Our October Model of the Month is Sarah Braver! Sarah was introduced to SmartGlamour through our 2015 pop up shop – and has participated in two of our campaigns – #SameSizeDifferentEyes and #AllBodiesAreGoodBodies. Learn more about her below!
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1. Aside from occasionally modeling for SmartGlamour – what do you do?
I run my own business: Braver and Braver, a Talent Consultancy that supports startups, nonprofits, and small businesses with their Talent Acquisition, Organizational Development, and Diversity/Equity/Inclusion needs. I am also a career coach and personal organizational consultant primarily for women and women-identifying people. I work hard to help people be successful at work.
3. You’ve modeled for us multiple times – what makes you continue to come back?
I love the opportunity to model for SmartGlamour because it is so great to show the world how all bodies are good bodies and that the skewed concept of “model” is part of why many women and femmes feel they don’t deserve or have access to clothes that make them feel great. I like to look and feel confident and happy in my clothes, and modeling for SmartGlamour is a way to amplify that feeling. It’s also always a great opportunity to meet other models and socialize in a very body positive environment. I love that we all do our own makeup and wear our own shoes and decide if we want shapewear or not – we are still fully ourselves while we are modeling the clothes.
4. What does body positivity mean to you?
Body Positivity means that my body is my own, without qualification. I get to decide what clothes I get to wear, what makes me feel good, and how I present to the world. My body exists and I put clothes on it for practical reasons and for reasons of self-expression, and how I choose to do that is my own damn business. It also means that I respect, without question, the autonomy of others and their right to exist in their own body however they choose to do so. It also means, as Mallorie always says, that everyone deserves access to clothing that fits and works for them.
5. If there is a message you could put across to women/femmes/non binary folks through your modeling photos – what would that be?
First, and I know this sounds simple, but I hope women/femmes/NB folks see my modeling photos and think that they, too, can be a model. Modeling clothes for SmartGlamour (and hopefully one day, all clothing companies) simply means wearing them and showing folks what they look like on a body. There is no other qualification except for wearing the clothes. It shouldn’t be radical, but it is.
6. What is your advice to people who would like to give modeling a try?
I say TRY IT! It might not be for you, but you won’t know until you try! Modeling for SmartGlamour was transformational in the way I saw myself and was a huge leap toward detoxifying from the body-negative culture in which we exist. I was a model and no one could say otherwise! Displaying my body as a good thing was a radical step and that step might be meaningful to you, as well!
