A few weeks later, I had my first fitting, where I got a glimpse of my runway look. Every outfit from her show was black-and-white except for two hot-pink lacy dresses, which would be worn by Cosmopolitan For Latinas Editor in Chief Michelle Herrera Mulligan and me. "It's pink for POPSUGAR!" Carrie enthused. How did she know pink was my favorite color? Lace also has significance for my family, since my late grandfather owned a factory that created the luxe material. A peplum ruffle was just the icing on the girlie cake.
The next time I saw Carrie was the eve of her show for an event she dubbed the Role Models Rehearsal Dinner. She thanked us for participating and instructed us it was time to practice our walk. We cleared a center path, where Carrie marched down showing us when to stop and pivot. "This is the money shot — literal money shot," she warned. "We paid the photographers a lot of money — you have to hold the pose for three seconds so we can get a photo." The room of hypercompetent women nodded in agreement. Then, I felt like I was transported into a rom-com movie as we all proceeded to practice our strut down the imaginary catwalk while clapping for each other.
