torrid model search

Overweight Krystine Kauffman liked to think she was invisible, hiding her extra pounds in Loveland High School sweat suits.

Not after today.

Kauffman, 19, stars on MTV's "Made: Model," in which she tries to drop 30 pounds and become a plus-size model.

"I used to think I could hide ... in my sweats, so people wouldn't notice me," says the University of Cincinnati freshman. "This experience gave me confidence in embracing who I am. It taught me that I didn't need to be invisible."

The former varsity softball player called herself "a tomboy extraordinaire and all-star couch potato." When casting directors came to her school two years ago, she told them being on TV would motivate her.

She didn't realize how difficult it would be until MTV cameras arrived in August at her Miami Township home. MTV provided two coaches: plus-size model Sharon Quinn from New York, and local fitness expert Rocco Castellano.

"It was so incredibly hard," Kauffman says. "It's ridiculous how hard it is to take a good picture - to make a good face, and know where to put your hands."

And then there were Rocco's rigorous workouts. He pushed her relentlessly at his downtown gym, and up and down Mount Adams. (MTV also filmed her at Kings Island, Great American Ball Park and the UC campus.)

MTV publicists won't let us reveal whether Kauffman fulfilled her dream. But here's the *Spoiler Alert!*: Kauffman wants you to go to www.

Torrid.com, and vote for her in the model search open through Saturday.

Kauffman says the experience helped her bond with her sisters - ages 21, 14 and 13 - all of whom have slimmer figures.

"I would go shopping with them, but I never enjoyed it, because I could never find things that fit me, or that I looked good in," she says.

Castellano's grueling sessions also has a lasting impact. She plans to switch majors from business to drama, and move to New York to pursue acting or modeling.

"Because of Rocco, I have an addiction to working out on a daily basis. I try to go running with my sister every evening," she says. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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For the torrid zone, see tropics.
Torrid

Type Public
Founded 2001
Headquarters City of Industry, California
Key people Betsy McLaughlin, CEO; Chris Daniel, President
Industry retail
Products plus size apparel, gifts
Revenue US$ 725,142,000 (FY '05)
Website www.torrid.com

Torrid is a chain store owned by Hot Topic. According to the company, their goal is to provide fashionable clothes for plus-size women and teenage girls. Torrid currently stocks sizes 12 to 26 and advertises that their clothing is not mass-produced and that they stock "hard to find" items.

Torrid began their operations in mid-April 2001, with their first store in the Brea Mall in Brea, California. Torrid currently has over 160 stores in operation across America.

The store's clothing styles are aimed at an age demographic that ranges from older teenage girls to women in their late twenties. They carry clothing brands and other stock similar to that carried by Hot Topic, including merchandise tie-ins from Tim Burton films (Corpse Bride, The Nightmare Before Christmas, and Edward Scissorhands). Torrid also sells accessories and shoes created for women with wider feet. Starting in 2005, Torrid began featuring more mainstream clothing, a break from its past as a "plus-size Hot Topic." The company said that the shift was due to decreasing interest in punk fashions and a desire to reach customers turned off by the stores' traditionally dark, Gothic interiors.

Torrid's product mix is approximately 75% Torrid private label, and 25% well-known fashion brands like Dickies Girl, Paris Blues, LEI, Hot Kiss, Tripp, and Z. Cavaricci.

Torrid is located in 34 states. The vast majority of stores are in California. At present they only have stores in the United States, although they do ship worldwide on their website. [1]

[edit] Torrid's models
Torrid uses both professional and amateur plus-size models in its advertising circulars and online catalog images. Several times a year representatives conduct model searches in U.S. shopping malls to find new talent.

Torrid selects models that best represent their desired customer base of young, trendy full-figured women. Such women include 2007 American Idol winner Jordin Sparks whom Torrid discovered prior to Idol during a model search in Arizona; plus-size model and actress Christina Schmidt; plus-size supermodel Crystal Renn, who has appeared in Torrid advertising in Rolling Stone and People magazine; and plus-size actress Kaycee Stroh from Disney's High School Musical.