Feature Article: The Darling Dames

Boys love Double D’s
by Antony Pastor

MANTECA – Modeling sites are a dime a dozen these days, especially in cyberspace. With the ease and popularity of social networking sites such as MySpace it’s easier to get the word out, and it seems a little mundane. Friend requests here and there, inbox messages promoting their organization, and bulletin posts entitled, “Check out our new shoot!” Modeling sites are in fact a dime a dozen. If you run a MySpace search for the word ‘modeling’ you will get 113,000 results. Yet in the crowd of these scantily clad clichés one organization stands out, with an unusual drive, determination, and a massive amount of support, which gives them an edge, and an uncanny rise to popularity both in cyberspace, and in the Central Valley area. That modeling site goes by the name, The Darling Dames.
The Darling Dames seemed to come out of nowhere, becoming an overnight success. Now being tapped as one of the fastest rising organizations out of the 209 area, The Darling Dames are steadily, and rapidly taking over. “We are an alternative modeling site, and we promote bands and clothing companies,” said Dannie Medeiros, co-owner of The Darling Dames. “It kind of came out of nowhere, overnight.”
“Dannie and I decided it would be pretty sweet if we started our own thing,” says Ambur “Amburaunchy” Trimble. “Ambur and I modeled for The Ladies of Metal,” says Medeiros. “She had been with the company for a year and a half, and I had only been with them for two months. We did a couple of shoots for them, and then one day they literally deleted about 60 of their models. They just got rid of them, and they didn’t say anything. We were good friends with a lot of the models, and they wrote us saying that Ladies of Metal deleted models that were ‘distracting to the music,’ and I guess that was Ambur and I. We got booted, and [we] were joking around at first about how we were going to start our own modeling site, and [we] were going to call it something stupid like Ladies of Jazz. We were leaning towards The Dames of Death, but we wanted to stay clear of the whole metal thing, we didn’t want to limit it to that.”
With the dichotomy of potential Darling Dames models, the co-owners went for something that was a bit neutral as far as a collective name for the group. Medeiros said, “We wanted to do different genres, so Darling Dames seemed to fit everybody. One day we got dead serious about it and had a meeting and it happened quite fast actually.” So fast that the MySpace site garnered over 1,000 friends in it’s first week of operation, and caught the attention of other local organizations as well, such as 209-area promotion label p.o.n.d. records.
“When The Darling Dames first came out I was a little skeptical,” says a p.o.n.d. records member, who goes by the name ‘Question Mark.’ “But when I saw the site, and the quality of the photos I started to change my mind. The thing that really got me was the fact that it was so local, and that I actually knew some of the models. It interested me in finding out what they were all about. So we figured what the hell, let’s help them out by getting their name out there. And then the next thing I know, they’re blowing up. I’m not taking credit for it whatsoever. They did that all on their own. We didn’t have a problem promoting them because they were out doing their own thing, and were staying true to themselves, and that is something that all of us here at p.o.n.d. records respect. They are out there putting 209 on the map, and we can’t hate on them for that. They are doing it in such a classy way, and because of that, and all the reasons I’ve given you, I think that is why they are becoming so popular, and so esteemed in the Central Valley area.” The Darling Dames even caught the attention of a well-established clothing line, Modern Mischief. “If it was legal to marry over 10 girls I'd marry every one of The Darling Dames,” says Bori Mischief, owner of Modern Mischief Clothing, a clothing line that The Darling Dames are now working with.
With the drive and determination, The Darling Dames started off as an idea that came out of a negative time, and quickly turned into a positive, but not before a little recruiting was involved; enter Matthew Delgado.
“I actually know Dannie because I photographed her wedding. And when she and Ambur were in Ladies of Metal I did a shoot with the two of them. When they started their own thing it was a cool opportunity to come and help out with that and do some shoots, and all of a sudden there were a lot of people involved with it” says Delgado.
With an official photographer, a growing fan base, support from local organizations and bands, and a name that would quickly become synonymous with the abbreviation ‘DD’, or Double D’s, The Darling Dames were establishing themselves as not just another collection of pretty faces. But what makes their quick rise to popularity even more astonishing is that this is a part time thing.
“We have fulltime jobs, so this is an evening and weekend thing,” says Delgado. “We try to shoot whenever we can. We’ve been doing a lot of work on the weekends. I’m editing pictures, getting stuff up, and getting stuff out there. But we’re working on doing other stuff rather than just shoots.”
Co-Owner Dannie Medeiros says that there are plans to expand DD to things other than photo shoots. “We get weird requests from people all the time, like ‘when are you going to come out to the bars with me?’ A lot of people want to meet us. So we’re thinking about doing an event.” Delgado says, “There are a lot of opportunities to do cool stuff with this. We are talking about hosting events, going out to hotrod shows, things like that. Promoting the group, promoting music, just promoting the style basically.”
“We’ll go to the shows and sell merch for bands,” says Medeiros. “We’ll stay active and help promote the bands.” Which is another huge part of what DD is doing. Promoting bands such as All Shall Perish, Carta Marina, The Bottom Of The Ocean, Oh My! Explosive, Name, Rise Of Caligula, Ourselves Among Others, and Pillar Of Fate, just to name a few.
“DD has the hottest girls hands down,” says Jamie’s Elsewhere bassist Chance Medeiros. “And I plan on inviting all of them over one night for a giant underwear sleepover.”
