I Am a Fashion Model

½ + ½ = 1. The world of woman and the world of man, two separate worlds joined by the sign of equality. And as proof that the contents of the two worlds forever differ, and forever remain equal: university girl students presenting a fashion show...

Here is Miss Rafiqa Chehab. I had never seen her before in any show; apparently she has divorced her chronic fear of appearing as a model. And I was sure of it when she said: "This year I left my fear behind and appeared; but however it may be, the first moment is hard. I loved all the fashions I showed, as though I had chosen them myself. I prefer the audience to be ladies only, especially at the university. The 'model' is a charming creature we lack in our society; but I should not like to be a model — there are other aims in life that occupy my mind."

And Miss Hilda Khoury stands on the show's stage for the first time. "At the start of the show I was like someone walking in a dark, frightening room, and little by little I became mistress of the situation. In my view, modeling requires courage and self-confidence, and so I shall never be a model, for what it demands runs contrary to my shy nature. And were it not for the association's charitable aim — helping needy girl students — I would never have stood up as a model."

And Miss Janet Lambak, in Lebanon for the first time, and likewise on the show's stage. "It was a lovely experience, especially after I recovered my confidence in myself and got the better of the 'nerves' that had taken hold of me out of fear of the audience. Ah, how delicious it was to show the blue woolen 'slacks' — at least I walked with an ease I never felt in the other dresses and the high heels. Modeling is a delightful hobby, but hard as a profession; for the model must always keep the beauty of her figure — and she has to preserve that figure — take delight in her work, and be forever pleasant with the customers, even were she being hanged..."

Miss Alice Shami had never stood on a show's stage before. "When I went to Chamaa for the fitting of the dresses, the American girls were with us — and everyone knows the shortest of them stands 175 centimeters — and the dresses were large, and we had to wear shoes with heels nine centimeters high! I said I would be a 'laughingstock' — I cannot walk in such shoes and such dresses. But my fear quickly evaporated when I faced the audience. The close-fitting après-midi dress with the wide collar has a special magic on show. If I do not take up something else, I shall model

my own fashions, which I design and make myself, in my own house of beauty. As for our audience, I prefer it to be of one sex, for our boys ogle a girl's figure and not the dress she is showing, while we — the university girls — are showing the dress, and not ourselves. The model, in my view, is no actress; she is closer to the ordinary lady, and in our country she had best be of a height no greater than 170 centimeters."

And Miss Widad Nassif Issa, like the others, took no pay for what she did: the event was for charity. "Enthusiasm filled my head to know what lay there behind the show. And I felt no shyness, for the light was strong upon me and I could no longer see the faces of the ladies present. Modeling is a sweet hobby, an amusing way of passing the time, and not a profession I would rely upon in the future, for study is finer, to my mind. The model must always be graceful, inventive, wearing her part in whatever she shows, and remaining always herself."

Miss Sara Nelson was not standing for the first time, for she had worked as a model in three stores in America. She answered me quite simply: "My pay there was a few earrings and bracelets, for the events were charitable; here it was the applause of the ladies. I find a mixed audience always better. In America the men used to whistle at us, and here too I would have preferred the presence of men, so that they might grant the requests of the sweet ladies... I should love to be a model in the future; it is a delightful and amusing thing when the audience is agreeable. And my ideal mannequin is the one with sparkling eyes and high cheekbones, sure of herself, with a warm personality. The orange ensemble drove me wild — it is so comfortable when I throw myself into it..." And from simple things like these we see the distance of the East from the West... They may meet — when the sea no longer makes waves!

And here is Miss Mona Shahin coming out of class. I shall have her for lunch before the next class has her for supper! She was a model for the first time. "The first round is always hard, and I played my part in a natural way so as not to be embarrassed. The dress I loved was the cocktail dress; it is beautiful in the extreme, and I showed it feeling surer of myself than before. But that does not mean I shall take up modeling as a trade. I like it when it comes by chance, as it did this time. And every girl, university or not, has her own taste in life. The audience being ladies only helped me, since it was the first time; but I believe that men in an audience appreciate the occasion better than the ladies and misses whom nothing on earth can please. And if I do become a model, I shall walk with all grace — especially in climbing the steps up to the stage — and I shall smile without cease..."