Models: Skinny, Poor

The average magazine shoot, for example, pays about $100 a day. For appearing on the cover of Vogue a model gets an additional $300. … The median income across America in 2009 for a model was $27,330 — income that includes no benefits.

The New Republic’s Chloë Schama reviews sociologist and former model Ashley Mears’ apparently grim and illuminating Pricing Beauty: The Making of a Fashion Model, lots of which is available online for free. Modeling: still crazy. But also, champagne.