FASHION models aren't prized for their braininess -- or their literary pursuits. But that hasn't stopped this genetically blessed crowd from expanding its brand with tell-alls, novels and self-help books. Iman and Cindy Crawford have makeup guides, Christy Turlington put out a book on yoga, and reality TV queen Janice Dickenson has spilled three tomes on her sordid, affair-strewn life.
Now three more models -- two marquee names from the '80s and one modern-day ingenue -- are promising juicy tales of triumph and humiliation inside the chaotic modeling industry. Here's how they measure up.
By Bruce Hulse, Harmony Books, $23.95 (on sale Tuesday)
Sex, Love and Fashion
The hype: Tell-all memoir from one of the "top 10 male models of all time."
The reality: Exhaustively detailed chronicle (it has an index!) of a relative unknown.
The scribe: An '80s model more famous for bedding supermodels -- Andie MacDowell, Paulina Porizkova, Elle Macpherson, Tatjana Patitz -- than gracing the cover of GQ.
Why he wrote it: "To talk about my life in the wild and exciting fashion world and also to explore my journey to find true love and happiness."
Literary prowess: Cliche central. "I let the sea wash over me like a baptism."
Its charms: Supermodel dirt. A tryst with Paulina Porizkova was "like a professional wrestling match." Trying to remain, um, calm, when Elle Macpherson stripped down was challenging.
Its defects: Chapters devoted to his pre-model life are as titillating as a tax appointment.
Make-it moment: Hulse's girlfriend urges him to shop test photos around. Vogue Hommes bites, and soon he's a face for Calvin Klein and Levi's.
Meltdown moment: Drinking four beers and falling asleep in the sun during a Bruce Weber photo shoot, then facing the Weber wrath ("Do you think you're so important now that you're exempt from being professional?")
Lesson learned: It takes a hunk to land a supermodel.
Bottom line: Twice as long as it needs to be, but the gossip factor -- Naomi Campbell was once sweet and innocent? -- will keep fashion fiends turning pages.
Where he is now: Living in SoCal with a wife and two kids, modeling occasionally, working as a photographer and fitness consultant.
This Year's Model
By Carol Alt, Avon A, $13.95 (on sale Aug. 26)
The hype: Fictional roman a clef for teens and twentysomethings about breaking into the rough-and-tumble modeling world.
