Plus size and curve

Plus size model agency alternative

A plus size model agency decides whether it signs you, which of its clients ever see you, and what share of every fee it keeps. This is the other route. Publish one reviewed profile carrying your measurements, your city, your day rate and the dates you are free, and the brands booking curve models contact you directly.

Create your profile See what it costs

The short answer

Do you need a plus size model agency?

No. An agency is one route to plus size modeling work, not the only one. It sells access to its own client list, it charges commonly 10 to 20 percent of every fee for that access, and it decides which of its clients ever hear your name. The alternative is to be findable yourself: publish your measurements, your city, your rate and your availability as searchable fields, and let the brand run the search.

That is the whole of what Maxgirls does. It is a reviewed directory, not an agency. We do not represent you, we never negotiate on your behalf, and we take no percentage of anything you book. A person reads your profile before it is public so the directory stays real, and after that the brand emails you rather than emailing us.

Plus size agencies against a direct listing

The left column describes how curve boards generally work, not one named company. Commission terms vary and your own contract is the only one that binds you, so read it.

How a plus size modeling agency and a direct listing differ
Feature	A plus size model agency	Maxgirls
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, higher on lingerie and swim in some markets	None. We never see what you were paid
Size range you fit	Whatever that agency's curve board is built around	No size gate and no size field. You publish your own measurements
Who the client meets first	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 the categories, the rate and the availability yourself, today

Who decides you are in: A plus size model agency A scout or a board meeting, on their schedule; Maxgirls A reviewer checks the profile is real and complete
Commission on your fee: A plus size model agency Commonly 10 to 20 percent, higher on lingerie and swim in some markets; Maxgirls None. We never see what you were paid
Size range you fit: A plus size model agency Whatever that agency's curve board is built around; Maxgirls No size gate and no size field. You publish your own measurements
Who the client meets first: A plus size model agency A booker, quoting on your behalf; Maxgirls You. Your day-rate range is on the profile before the first email
Exclusivity: A plus size model agency A mother agency contract is normally exclusive in that market; Maxgirls None. Nothing is signed between us
What it costs you: A plus size model agency 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 plus size model agency You wait to be submitted; Maxgirls You change the categories, the rate and the availability yourself, today

Where an agency genuinely wins

A good curve board does three things a directory structurally cannot. It walks you into rooms you have no route to, at the brands that will only take submissions through agencies. It holds the line on rates when a client pushes, because it negotiates dozens of these a month and you negotiate a few a year. And it chases the invoice when a client goes quiet at ninety days. If editorial and runway are the work you want, that access is the product and this page is not a substitute for it. Most plus size bookings in the United States are not editorial.

Plus, curve, mid-size, fit

What the labels mean on a US call sheet

Four words for overlapping things. Which one a brief uses tells you what the shoot needs.

Plus size

US size 12 and up is the usual floor, and most commercial bookings sit between 12 and 18. It is the label most agencies still put on the board, and the one most brand briefs still use.

Curve

The same population under a name the industry moved to because it does not read as a deviation from a default. Treat curve and plus as interchangeable when you read a brief.

Mid-size

Roughly size 8 to 12. It falls between a straight-size board and a curve board, which is exactly why it was under-served and why size-inclusive e-commerce ranges now book it heavily.

Fit model

A different job. You stand for a fitting while a garment is graded on you, often for hours, usually to a tightly specified set of measurements around size 18 and a height of about 5 feet 5 inches to 5 feet 9 inches. It pays hourly, it repeats, and it is the least visible steady work in the industry. Fit model jobs without an agency.

Height is the figure that gets quoted as a rule and is not one. Runway and high fashion curve boards mostly want 5 feet 9 inches and above, which is where the number in every article comes from. Commercial, catalogue and e-commerce work, which is the majority of paid plus size bookings in the United States, has no real height floor at all. If you are 5 feet 4 inches you are not out of the industry, you are out of one category of it, and the categories below are the ones that will still book you.

Where plus size modeling jobs come from

Six categories that book curve models

Plus size is not a category on Maxgirls, and that is deliberate. It is a fact about your body that crosses most of the categories rather than sitting inside one of them, so you list in every category that fits and your measurements sit in the profile. These are the six that carry the most size-inclusive work, in the order they book.