With a plethora of modeling sites, The Darling Dames are taking a different approach to what they do. “It’s fun and pretty easy going,” says DD photographer Travis McCullar. “Most of the models are pretty laid back and not too serious. I think that’s what makes it stand out. The best pictures come out when the models are having fun.” Travis had heard of The Darling Dames though MySpace, and decided that he wanted to be involved. “I got a message from Travis,” says Medeiros. “He said that if we ever needed a photographer to let him know. We sent some models his way, and we liked his work, and now he is one of our official photographers.”
Medeiros says, “We have a little under 30 models, and have people applying off the hook daily.” Not only is there a growing interest from male fans, but there is also a growing interest from females, some of who are hoping to become part of the organization. “There is starting to be plenty of interest just not in this region, but there is a girl from Texas, and a girl from Australia. So there is going to be opportunities to set up groups in other states, and in other regions that will have a photographer or more in that region that will be able to work with those girls from there, and help them to do the same kind of thing that we’re doing over here,” says Delgado.
One of the major qualifications for potential models is that they have to be over the age of 18 (for legality reasons), and that they have to be willing to put DD related banners on their own personal MySpace. “If you’re not going to be part of the family and help us out by promoting what you want to be a part don’t even bother,” says Medeiros. “We are not going to consider you for a position with us.” Another key element to being a part of DD is the relationship that they all share. “It’s like a family,” says Medeiros. “Whenever we add a model I tell them welcome to the family. I want it to be like that.” And it is safe to say that there is indeed a family feeling that is shared throughout The Darling Dames crew.
“I love being part of The Darling Dames,” says “Mean Krystin” Blue, model for The Darling Dames. “I was originally in Ladies of Metal with Dannie & Amburaunchy. I had Dannie on Twitter, and found out that they and I were kicked out of Ladies of Metal. They were talking about starting their own modeling site, and asked me to be part of The Darling Dames.” When asked what sets The Darling Dames apart from other modeling sites Mean Krystin said, “It’s so accessible, and not pretentious at all. The models are very friendly and very beautiful. It’s like being part of a big family. The girls have befriended me on MySpace, and whenever I post a bulletin about being somewhere I’ll get a bunch of responses from them. Working with Dannie is great. I would spend money on shoots for other sites, and ask them why they haven’t been posted yet. They would respond by saying, ‘Sorry, we’ve been so busy lately, they’ll be up soon,’ and they would never end up being posted. With The Darling Dames I’ll message Dannie, and they’ll be posted the next day.”
“Working with DD has been really fun so far,” says Allison “Apple” Terras, model for The Darling Dames. “I never saw myself ‘modeling,’ but Dannie and everyone else made it really easy to get into it. It feels really good to be a part of something so cool. I'm really proud of Dannie and Ambur for starting it also; especially Dannie because she even takes some pictures herself. I can see it getting bigger because they do seem to take it seriously and are really into it.”
“So far I’m really new to DD,” says Lauren Ashley Stricklan, new model to The Darling Dames. “But I see great things coming from the group. It’s nice to be a part of something with people like me (the alternative look), still being considered beautiful apart from the normal magazine and celebrity beautiful. We’re all strong, independent girls who aren’t afraid to just be who we are; we are who we are and nothing else. That’s the best part about us.”
“I'm honored to be part of the Darling Dames family,” says Ally Cupcake, model for The Darling Dames. “It's a down to earth approach to alternative modeling. I was surprised to find that all of the models are extremely sweet, not stuck up in the slightest. Upon first joining, the ladies came together to support and promote my music just like family. Dannie, Ambur and everyone else involved are doing a fabulous job and I've got no doubt that DD will grow into something huge! Watch out, The Darling Dames are about to take over.”
“The Darling Dames is about empowerment to me,” says Alexandra “Alexmac” Morgan, model for The Darling Dames. “We're a group of cute, strong, interesting girls, and we represent women in the most empowering way. I hope we get big. We've already grown so much and I can only see bigger things in our future!”
There is no question that the way The Darling Dames are going about their business is garnering them attention, respect, critical acclaim, and an already huge, and still growing fan base. But one question remains, with the rapid success that has accumulated over a mere two months, what’s next for DD?
As far as what is in store for the future, co-owner Amburaunchy says, “A lot of amazing stuff but you’ll just have to wait and see. I’m not giving away any secrets!”
The Darling Dames will be keeping busy this summer, trying to top the success of their first two months of operation. “We will be modeling a summer line for the sister company of Modern Mischief Clothing,” says Medeiros. “And we are working with BfkingA Clothing. And we hope to get merch out soon. I want our first shirts to say ‘Boys like DD’s’ on the back.”
The modeling group hopes to accomplish all of this and more with the continued support from the 209 area, and beyond. “There is a ton of support,” says Delgado. “A lot of people are involved [with The Darling Dames], and a lot of girls, and a lot of other organizations [are] too.”
Only time will tell what is next in store, but it looks like these girls are taking off, and shooting for the stars. With only two months in operation, and the resume this local organization has built up, it is safe to say that the Central Valley, and the world for that matter are just beginning to hear the noise that The Darling Dames are making.

For more information on The Darling Dames you can visit their MySpace by clicking on the banner: