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The fact remains that young girls and women are bombarded with these images whether it be in magazines, billboards, tv, etc.. They get it in their head that this is what beautiful is and this is how they should look. Their view becomes distorted despite being told "It's their job to look like that." Perfect example is JDawg who thinks the model in the photoshopped RL image looks good. It's unnatural and physically unattainable, like a cartoon character.
I'm not saying the girls need to be 180 lbs or 5'1", but the fashion industry (and Hollywood) glamorizes an unhealthy image when it comes to women.
How come the men aren't required to look emaciated or like prepubescent boys?
And for those of you who were in the industry (MLV & Pitt) and walked those runways, can you honestly tell me that many of those girls don't/didn't take unhealthy and sometimes extreme measures to maintain their weight and figure (or rather lack there of)???
I think they need to have models just like they do shirts etc. SML and P/T/R
They are hard on the guys too. They want most of those guys to have a 30-32'' waist or so. But they are tall guys. So that is kinda crazy. I have met even less RL guys that could even come close to that.
All my roomates were into modeling/acting. They all had different looks. The girls that were more high fashion did watch what they ate. The only extreme I saw was one girl that went on this high protien diet to do some asian jeans ad. The rest of us just ate whatever. I personally did not count calories back then. You really are just so busy all day its hard to overeat. You walk around going to calls all day or classes. Any of the older girls that were over 20 did a lot of clean eating and working out. I personally just from memory would say 1 in 10 had some sort of odd food thing going on. Those people also had a large frame that they had to work around. I did not do tons of runway stuff because of my ht. I did mostly print and commercial. That is much more forgiving with that. Even so I had my agent talk about every single thing that went in my mouth. That was annoying.
I think that "lady in grey" looks really funny. Its so fake looking. It does not even look like a dude's body or human even.
But girls that don't model also have food issues. Eating disorders were around before photoshop and crash diets.
This is a tough subject that has been mulled over many times by American society.
The thing is--I've always looked at models as essentially human clothes hangers. NOT as sex symbols, or as the object of most mens' desire. A model's job is to--well--model clothing. I don't see this as a reflection of the "perfect" woman and, to be honest, I don't get how this idea became mainstream.
Also, on the contrary, I sometimes feel that healthy thin girls get a bad rap because of all the modeling hate nonsense. I see some of you say that a size 0 is "gross" or "way too thin" or whatever, when in reality many clothing manufacturers now use vanity sizing to a size 0 being fitting to 26 to even a 28 inch waist--which, for most women may be slender, but typically is NOT deathly thin.
I know that I'm around 130 lbs at 5'2'' and the other day I tried on a pair of cargo pants at Old Navy (hey, they were cheap )--I absolutely SWAM in their size 0! That's just stupid!
I'm certainly not defending models who use drugs, smoke or have eating disorders to maintain their weight--nor do I defend the designers that wish to have models have no more than a 23 inch waist or whatever--THAT is excessive. However, overall, I think that as a society we take what is the silliness of haute couture waaaay too seriously.
I know I personally don't find thin/skinny women unappealing or disgusting. In fact it's something I find attractive and always desired to be, but I also know the pressures I placed on myself thinking I was supposed to look like that, especially since I'm tall.
The RL model was indeed fired for being too big over 4 months ago. And it's not as if RL didn't try and work with her. They hired a nutritionalist and trainer for her and warned her that if she didn't fit into the size 4 samples for their holiday collection they were going to have to let her go. She didn't fit.
I'm not arguing that she didn't hold up to her contractual obligations and I understand it's her job to maintain her physical appearance to specific criteria, but it saddens me to think that a woman who is a size 4 (and clearly has a thin & stunning bod despite being larger than a 4) is too "big". And to think she's considered voluptuous by RL's standards.
I guess my perspective has changed now that I have a daughter. I just don't want her to ever feel that pressure. When you're an impressionable teen (hell, even now!), it doesn't matter what people tell you when you're seeing something to the contrary.
But if the models are presenting an unrealistic image of how the clothes will look an the average customer isn't that false advertising?
Given the unhealthy body image issues the current fashion world is creating with all the anorexia/bulimia/etc issues that go with it and the fact they are misleading consumers, I don't understand why women put up with it. Use the power of your purse ladies. Don't buy from designers who use size 0 models. Period.
But I'm a size 0, so why not?
Not just that, not everyone who is a size 0 is anorexic. That's essentially the problem I have. I am short (5'1"), but very thin...and while I'm at a healthy weight for my size, people automatically assume that b/c I'm thin, I have an eating disorder or something.
The average woman is overweight - not a healthy image either.
Models are not supposed to be average or to represent the ideal even.