Commercial models Advertising, catalogue, e-commerce and lifestyle. The widest-booked category on the site and the one where size-inclusive ranges spend the most, because every garment in the range has to be shot on someone. Fashion models Lookbooks, campaigns and runway. The narrowest brief in the directory on height, and the category where an agency board still holds the most access. Fitness models Activewear, shapewear and equipment brands, most of which now shoot their extended sizes with models who actually wear them. Promotional models Retail activations, sampling tours and street teams. Booked on city and on the dates you are free rather than on measurements. Creators and brand ambassadors Content packages shot at home for a size-inclusive brand. Booked on audience and on the look, not on a board. Hostess and events Trade shows, conferences and activations, where the whole booking turns on being free on two specific days in one city.

Quote the licence, not just the day

Without a booker holding the line for you, the number you send is the number. Set your own base fee and read what the usage does to it before you reply to the brief.

Day rate and usage estimator

Runs in this browser. Nothing is sent anywhere.

Four steps, about twenty minutes

Nothing here asks for a card, an application fee or a portfolio package. If a modeling website asks you for money before it has shown you anything, that is the thing trust and safety is about.

Create your profile What goes in the set

Pick every category that fits Commercial and fitness together is normal, and both filters should return you. Listing in more than one costs nothing and is the single biggest thing you can do to be found.
Put current measurements in the headline and bio Bust, waist, hips, dress size and height, dated. The directory filters on city, age, height and availability, so your sizes belong in the words a booker reads on the profile. Numbers from two years ago cost you the booking after they cost the brand a fitting.
Publish a day-rate range you will actually accept It is visible before anyone writes to you, which means the first email is about the shoot rather than about money. Nobody negotiates it down from a table on this site, because we do not publish one.
Set availability, and keep it honest Available now, this month, or booked. One click, instant, no review. It is the field a brand with a date filters on first, and a stale one wastes both of you.

Questions

Plus size modeling, answered

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

Do you need an agency to be a plus size model?

No. An agency is one route to plus size modeling work and it is not the only one. Brands running a size-inclusive campaign need a curve model in a specific city on a specific date, and many of them book direct because it is faster than briefing an agency. What you do need is to be findable on the facts a booker filters on. What a model account includes.

What size do you have to be to be a plus size model?

US size 12 and up is the usual floor for plus size and curve boards, and most commercial bookings sit between size 12 and size 18. The mid-size or curve label covers roughly size 8 to 12, which sits between straight-size and plus boards and is booked heavily by e-commerce brands. Maxgirls sets no size requirement at all.

How tall do you have to be to be a plus size model?

It depends entirely on the category. Runway and high fashion curve boards mostly look for 5 feet 9 inches and above. Commercial, catalogue and e-commerce work has no real height floor, and plus size fit modeling is usually specified between 5 feet 5 inches and 5 feet 9 inches because the garment has to be graded against a consistent body.

How much commission does a plus size modeling agency take?

Commonly 10 to 20 percent of the fee, and higher on lingerie and swim in some markets. Many agencies also add a service charge to the client on top of your fee, so the total taken out of a booking can be larger than the percentage in your contract. Read the contract for the commission rate, the term and whether it is exclusive.

Can you do plus size modeling with no experience?

Yes, in commercial and e-commerce work, which books on how a garment reads on a real body rather than on credits. Start with clean digitals, current measurements and a category you actually fit. How to become a plus size model sets out the first ninety days and the costs a legitimate route never has.

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

Read your contract first. A mother agency agreement is normally exclusive in its own market, and some cover direct bookings as well. Maxgirls does not represent you and signs nothing with you, so there is no conflict on our side, but the exclusivity clause you already signed is the one that decides.

Where do plus size modeling jobs actually come from?

Mostly from brands rather than from casting directors. Size-inclusive e-commerce and catalogue shoots, activewear and shapewear campaigns, fit sessions at apparel companies, retail activations and creator content are the categories that book curve models week to week in the United States.

Read next How to become a plus size model Petite modeling agency alternative Tattoo modeling and alt modeling What a model account includes How much models get paid Model portfolio brands can search What it costs

Get started

Publish your sizes, your rate and your dates.

Create your profile, and a person will review it before it goes live.

Get started Search models