Petite and short models

Petite modeling agency alternative

A petite model agency decides whether it has a board for your height, which clients ever see you, and what share of every fee it keeps. This is the direct route. Publish one reviewed profile with your height, your sizes, your city, your day rate and your free dates, and brands booking petite models email you themselves.

Create your profile See what it costs

The short answer

Do you need a petite model agency?

No. Petite modeling work in the United States is mostly commercial: e-commerce, catalog, beauty, petite apparel lines, fitness and brand content. A large share of it is booked directly by the brand, and a model between about 5 feet 1 inch and 5 feet 7 inches can do all of it. An agency is one way to reach those clients. It usually costs 10 to 20 percent of every fee, and many agencies have no petite board at all.

Maxgirls is the other way. It is a reviewed model directory, not an agency. Your profile carries your height, categories, city, day-rate range and availability, a person reviews it before it goes public, and brands, photographers and production teams filter the directory and email you directly. We take no commission on anything you book.

Modeling agencies for petite models, against a direct listing

The middle column describes how agency boards generally work, not one named company. Terms vary by agency and market, and your own contract is the only one that binds you.

How a petite modeling agency and a direct listing differ
Feature	A modeling agency with a petite board	Maxgirls
Height you need	Whatever that board is built around. Many agencies have no petite board	No height minimum. Search filters run from 4 feet 11 inches
Who decides you are in	A scout or a board meeting, on their schedule	A reviewer checks the profile is real and complete
Commission on your fee	Commonly 10 to 20 percent, plus a client service charge at many agencies	None. We never see what you were paid
Who the client talks to	A booker, quoting on your behalf	You. Your day-rate range is on the profile before the first email
Exclusivity	A mother agency contract is normally exclusive in that market	None. Nothing is signed between us
What it costs you	Nothing up front. The commission is the price	$19 a month on Talent, $49 on Talent Pro. No commission on any booking
If nothing is booked	You wait to be submitted	You change your categories, rate and availability yourself, the same day

Height you need: A modeling agency with a petite board Whatever that board is built around. Many agencies have no petite board; Maxgirls No height minimum. Search filters run from 4 feet 11 inches
Who decides you are in: A modeling agency with a petite board A scout or a board meeting, on their schedule; Maxgirls A reviewer checks the profile is real and complete
Commission on your fee: A modeling agency with a petite board Commonly 10 to 20 percent, plus a client service charge at many agencies; Maxgirls None. We never see what you were paid
Who the client talks to: A modeling agency with a petite board A booker, quoting on your behalf; Maxgirls You. Your day-rate range is on the profile before the first email
Exclusivity: A modeling agency with a petite board A mother agency contract is normally exclusive in that market; Maxgirls None. Nothing is signed between us
What it costs you: A modeling agency with a petite board Nothing up front. The commission is the price; Maxgirls $19 a month on Talent, $49 on Talent Pro. No commission on any booking
If nothing is booked: A modeling agency with a petite board You wait to be submitted; Maxgirls You change your categories, rate and availability yourself, the same day

Where an agency genuinely wins

A strong agency opens doors that a directory cannot: fashion houses and big campaigns that only take agency submissions, a booker who holds the rate when a client pushes, and someone who chases the invoice at ninety days. If high fashion editorial is the work you want, that access is worth the commission. It is also the part of the industry that books petite models least, so for most petite models the trade runs the other way.

Height, category by category

What height is petite for a model?

Retail petite sizing is cut for women 5 feet 4 inches and under. Modeling uses the word a little more loosely.

Typical height expectations by type of modeling work in the US
Type of work	Height it usually books	Open to a 5 foot 3 model?
Straight-size runway and high fashion	About 5 feet 8 inches and up	Rarely
Petite apparel lines	5 feet 4 inches and under, to match the garment	Yes, this is the core market
Commercial, catalog and e-commerce	No real floor. Booked on look and fit	Yes
Beauty, hand and parts	Irrelevant. The feature is the shot	Yes
Fitness and activewear	Booked on physique and movement	Yes
Petite fit modeling	A tight spec set by the brand, often around 5 feet 2 inches	Yes, if your measurements match the spec
Promotional, hostess and events	Booked on city, dates and presence	Yes

Petite is a fit, not only a height

Petite clothing is shortened through the torso, sleeve, rise and inseam, and the brand needs a model those proportions were cut for. Put your height, your petite dress size and your inseam in your bio, because that is how a petite line finds you.

