When I met Amanda Castro Real Bride for the first time at the shoot, I felt like we had known each other for years. Amanda has the amazing ability to make you feel comfortable almost immediately. Maybe it’s a special mom talent – she’s a spunky mother of two. Or maybe it’s just her nature…she met her fiancée when they were 11-years-old! Their story is really special, and Amanda was nice enough to share it with me before getting into hair and makeup before modeling our best-selling informal wedding dress for our Real Women, Real Model bridal shoot with PLUS Model Magazine. So enjoy getting to know Amanda and hearing her stories about “Walking Dead Sundays” and her curvy celebrity crush.
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Amanda Castro strikes a pretty pose modeling "Promise Me", Sydney's Closet's best-selling informal wedding gown. [/caption] Q: How old are you? A: 26 Q: How would you describe your True to Your Curves style? A: Whatever’s clean! When you’re a mother of two, whatever is clean in your closet works just fine. Q: Where do you love to shop online? Offline? A: I like to shop at Torrid and Forever 21 because it’s cheap but it looks good. And I shopped at Motherhood Maternity when I was pregnant, but I still like their jeans and leggings. I’m all about the comfort. And I’m from Staten Island, so I think owning leggings is a staple! Q: What inspires your look? A: Well, today I’m going for “photo shoot model” [laughs]. So I wore leggings, sneakers, a comfy sweater…and a hat! I straightened my hair for the shoot today, but it snowed this morning so I tried to save it by covering it up. My hair needs to be in an environment where it’s embraced, so wet or muggy weather is just not for me. Q: What is your pet peeve about the fashion world? A: There are not a lot of real-sized people as models when I’m shopping. When I’m online and I click on a look in my size, I want to see someone in my size. I know what it looks like on a sample size; now I need to know it would look like on me. Q: What makes you laugh?
A: Anything! I’m pretty easy going, so I’m always cracking jokes. I enjoy quirky humor, like the comedy on the show Bob’s Burgers, so I end up laughing a lot at silly things. Q: What makes you cry? A: Well, once you’re a mom, that’s it. There are no floodgates when it comes to crying. And I really do hate trying on clothes. I was petite before and gained weight after my pregnancy, so I’m not fully used to this body. Things that I think will fit me don’t. And that can be upsetting. Q: What is the best fashion advice that you ever received? A: If you’re not confident about what you’re wearing, you’re not going to look good. As long as I’m confident in myself I know that I’m going to look good. Q: What is the best fashion advice you ever gave? A: When you are pregnant, it’s a beautiful time in your life. And if you don’t feel good in it, you won’t look good in it. You have to embrace the bump!
Q: Who is your favorite curvy celebrity and why? A: Model Tess Munster (Tess Holliday); she’s my woman crush! Our measurements are almost exactly the same. She’s just awesome; I love her body. I really hope she does a pinup tour again in New York. I missed her last one and I was so mad. I post about her on Facebook pretty much every day! Q: Tell us your favorite moment from the photo shoot today. A: I was really worried I wouldn't click with the other girls here today, but we've all been getting along great. We have all been sharing stories and taking photos together; it’s a really nice vibe. Q: What are some of the plans for your wedding? A: I planned my whole wedding around my wedding dress – even my engagement ring! I really like vintage-inspired weddings so it has that feel to it. It’s going to be in the Botanical Gardens at Snug Harbor on Staten Island. I like steampunk style, too, so there is some of that going on. Oh, and D.I.Y. decorating – lots of it! Q: How did you meet your fiancée? A: We met in the 6th grade when we were trading Pokémon cards - we’ve been together since we were 11 years old! When I put up “throwback Thursday” photos of us on Facebook, people always wonder why we look like we’re so young. They say, “You look like you’re 10,” and I tell them, “It’s because we were!” 
My fiancée and I are both gamers; we’ve been into it forever. My daughter loves it now, too, although she’s into the horror stuff! She likes things that are gory. So we have “Walking Dead Sundays” where we all watch the show together and eat ice cream. But we tone it down a little on Thursday nights when we watch Adventure Time. Q: What item in your closet can’t you live without? A: My makeup. There’s no way I could go without it. Every day: full face of makeup. I really like lips, so I’ve been trying out lot a lot of different style with lipstick. But not as wild as I did in the past – I used to do crazy looks! Purple lips, blue lips…but I still do Halloween makeup for people in my family. That’s a lot of fun.
Amanda Castro of New York
True to Her Curves
A: Anything! I’m pretty easy going, so I’m always cracking jokes. I enjoy quirky humor, like the comedy on the show Bob’s Burgers, so I end up laughing a lot at silly things. Q: What makes you cry? A: Well, once you’re a mom, that’s it. There are no floodgates when it comes to crying. And I really do hate trying on clothes. I was petite before and gained weight after my pregnancy, so I’m not fully used to this body. Things that I think will fit me don’t. And that can be upsetting. Q: What is the best fashion advice that you ever received? A: If you’re not confident about what you’re wearing, you’re not going to look good. As long as I’m confident in myself I know that I’m going to look good. Q: What is the best fashion advice you ever gave? A: When you are pregnant, it’s a beautiful time in your life. And if you don’t feel good in it, you won’t look good in it. You have to embrace the bump! Q: Who is your favorite curvy celebrity and why? A: Model Tess Munster (Tess Holliday); she’s my woman crush! Our measurements are almost exactly the same. She’s just awesome; I love her body. I really hope she does a pinup tour again in New York. I missed her last one and I was so mad. I post about her on Facebook pretty much every day! Q: Tell us your favorite moment from the photo shoot today. A: I was really worried I wouldn't click with the other girls here today, but we've all been getting along great. We have all been sharing stories and taking photos together; it’s a really nice vibe. Q: What are some of the plans for your wedding? A: I planned my whole wedding around my wedding dress – even my engagement ring! I really like vintage-inspired weddings so it has that feel to it. It’s going to be in the Botanical Gardens at Snug Harbor on Staten Island. I like steampunk style, too, so there is some of that going on. Oh, and D.I.Y. decorating – lots of it! Q: How did you meet your fiancée? A: We met in the 6th grade when we were trading Pokémon cards - we’ve been together since we were 11 years old! When I put up “throwback Thursday” photos of us on Facebook, people always wonder why we look like we’re so young. They say, “You look like you’re 10,” and I tell them, “It’s because we were!” My fiancée and I are both gamers; we’ve been into it forever. My daughter loves it now, too, although she’s into the horror stuff! She likes things that are gory. So we have “Walking Dead Sundays” where we all watch the show together and eat ice cream. But we tone it down a little on Thursday nights when we watch Adventure Time. Q: What item in your closet can’t you live without? A: My makeup. There’s no way I could go without it. Every day: full face of makeup. I really like lips, so I’ve been trying out lot a lot of different style with lipstick. But not as wild as I did in the past – I used to do crazy looks! Purple lips, blue lips…but I still do Halloween makeup for people in my family. That’s a lot of fun.