The Unforgettable Lesson Legendary Designer Stephen Burrows Taught Katie Rost

As a young woman right out of college, Katie Rost didn't have the easiest time trying to jumpstart her modeling career in New York. The Real Housewives of Potomac cast member found that there were a limited amount of jobs available to her because of her non-conforming measurements. Though she had booked a show with Chanel in New York, being a runway model wasn't really going as Katie had planned. "I did one season of Paris, the shows," she told The Daily Dish. "When I got back, my mom was like, 'You are too skinny. You don't look healthy. I don't like this.'"

However, when Katie started working with legendary designer Stephen Burrows in New York, she found the fabulousness in fashion once again. "The only show that I used to do in New York was Stephen Burrows. I started working for him when I was just 21, right when I got into Manhattan," Katie said. "And I was just so awkward, and he just would dress me. We would just walk around in Bendel's. And he'd be like, 'You know, when you walk from one room to the other, if you're just sick of your coat, just throw it on the floor.'"

Katie walked in the show for Stephen's Fall 2009 collection during Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week on February 20, 2009, and she especially appreciated that he hired models that he thought would walk the best in the show, regardless of their measurements. "He was great because he taught me how to really enjoy the runway process with him," she said. "Now, I still had the issue of not quite fitting into the size that the other designers were demanding, but he never cared about that. He always went for girls that he really liked and that he thought represented his brand. And they didn't necessarily have to have the hanger body." 

Katie Rost in Stephen Burrows' Fall 2009 fashion show during Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week on February 20, 2009.

Katie Rost walks the runway in Stephen Burrows' Fall 2009 fashion show during Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week on February 20, 2009.

Katie Rost struts down the runway of Stephen Burrows' Fall 2009 fashion show during Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week on February 20, 2009.

Eventually, Katie would leave the runways behind and focus her modeling career on mainly catalogue work. These days, she models for QVC, sporting clothing by H by Halston and the collection of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills' Lisa Rinna.

However, some of Katie's advice for those aspiring to become models doesn't seem too far off from what she learned working with Stephen. "I would say make sure that you're being healthy and that you are taking care of your body and not getting crazy, crazy, crazy too into the 'I need to be a size double minus zero,'" Katie said. "And to have your own sense of style and kind of confidence. Sometimes with modeling it can be confusing because no one wants to hear you talk or your opinion. Just like, 'Shut up and put that on.' I think, now especially, because the models are starting to have opinions again, I think it's really important to have your own sense of style and to show that through your social media stuff or whatever, just to show people who you are and not just representing the brands, but who you are in your own life."

All of that seems like great advice whether you're a model or not.

Katie has always been photogenic, as you can see in these throwback pics, below.