We recently connected with Alia Parise and have shared our conversation below.
Alia, so great to have you with us and we want to jump right into a really important question. In recent years, it’s become so clear that we’re living through a time where so many folks are lacking self-confidence and self-esteem. So, we’d love to hear about your journey and how you developed your self-confidence and self-esteem.
My journey to self confidence was a long and difficult one, and it is something I still struggle with. All through school, Middle School and High School in particular, I i would sit in the back of the classroom and hide in a baggy clothes. I have always been a big girl, my dad was 6’3 and my mother was 5’7. But as many know, standing out in school wasn’t always a good thing. In Art School, I started to stretch my wings a bit, make new friends, and really start to get a vision of what I wanted to do in life. And then that all went out the window lol. I took a job as a graphic designer in a fashion company and let’s just say it was a “Learning Experience.” Eventually, they hired a marketing person who turned me onto Fit Modeling. I didn’t even know that was a real job: getting paid to try on clothes?! Sure! Let’s do it! I quit that graphic design job and went straight into fit modeling full time, and THAT’S where my confidence and self esteem grew. I was hired and being paid for my opinion as a plus size woman to give feedback on clothes to improve them so that I (and in turn hundreds and even thousands of other plus size women) would be happy to buy them. I soon saw myself in a position of true influence, able to speak for other women who wanted to be happy and confident in the clothes they bought for themselves. Yes, I had to learn technical terms and other expertise along the way, but in learning all off that, I became very happy with my body and even grateful! Since embarking on this career, I walk taller, I speak clearer, and I walk into a room knowing that my input is valued and wanted. That feeling has since flowed into other areas of my life so now I am able to observe any situation and decide the best way to approach it with a cool demeanor, knowing that I am worthy of any room I step into and that my opinions are valuable and relevant.
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
I love being a fit model! It has brought confidence to so many areas of my life and it has opened doors for me to work with some dream companies, travel to new places, and meet so many amazing people. I was even able to meet a group of cutting edge entrepreneurs through a fellow fit model whom I count as one of my closest friends. What I love most is when I get to work with a company that is new to plus size clothing or needs help revamping their fit, I am able to come in with all the knowledge and questions to get them launched efficiently while maintaining quality and their ideal customer in mind. I love putting myself into the mindset of the customer! Is she a professional business woman working a 9-5 at a desk so she’s looking for stylish and chic while maintaining comfort or is she a part-time barista, part-time artist, part-time dog walker just waiting for her shift to end so she can throw on her favorite dress and heels to meet her friends for a drink? Putting myself into the head of the targeted customer, while being fun, also helps me give better feedback as a fit model. My journey wasn’t easy getting there, for sure. In fact I had to learn on the go very quickly! So to help other models with this, I wrote a book that is self-published on my website on how to get started as a fit model and have had great feedback on it from others in the industry. I’m not looking to make millions on it, this is only a small part of the modeling industry, but I wanted to give other models a leg up in getting started.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
Hard to nail it down to three, but I would say the first one is positivity. As corny as that sounds, if you don’t stay upbeat and positive about life and the situations you go through, you will get knocked down quickly. Even if its hard, make it a part of your daily life. I have booked jobs on personality! Yes, measurements count, but I have had several clients like working with me because they LIKE me. No. not everything is sunshine and rainbows, but life is certainly more fun if you’re looking for them! I am not saying ignore all your other feelings, they are valid! Take your time to feel and assess them all, you will be better for it, but make positivity the lens through which you view the world. The second quality I would say would be the most impactful is being observant. If you are able to pick up on social ques, read someone, or read the room, you already have a major leg up! Once you have mastered the ability to observe FIRST and react SECOND, navigating any situation becomes so much smoother. Third piece of advice (that me a long time to learn) don’t take advice or criticism from people who don’t have fruit on the tree. If that person does not have the life you want, don’t listen to them. Get around those people who are where you want to be and listen and learn.
Who has been most helpful in helping you overcome challenges or build and develop the essential skills, qualities or knowledge you needed to be successful?
Throughout most of my fitting career, I was pretty reliant on myself. My agents were helpful when I needed something, but my fitting career was more about me becoming a new person with a new set of skills and a new mindset on how I viewed myself and that was a part of my growth journey that I needed to undergo on my own, but there was a point where I hit a wall. I was stagnant and I remember just sitting there wondering “is this it?” Then literally days later I met another fit model and she and I connected immediately. She was further along in her growth journey that I was and I wanted to meet her there. She recommended books, introduced me to others who helped her on her journey, and we had long deep talks about life, values, and so many other subjects that I realized were missing from my daily interactions. I had become stagnant because I wasn’t enjoying life and really taking advantage of all it could offer. Talking to her and and the ones she introduced me to, made me realize that these were the people that had the fruit on the tree, the lives, income, marriages, LIFESTYLES that I wanted, but that I thought was out of reach. they made and make me want to work harder to catch up to them. I am forever grateful fit model friend, who I talk to every other day, because without that chance meeting, I would be in a corner crying about how much I hate my life without actually doing anything about it.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.aliaparise.com/
- Instagram: @lady_amalia_
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alia-parise-00b86552
Image Credits
Lesley Pedrazza, Kelsey Rose Marie, Claudia Rivas
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