Stunning French beauty and former basketball player Lucie is my new guest on the blog today. She is planning to break into fashion, so let’s see what she is up to!

Well hello Lucie and thanks for agreeing to come on my blog. Shall we start with getting to know you. How old are you and where are you from?

Hello Angie! I’m 31 years old and I live near Paris. I was born in Caen in Normandy in North West of France and lived home until I decided to go to Paris at the age of 19.

How was your teenage life? When did you start playing basketball?

Learning To Accept Your Body

My teenage life was heavily influenced by intensive sports because I was in a basketball club in Mondeville, Normandy. It was a rather difficult  and complicated period, particularly in terms of accepting my body, learning not to be like others, hearing people’s reflections, not being able to wear beautiful shoes like my friends, not wearing clothes that fitted well… During this period I was very discreet. I think I wanted nobody to notice me, although this wasn’t possible!

Taking Up Basketball Despite Her Own Wishes

I started playing basketball when I was 7 in my little town. I didn’t like it and I wasn’t very good at this sport but my parents insisted on it. My father was a basketball player at Caen city and was my trainer when I was young. My wishes were very different, I wanted to practice dance or gymnastics. I remember that my mother accompanied me to a gymnastics test course but I was too tall, especially in comparison to other girls, so I felt out of place. I only had one lesson!

Finally, I persevered in basketball and lived many extraordinary moments thanks to it. It has helped me a lot to accept who I am and what I look like. It has become a real passion. I am retiring from my basketball career this year. Now that my basketball practice is over, I would like to dedicate my time to other activities, theatre or music for example (I always dreamed to play drums) and of course modelling! Fingers crossed! 😉

What is your usual job, and how much you enjoy it?

I’m actually in charge of human resources in a famous architecture agency in Paris. I like my job a lot, I have taken time to find my professional way and nowadays I adore what I do. I’m in contact with all the employees in the company and I deal with social issues. It is very interesting.

Is modelling the career you always dreamed about and hoped for? Are you excited about it, or nervous? What are your expectations and hopes?

Modelling is something I have dreamed secretly of course. Some people in my entourage have encouraged me to give it a try in this field. I have tried when I was younger but fashion codes were very strict then. Although I was very tall, my proportions didn’t match the requirements because you had to be very, very thin, and it wasn’t my case. Today I know that fashion codes are changing and things are changing, you see models with different morphologies, so there is hope for me.

I’m very excited about this, it’s new, I like it and I hope it will work.

You Don’t Need to Be Very Thin To Be Beautiful

I want to show that you don’t need to be “standard” and very thin to be beautiful and to embody femininity. We already see that with the boom of plus size model, some are just amazing like Tara Lynn or Ashley Graham. Now it’s the turn for tall girls to show that difference is beautiful.

Maryline Monroe said “being normal is boring”, so go on! 😉

Do you have a specific plan about modelling?

No, I don’t have a specific plan. I will work on all the opportunities along my road and take pleasure in what I do above all, this is most important.

In terms of your modelling future, does it help being in the city of love Paris?

Yes, probably it opens fields of possibilities. But modelling for tall women is not very developed in France, it’s not like in London where they are ahead.

This is a very challenging field. Are you having any help to break through, or are you on your own?

No, I’m not alone. I take part in a modelling agency altabelle. It is a new one, running by Mustafa Barakate. He used to work with professionals in this fields and has a good network, so I hope that he will find me interesting opportunities.

Have you been approached by modelling agencies/agents before?

No, I haven’t. When I was young, I had a few photographs taken by an independent agent but nothing ever came out of that.

What is your impression about modelling? And about the beauty standards nowadays?

Like I said before, beauty standards are changing and I’m very glad of that. I would like that tall models be more highlighted.

What/who are your inspiration in your life?

Inspiration in my life is harmony, positive people around me and positive mind. I like to read citations everyday like those of Paulo Coelho. I like to read inspiring quotes that let you enhance yourself every day. I’m inspired by people who dare and like discovering new things and new horizons. I like discovering new horizons, new cultures.

