Secret Life of a Shoe Model

I never thought I was pretty enough to be a fashion model—but little did I know that my fabulous feet most definitely were.

Illustrations by Clay Hickson

There was a time in my life when I was pretty much willing to do anything for money — as long as it was legal. As an aspiring writer living in New York City, it made sense to take work that gave me as much freedom as possible. Need a clown for your kid’s birthday party? No problem. Helicopter flight school bookkeeping? I’m your girl. I just never thought I’d end up modeling. My nose was too big for my face, my curly hair unpredictable; I didn’t think of myself as pretty. To say I wasn’t comfortable with my beauty would be an understatement. But what I lacked in confidence I made up for with adventure, so when a friend of mine told me about a guy who got people jobs modeling things like gloves, wedding gowns, lingerie and shoes, I thought it was a long shot but I went to see him anyway.

Abbott Kleinman was supposedly a legend in the body part modeling industry. I didn’t even know there was an industry for that kind of stuff, and I was slightly skeptical when…