I saw something recently about 13 year old who was being gushed over as “already a star.” The name didn’t stick.

I once looked up the top fashion models of each decade, 30s 40s 50s 60s 70s 80s up to Kate Moss. Educational. Almost all the names were unknown to me. None of them — until the 60s — looked to be younger than 25 or maybe 27.

But of the 60s brought the miniskirt and the bikini, both of which best suit many females from maybe 16 or 17 to maybe 24. These two fashions also served as a tremendous disincentive to “ruin” your figure by having a child.

Chinese models I particularly like include Tian Yi, Fei Fei Sun, and Xiao Wen Ju. (The top moneymaker is Liu Wen, who may be more classic but strikes me as bland.) Xiao may get more US attention as she is now the face of Babyghost, the new clothing line that somewhat caters to gothy teenage girls and young women and is quite hot right now. Xiao is lively and looks intelligent and fun. (Babyghost’s white models mostly look anorexic and 15. Xiao is a much better choice.)

One thing about these Chinese models is: they’re all at least 5’10.” Which must make them stand out in a crowd. The female models that I knew well, from Montreal, the UK and France, all felt unlovely and gawky as adolescents because of their height. (In the US there’s so much more emphasis on sport that I imagine tall girls can now more easily fit in.)

Another fun fact: 55% of all female runway models are from Russia or Ukraine. This parallels the export of “Natashas” who end up as strippers and prostitutes and in porn, “owned” by organized crime. Tall blondes with cheekbones. Eastern Europe as the white third world.

Hmm. I haven’t touched on transgender models, though some are rather awe-inspiring in their way.

I’m quite willing to reserve the word beautiful for the truly beautiful — those who have it all: animated, interesting faces, great bones, lovely features, and just the right amount of symmetry.

Deneuve I would call pretty. Doesn’t the word ‘pretty’ have, at least sometimes, a connotation of not-all-the-way-to-beautiful? (I’m sure we could come up with a whole spectrum of adjectives about this (perhaps they are found at nick’s aforementioned facebook post!). Some people are very attractive even though they aren’t really pretty or handsome. Etc. )

Don’t worry about the typos.

I looked up Gabriella Wilde, who I’d never heard of before, and she does have a blank and even face. But her face (unlike Deneuve’s) is also a baby-face. She has that wide, very childlike look, which also represents a sort of trend. If you look at photos of models from the 30s, 40s, 50s, they looked like grown women and had mature (not wrinkled, just mature!) women’s faces. In more recent years (starting with Twiggy, I believe, but much more common in the last 2 decades or so) the models look (and often are) very very young and immature, almost pre-pubescent.

*I apologize for my typos. MS means I can only type with one hand, and imperfectly.

I’ve had several good friends who were (or are) models, at a high level, so I’ve ben contact with male and female beauty and had thoughts on each for twenty years or so.

In regards to Deneuve, I think your perception is correct. It might be noted that she never became much of a movie star. Because what could se express? Her princess-like looks made the roles she could play quite limited. One might contrast her with Grace Kelly, considered to be a perfect exemplar of elegant beauty — but who also had that voice, and the wit and intelligence she could convey. Likewise, on the male side, think of Cary Grant. “Too beautiful to live,” as James Ellroy once said to me of some Hollywood star, but Grant’s voice was so expressive that the personality and intelligence he could express instantly rendered him interesting. Sure, a member of a kind of natural aristocracy, but anything but a doll with a wooden head.

It will be interesting to see what happens with Gabriella Wilde, chosen as the new face for L’Oréal, another perfect blonde — who in the L’Oréal ads is so perfect she seems blank, unmemorable, anonymous.

In other ads, such as for Burberry, they try to make her a little slutty, sulky, maybe a girl with “problems.” She looks much sexier as a result.

So far she’s only appeared in “safe” movie roles, in remakes of Endless Love and Carrie (and some other title which slips my mind). I haven’t seen any of these films, so I don’t have an opinion on what be possible for her in films.

Too bad I cannot illustrate things here with images.

It’s interesting, however, just as an aside, that David Gandy is the second highest earning supermodel the last two years, and he’s anything but a pretty boy. Dolce & Gabbana use him frequently. He’s in his 30s and looks like a badass. I actually thought about buying his cologne, as an homage.