What is Big Smile, No Teeth?
Big Smile No Teeth is a request I’ve gotten countless times over my career. It’s for when a big toothy grin is too much and a little sly smirk just isn’t enough. It’s the inane compromise between two opposing ideas that manages to piss off everyone.
Every time I use it I feel like a smug hillybilly that’s just run over a possum and knows he’s in for some good eating. But usually when I use it I’m just hoping to make the client happy enough that they’ll send me home sooner rather than later.
Who the fuck are you?
I’ve been a professional mannequin since waiting for Polaroids to dry was a necessity and not an artsy choice. Represented by agencies on five continents, I’ve faked smiles in thousands of catalogues, used the same poses in hundreds of print ads, acted poorly in dozens of commercials, and somehow made it onto the pages of such fashion staples as Vogue, Elle, Harper’s Bazaar, Maxim, and Men’s Health.