Do you agree that most fashion agencies have a standard height range, and being a tall model is a challenge?

Of course I agree! You must not be too tall to have a chance and what’s more, you have to be very thin, so it’s a challenge. I think that I can interest an agency of professionals who are interested in difference and not in basics standards of beauty, I think I have my chance in this case.

Do you struggle to find clothes that fit?

I have to say that it’s better now than when I was 15 years old!! but it’s always a struggle because I have to buy my clothes on the internet. I prefer doing my shopping in the streets of Paris but it’s complicated. There are some brands specialising in tall girls clothes on the internet but it’s not enough and what’s more, it’s more expensive than standards products.

You are a professional basketball player. How do sports affect you as a woman, and does it affect your dressing style?

I’m not a professional basketball player. I have done basketball until National 1 with the club of Sannois Saint-Gratien near Paris but I never was a professional. I always used to practice basketball and dedicated a lot of time to my studies. Of course playing basketball has affected my dressing style a bit because I like wearing jogging and trainers shoes to be comfortable, but I have always been feminine with feminine clothes. For example, most times after a basketball game, I used to wear a feminine outfit like most of women basketball players! I like my basketball jersey but I like change of style after every game and wearing dress or something elegant and feminine.

Clothes Shopping When You Are Tall

What are your favourite places to shop for clothes?

Definitively London! Because that’s where I can go shopping, while in Paris I can’t. We have two or three places in Paris to buy shoes but no more. As far as clothes for tall women are concerned, nothing exists, so I never go shopping. Sometimes I go to shops like Camaieu or H&M to find some t-shirts, but it is very rare.

My second favourite place to go shopping is the event “le salon des grands” in Paris, that is to say the big pop-up shop for tall people. It is a big event once a year where all the brands for tall men and women are gathered and we can do shopping. For the last three years I have taken part in the organisation of this event because I believe in it and I would like this event to grow more and more! It’s very nice when you are really tall to go shopping for real and not on the internet! 😉

Who are your favourite designers? Preferred colours?

I love Long Tall Sally because it is the brand that changed my life. Thanks to their designers I can buy long pants, jeans, beautiful dresses in my size and of course coats and jackets. I like wearing black, pink and blue electric.

What is your personal style: sporty, formal, elegant?

I can be very elegant and feminine, or casual and sporty to be more comfortable. It depends on my mood and on my activity for the day.

Do you go for jeans, skirts, dresses…? What is your go-to everyday outfit?

My everyday outfit to go to work is dresses or jeans, once again it depends on my mood but I like to be feminine to go to work and also wearing heels.

What is your dream modelling job?

My dream is to work for designers for tall women, wear their clothes for photo-shooting and fashion-shows, to represent their work. To show that these people create fashion for tall women, which I think it is not very well known in the world. Over the past few years people have been speaking about fashion for plus size women but not enough about fashion for tall women. I want to militate for that because it’s my story and because women are taller and taller and are not sufficiently highlighted. And why not one day participate in a fashion show at the fashion week in Paris or elsewhere in the world!

Are you comfortable wearing high heels – whether in your modelling photo-shootings, or in your daily life?

Yes, I am very comfortable wearing heels in my everyday life. I go to work with heels. And what’s more, in a photo shooting I wear very high heels.

What is your all time favourite movie and why?

I’m not a cinephile I don’t go to the cinema very often but my favourite film I think is “Le Grand Bleu”, a French movie from the famous director Luc Besson. I love his films. Otherwise I like watching TV series like “Game of Thrones”, “The Walking Dead” or “Black Sails”.

Where is your favourite place to travel?

My favourite place to travel is somewhere where there is beach, hot weather, calmness and nature, especially where the mountains flow into the sea like Croatia; it’s just beautiful. My really favourite place to travel is Normandy where I can see my family and recharge my batteries after a speedy week in Paris.

And, lastly, when you’re not busy working, what are your favourite things to do?

I like running near home and go out with my friends, going to Paris, this beautiful city. I like good meals with my friends, to laugh and drink good wine. But I like walking in nature and practicing sometimes meditation.