Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Style Edit Spotlight: Shannon Stewart Ratliff

Cue Spotlight: Shannon Stewart Ratliff
Age: 27
Hometown: Franklin, Ohio
Profession: Model

SE: What sparked your interest in the fashion industry?
Shannon: I saw a make-up commercial when I was about five and was so awe-struck with it. I wanted to be that girl. This became not just a dream, but a desire that lead to being an actual reality.

Teen Vogue


SE: What was the first job you booked? 
Shannon: My first paid job was for Inside Edition. I was so excited that I couldn't sleep the night before. They were doing a special on "the little black dress" and I was their model. It was so exciting! A lady from Allure styled the shoot and the dresses were amazing! All of the dresses were "little and black," yet so different! It is amazing that such a simple dress can pack such a punch!

SE: What has been your favorite job so far?
Shannon: My favorite job so far has been shooting the cover of Nashville Lifestyle Weddings with my husband. The shoot itself wasn't all that glamorous because we shot at a botanical garden in Nashville and got so many chiggar bites, but I got to shoot with my man and wear some AMAZING gowns! One gown was over ten thousand dollars! I felt like Cinderella with all of the gorgeous gowns, and with my "prince."

Nashville Lifestyles Weddings


SE: Who are your favorite designers? 
Shannon: I love Isabel Marant, Tommy Hilfiger, Kenneth Cole, Jason Wu. I like to shop at Zara, H&M, Club Monaco, and even Forever 21. I don't believe that you have to spend a lot to be fashionable.

Bill Jones Photography


SE: What is your go-to outfit?
Shannon: I used to love to get all dressed up, even if I wasn't going anywhere special. Now I find myself pretty laid back on a day to day basis. I am a jeans and t-shirt kind of girl.

ANTM on CW Network


SE: You have great skin. What cosmetic products do you swear by? 
Shannon: I love Kiehl's products! I have sensitive skin, so it doesn't irritate my skin or make me break out! I also love Olay. I just starting trying a few products out by DDF, which I really like. Who says you have to spend hundreds of dollars to have good skin?! On that note, I would like to try La Mer one day. I hear so many great things about their face creme, so I would like to try it out for myself! It is a bit pricey though, but if it works, then it would be worth it! You only get one face/body, so it is important to take care of it! Personally, I am not into the Botox look, so I want to age gracefully and do my part. I would rather have a few wrinkles, than have a "plastic-looking" face that doesn't move!



SE: Many people have a love/hate relationship with the fashion industry. What do you like about the industry? Dislike? 
Shannon: Some models are naturally thin, but some aren't. I don't like it that some girls have to starve themselves so that they can have that "runway look." I think there need to be certain standards in the fashion industry. Beauty comes in all shapes and sizes. I think there needs to be more variety on the runways and even in ads. I wish that young girls also knew that the pictures they see in the magazines, aren't necessarily "reality." There is so much editing, airbrushing these days and it has caused young girls, even ladies, to feel insecure about how they look or their bodies! I want to remind them that we all have flaws, the companies just may have had them tweaked in order to sell the product!



SE: Any advice for the young model who is looking for a start in the business?
Shannon: Models have the ability to say yes, and no. I don't do anything that I am not comfortable with. Whose to say that just because you are a model, you have to be willing to do anything?! I want to be not just a model, but also a role model. I have seen too many sad stories of where girls have lost who they are in this industry. People have their own opinions. As a model, one agent may want your hair like this, and another one like that. You have to remember who you are and what you will and won't do before you ever enter this business. If you don't, you will loose yourself. No job or amount of money is ever worth loosing your soul for.

ANTM on CW Network

SE: What is something you wish you could do more of? 
Shannon: My ultimate dream job has always been to be a spokesperson for a make-up company. This dream started when I was five! I don't know if it will ever come true, but I sure do wish it would!  I would also like to have a few campaigns, and commercials!

ANTM on CW Network


SE: You seem to be such a strong and confident woman. Confidence looks good on you! How do you do it? 
Shannon: I will say this time and time again. My confidence isn't in the designer clothes I wear, how much money I have, or what I have accomplished in modeling. I get my confidence in who I am in the Lord. I am confident in WHO I am as a person, and I really believe that translates onto one's exterior. Confidence has to come from within.



SE: How is it having a husband in the same industry? 
Shannon: I never would have thought I would marry a model but it looks like the Lord had other plans! He is such an awesome, rare young man and definitely not your typical model. It has been awesome having him in the same business because we have gotten several jobs together, and he understand this tough business.

Bill Jones Photography



XOXO,
B&M

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