Member Since: 7/31/2007
Posts: 8,201
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The most in-demand fit model (Is 54 years old)
Quote:
Gallagher is a fit model, which is essentially a living mannequin, someone who tries on clothes so that designers can evaluate their shapes and cuts before runway models introduce them to the world. But he is also more than a fit model; he is the fit model, an unlikely expert consultant recruited by companies — which have included Brooks Brothers, Ralph Lauren and Thom Browne — to articulate how much further up a waistband should hang on the hips, or how much deeper a pocket needs to be. ‘‘The designer approaches fashion from a style point of view,’’ he says. ‘‘My job is to make sure you can move your arms in a suit.’’ Weighing in on these small yet critical details has made Gallagher so popular that some 70 labels now hire him to test out their wares.
On a busy year, however, he goes to roughly 1,400 fittings. Men’s apparel is a $60 billion business, and more and more, fit has become the deciding factor for shoppers who won’t tolerate a billowing shirt, gaping buttonholes or jeans that don’t taper properly. For Gallagher, that means charging around $300 an hour, which allows him to live comfortably in Danbury, Conn., with his wife, Amy, also a fit model, and their sons. He doesn’t feel like he missed out by not appearing in many glossy print editorials. ‘‘People think that unless you book a Vogue cover, you can’t be successful,’’ he says. ‘‘But there are so many other needs in fashion.’’
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He's in better shape than many young people  including me
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