Petite fit models are a separate job

A fit model stands for fittings while a garment is graded on them, usually for hours, and the brand writes the measurements down in advance. It pays hourly and repeats season after season. Fit model jobs without an agency.

Short male models book too

Height rules for men are stricter on the runway and just as loose in commercial work. A brand shooting a lifestyle ad books the man who looks like its customer.

Curvy and petite at once

Petite plus is its own size range in US retail, and it is thinly covered by agency boards. Plus size modeling without an agency covers the curve side.

Where petite modeling jobs come from

Six categories that book petite models

Petite is not a category on Maxgirls, on purpose. Your height is a fact about you that crosses most of the categories, so you list in every one that fits and a booker filters by height alongside it. These six carry the most work for models under 5 feet 7 inches.

Commercial models Advertising, catalog, e-commerce and lifestyle. The widest-booked category on the site, and the one where height matters least because the brief is a believable customer. Beauty and parts models Skin, hands, feet and hair for cosmetics, jewelry and nail brands. Petite hands and small frames are often exactly what the product shot needs. Fitness models Activewear, supplements and equipment. Booked on physique, movement and whether you look like you actually train. Creators and brand ambassadors Content packages shot for a petite fashion or beauty brand, booked on your audience and your look rather than a board. Promotional models Retail activations, sampling tours and street teams, booked on your city and the dates you are free. Hostess and events Trade shows, conferences and brand activations, where the booking turns on two specific days in one city.

Quote the licence, not just the day

Booking direct means the number you send is the number. Set your base fee and see what the usage does to it before you reply to a brief.

Day rate and usage estimator

Runs in this browser. Nothing is sent anywhere.

Four steps, about twenty minutes

No application fee, no test shoot you pay for, no portfolio package. If a modeling company asks for money before it has booked you anything, read how to spot a modeling scam first.

Create your profile What goes in the set

Enter your exact height Brands filter the directory by height, so a petite line searching for a model under 5 feet 5 inches finds you on that number. Round honestly. An inch you do not have costs you the booking at the fitting.
Pick every category that fits Commercial, beauty and fitness together is normal. Each category you choose is another filter that returns you, and listing in more than one costs nothing.
Put your petite sizes in the bio Petite dress size, inseam and shoe size, dated. That is what a petite apparel brand reads after the height filter has done its job.
Set a day rate and keep availability current Your rate range is visible before anyone writes, so the first email is about the shoot. Availability is one click: available now, this month, or booked.

Questions

Petite modeling, answered

Something missing? Write to support@maxgirls.com and a person will answer it.

Do modeling agencies accept petite models?

Some do, mostly through commercial, lifestyle and petite boards rather than their main fashion board. Very few agencies are petite only. The larger point is that most petite work never goes through an agency at all: e-commerce, beauty, catalog and brand content are often booked direct by the brand. What a model account includes.

What is the height requirement for petite models?

There is no single rule, but petite boards generally look for women between about 5 feet 1 inch and 5 feet 7 inches. Petite apparel itself is cut for women 5 feet 4 inches and under, so brands shooting a petite line want a model inside that range. Maxgirls sets no height minimum.

Can you be a model if you are 5'2?

Yes. At 5 feet 2 inches you are shut out of straight-size runway, which usually wants about 5 feet 8 inches and up, and very little else. Commercial, beauty, hand and parts, fitness, e-commerce, promotional and creator work all book models at that height, and petite clothing brands need exactly that body to shoot their range on.

Can short girls be models?

Yes, in most categories of paid work. Height matters most on the runway and in high fashion editorial, which is a small share of US bookings. A brand selling skincare, jewelry, activewear or a petite clothing line books the model its customer looks like, and a lot of those customers are under 5 feet 5 inches.

How do I become a petite model?

Pick the categories that book your height, get clean current digitals, and put your height and petite sizes in writing where a booker can read them. Then make yourself findable: publish a profile with your city, a day-rate range and your availability. Starting with no experience covers the first ninety days.

How much do petite models get paid?

The same as any model in the same category. A petite model on a commercial or e-commerce booking is paid the commercial rate, and the licence for how the images are used moves the number far more than height does. How much models get paid breaks the number down by category and usage.

Can I list here if I am already signed with an agency?

Check your contract first. A mother agency agreement is usually exclusive in its own market, and some cover direct bookings too. Maxgirls does not represent you and signs nothing with you, so the only clause that decides is the exclusivity clause you already agreed to.

Read next Fit model jobs without an agency Plus size model agency alternative Mature modeling for senior models Tattoo modeling and alt modeling Model portfolio brands can search What it costs

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