[Caligula]

OK audition was this morning / early afternoon. I was hung-over but not incapacitated. Overall it was disappointing but not without some number crunching and lessons learned. Over forty models were cast, I talked to seven or eight girls and got 2 numbers. Most of the approaches fizzled out as they were called in or I just got the deer in the headlights vibe from them. Much of the time I just sat working on my computer ready to head out and talk to them outside if I liked their vibe and there weren't other people around.

There's a foyer outside the studio where the models waited before going in. A lot of the time there were two or three of them standing around waiting for their turn. Some of them brought their mothers, friends or boyfriends. The two boyfriends I saw looked beta (hipster style) to be dating such hotties. So that shrunk the pool a little bit. When they arrived they were told by the assistant to take off their coats and put on their heels. They then went in, handed over their face card (agency contact info and picture), did a short walk and were finally photographed against the wall front and profile, mugshot style. They were in and out in a couple of minutes in most cases with some of the more interesting ones chatting for a while.

The girls were tall (minumum 5'9''), add five-inch heels and if you're 5'10'' like me I was looking up at them which I found off-putting. Unless they were sitting down outside changing shoes, that is. They were from all over the world. A lot of Scandinavian, Brazilian and Eastern European (Polish / Czech / Baltic) girls with a handful of American (mostly Mid-West or Southern), Chinese and African (or Carribean) girls thrown in. Being high fashion models they were all rail-thin with almost no curves - but all very pretty.

I only chatted girls who were in the foyer waiting their turn alone. I was too risk-averse, concerned about not making them uncomfortable (mistake) and didn't want chatter about attempted pickups to get back to the agencies. In hindsight with my indirect approach it shouldn't have been a problem. Am usually comfortable being direct, but the professional setting cramped my style.

After hearing the casting director commenting on a girl's shoes saying she'd seen another girl wearing the same pair earlier that day I got the idea for the opener I used. When the girls were outside waiting to go in I went out there and asked "hey this is the third time I see those shoes today. Where are they from?" Then I more or less followed Roosh's Day Bang framework, asking whether they could walk comfortably in them, if they got noticed a lot, etc. Figured indirect was the way to go. Then I segued into asking "where are you from?" That usually led to at least a few minutes of pleasant chit chat. But I found it tricky to transition into more personal mode since they were either on their way in to be cast or on their way out, sometimes heading to other auditions.

Talking about fashion week many of them weren't hung up on partying. They're mostly 21 or under, out of their comfort zone in a city where they know few people. The good ones work most days during FW.

Some spoke very bad English or gave monosyllabic answers.

I mostly spoke to Scandinavians after they'd done their audition, figuring they'd be more self-assured - also having spent a good deal of time in Scandinavia I have common ground with them. The one I had the best rapport with was a Swedish brunette, I spoke a bit of Swedish to her and had a smoke with her outside. I opened her as she was changing out of her heels and into combat boots. Used the shoe opener, rambled about NYC, Stockholm, what she thought about living here, whether she'd want to live in Sweden again, etc. Then said I had to go back in, would be very busy during FW, but that we should hang out sometime after, I'd love to show her around and got her number.

The other number was from a London girl who is only in town for a couple of weeks before going back to London to work fashion week there. Played it the same way, shoe opener, elderly chat and the kind of game that's likely to land me in the friend zone.

Not a roaring success, but I did get some party hookups from the people working on the casting so I'll be going to some extra parties next week.

@Iknowexactly - not many lessons here. The most interesting thing was that they varied hugely in how mature they were. One 18 year old girl could be very outgoing, introducing herself cheerfully (I was there when the caster talked to them) and another one could be very insecure, not too good at following directions and all over the place. Very high value (by objective beauty standards) girls do not always fully believe in their powers at that age, especially when faced with someone older and more experienced. I'm 26 but appear older.