair?
Belle Cannon and Josh Wood at Real in Chelsea.
Which beauty products do you refuse to leave home without?
Yves Saint Laurent Touche Eclat (a brush-on, brightening concealer) which gives the illusion of a good night's sleep, and MAC Lipglass for kissable lips.
If your wardrobe had to be limited to 10 items, what would they be?
Marc Jacobs jeans, a little black dress from Chanel, Nike Air trainers, a white Gap T-shirt, Agent Provocateur underwear, Manolo Blahnik classic black stilettos, a Chanel handbag, a Bella Freud cashmere sweater, a Helmut Lang black trouser suit and a mini-skirt by Luella.
What do you keep in your handbag?
Chanel shades, a diary and an Agnes B purse. A Chanel black mascara, YSL Touche Eclat, MAC Lipglass, an Olympus mini-digital camera, a notebook and pen, purse-sized Chanel No 19 and the keys for my Vespa.
i cant believe i wrote that.......what was i thinking! it sounds like an extract from OK magazine
