1. CURVY Ashley Graham; Stop the clock.

Byline: Sally Singer

Size 46 at Barneys? You have to grab it." And so Ashley Graham, the nineteen-year-old plus-size model, plucks from a sale rack a pair of Dolce & Gabbana twill trousers inspired by perhaps the most iconic undersize model of them all, Napoleon Bonaparte, and marches off to the dressing rooms. Size 46 Italian is the equivalent of size 14 American; and it is a very rare occurrence, indeed, to uncover anything above size 8 at Barneys, the New York mecca for the fashioncentric. Graham, who is fanatical about style, shops at Barneys for Prada flats (size 10), leggings by Fogal ("It's hard to find hosiery that fits me"), and status bags. Today she carries a Gucci wallet in a Daimler-check Louis Vuitton zip tote; tomorrow you might find her with a Balenciaga black motorcycle number or a new elephant-gray shopper from Foley + Corinna. But the pants don't work: Graham is a size 14-16, and Dolce bottoms are never cut large. "I have the hardest time with pants," she says, not at all downcast or put out or otherwise giving any sign of the post-traumatic shock that results from a disastrous meeting of thighs and trousers. Off she goes, flicking through romantic full skirts from Tao and Comme des Garcons-the idea is to pair one with a wide belt and a cute V-neck top-and perusing ziggy knits from Missoni. Out from the rack emerges a stripy knit tank in . . . size 46! "Cute," Graham exclaims. "I'd wear this with jeans." The knit returns to the rack, and Graham decides to move on. You could spend another hour ferreting out 46s, but life is too short, and Marina Rinaldi is a mere six blocks away. So it's trot, trot, trot up Madison Avenue and into the famous boutique for women larger than a size 10. A saleswoman sees the new arrival, and her eyes light up. "You," she says to Graham, "would look great in our clothes." Well, yes. From the moment she was discovered-in a Nebraska mall at age twelve-Ashley Graham has been a top big girl. "Even at twelve, I was five feet nine, size 11-12, with curves." By fifteen she had signed with Ford Models; by seventeen she was living in New York. At all times she has enjoyed hourglass proportions and a face that reminds one of Eva Mendes. Graham is therefore of that natural-born heft and beauty that, as we know from Beyonce, Nigella Lawson, and Serena Williams, makes you a knockout in everyday life. "I'm firm," she acknowledges. "Nothing jiggly. I have a trainer I work with." Of course, there are prejudices to contend with. "You're a fat model. It doesn't count," said the high school kids back in Nebraska-and Graham is conscious that she is perhaps just a beautiful face away from a very different self-image. Indeed, she is writing a handbook for teenage girls going through body-image crises. "If I weren't a model, I would probably have body issues," she says. "I'd still be getting the teasing." She feels lucky when she compares her situation-footloose and fancy free in Park Slope, Brooklyn, with tons of admirers and tons of work-with that of her like-shaped pals back home who say to her, "Men don't talk to me. I can't get a job. I can't go shopping." Actually, you can go shopping, says Graham. "You can wear what the skinny girls are wearing: simple top, simple jeans, amazing shoes, belts, and jewelry. You just have to find ...