They are supposed to wear clothes easily, which amounts to being a hanger. It's actually practical for the designer. Think about it: angles are much easier to work with than curves. It's an easier canvas for them that allows for more innovation because there's less restriction.
Models also all need to be roughly the same size, because the clothes are not made to fit individuals. They are made at a standard size, and the less alterations to fit a model, the easier it is for the designers. If you have a dress made for a size 2, and a girl is a size 4, well it's not going to fit her and taking clothes out is hard. However, if she is a size 0, at least you can take it in. That's just partly why too thin is "better" in fashion.
Other reasons are: the camera adds at least 10 lbs; the egotistical designers don't want models to steal the show (as they did in the 80s....and they got giant heads over it, ie. Naomi Campbell), and skinny girls get lost in the clothes and become hangers; the standards are skewed because fashion likes elitism and unrealistic fantasy, etc. Are these reasons ridiculous? Sure, but who ever said artists were rational. And obviously, emaciated models cross the line, but not all models fall into that category.
Quote:
Originally Posted by tcrackly
I don't get that the role of fashion is making PEOPLE look good in clothes, not mannequins. Every day the industry pushes the idealization of the human form to the extreme. I am an artist so I can appreciate the human form...it doesn't have to be turned into a cartoon to sell fashion.
No, haute couture fashion, where you see the extremely thin models, is about creating art and putting on a show. Models are supposed to be almost surreal, like other worldly creatures. You should know as an artist that imagination is stronger than reality for an artist.
They are not making clothes for the average person to wear. I mean, fine artists don't paint pictures to hang on your living room wall....same with high fashion. Only the wealthy can afford to indulge in it.
If you look at clothes aimed at the masses, they often are modeled by size 4 models or larger. Catalog models are usually size 4-6. That's not unrealistically thin for a young woman, even if it's not typical. Let's face it - beauty isn't average. The average person is not really beautiful.
Also, advertising has nothing to do with reality or what is logical. It's about appealing to irrational desires and emotions. It's making you want what you do not have or appealing to what you want to be, so you will spend money you do not have. Most women are overweight, and thin models represent what they are not. The images sell the idea that the clothes will make you look thinner, since the model looks so thin in it. Most women do not want to be as thin as a fashion model at all, but they do want to lose those extra 10 lbs or whatever.
I agree to an extent that if it's in your contract to do one thing and you can't or won't do it than they have the right to terminate you but at the same time it does seem overwhelmingly strict.
@ orangeapple---I guess I think that average people are beautiful is that weird? Do people not think their mothers, daughters and friends are beautiful even if average?
I also agree that plus sized models need to really be plus sized and that there should be a variety of sizes in catalogs and ads made for the masses. I don't expect a size 10 model inside vogue--but I do expect a REAL sized 16 person in a Lane Bryant ad for example.
I like how stations like QVC and HSN generally have their looks showcased on a few different sized models---maybe a XS/S M/L and XL sized garmet difference--it really helps you figure out if it may work for you or not--I generally can't tell if a dress on a size 0 is going to look good on my size 12.
Not just that, not everyone who is a size 0 is anorexic. That's essentially the problem I have. I am short (5'1"), but very thin...and while I'm at a healthy weight for my size, people automatically assume that b/c I'm thin, I have an eating disorder or something.
Well, I don't have a hip to waist ratio that big but I don't buy jeans by hip size, I buy them by waist size. That's one thing I love about England - there are often no meaningless numbers for jean sizes, they are sized by waist - no room for vaniety sizing. I wear a 24 or 26 because my waist measures 25 inches (for the record, my hip size is 34 inches).
And check out the attached file. Even when I had gained a bit of weight and was a size 28, I still fit into my size 00 jeans from the US! As you can see by the picture, they are the same size. Vaniety sizing has just gone insane. If you can't read the labels, I have close up versions.
Plus, I often find sizing charts are just plain wrong. Victoria's Secret's clothing lines were a particular problem for this. I would order something according to their size chart (measured myself and ordered something that should have fit me perfectly) and it would be at least 3 sizes too big!
This isn't an exclusive problem to Victoria's Secret or the US. Just recently, I ordered 2 different pairs of pants, same size, same brand. One was too big, the other I can just barely squeeze into. Back in the US, my mom frequently complained about Old Navy having the same problem to a worse degree. She would buy a pair of pants which would fit perfectly so she'd decide to get the EXACT same pair of pants just in a different color (At least my pants were different styles). Too big. Sizing is just WAY too inconsistant and just plain incorrect to go by a sizing chart. They are more like guidelines than strict measuring rules.
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)--I absolutely SWAM in their size 0! That's just stupid!
