The Model & Celeb Weight Thread [Read post #1 before posting] #1

[masquerade]

Originally Posted by Starry_Night

It seems pointless to try to figure out who has an eating disorder and who is naturally thin. It almost doesn't even matter that River is probably naturally thin. The bigger problem, in my mind, is that River's body type is considered attractive. Even if every booker cared about the health of their model, it would still be impossible to assure that every single hyper-thin girl in the industry is like that naturally. Therefore, the only way to ensure that these girls are healthy is to adjust what the ideal is.
It's also frustrating when the CFDA gives guidelines as to how to ensure that these girls stay thin, healthily. As long as there is no such thing as being too thin in this industry, it seems like there will always be girls who will have to do terrible things to their body to achieve emaciation, in order to 'one up' their competitor.
As it was discussed earlier in this thread, it is too easy to get a warped perception of what is normal, what is thin, and what is heavy. It almost seems like everyone needs to take a step back, and realize that some of these girls are just too gaunt, unwomanly, and skeletal, and that many of these models are actually detracting from the clothes at this point.

Exactly. Not to sound crass, but I could really give two $hits whether or not these girls individually have eating disorders.

The problem is that this 14 year old hyperthyroid look is the standard of beauty. Women are being told that the ideal is something only achievable by children. Clothes are made for those body type.

[Grunged]

Smart, independent women aren't being told anything. Naive, self conscious women suffering from low self esteem are the only ones sucked into believing that this is the "ideal" body type. And they are also the only ones who accept this, and support it wholeheartedly without making objections and speaking their thoughts about it. Clothes are not made for a super thin 14 year old girl's body type. They are just modeled by this body type. Some (notice I underlined and darkened that so somebody will not twist it every which way) clothes only look good on that body type but they are not made for that body type.

[icelynn]

Originally Posted by Grunged

Smart, independent women aren't being told anything. Naive, self conscious women suffering from low self esteem are the only ones sucked into believing that this is the "ideal" body type. And they are also the only ones who accept this, and support it wholeheartedly without making objections and speaking their thoughts about it. Clothes are not made for a super thin 14 year old girl's body type. They are just modeled by this body type. Some (notice I underlined and darkened that so somebody will not twist it every which way) clothes only look good on that body type but they are not made for that body type.

Exactly. Designers are losing money by designing clothes that will only look good on 29 inch busts and 21 inch waists. So what is their motivation? Obviously not "beauty", money or success. Maybe they're even mentally ill? I don't know but I'd like to know their answer.

[Grunged]

I think it's because the fashion industry has so many devoted followers that they like to push boundaries to see if they can get away with it. And they have gotten away with this skinny trend or whatever you want to call it. The majority of people seem to be okay with it.

[Voltaire 6]

Is it possible that these sample sizes are driven by the need to save money on fabric? luxurious fabrics, the smaller the size the less fabric ... i know it sounds silly or something but it's just my thought.

[Grunged]

The fashion industry doesn't need to save money.

[Voltaire 6]

yes but they will if they can. And fashion weeks often display the work of young up and coming designers. It's just an idea ... anyway to save a buck.

[icelynn]

Originally Posted by Voltaire #6

Is it possible that these sample sizes are driven by the need to save money on fabric? luxurious fabrics, the smaller the size the less fabric ... i know it sounds silly or something but it's just my thought.

Blouses going for $2000.00 probably cover the costs. That isn't why.

[Voltaire 6]

mmm just a thought ... ut might cover the costs but if the expenses were lower the profits would be higher ... that is all i am trying to say

[masquerade]

Originally Posted by Grunged

Smart, independent women aren't being told anything. Naive, self conscious women suffering from low self esteem are the only ones sucked into believing that this is the "ideal" body type. And they are also the only ones who accept this, and support it wholeheartedly without making objections and speaking their thoughts about it. Clothes are not made for a super thin 14 year old girl's body type. They are just modeled by this body type. Some (notice I underlined and darkened that so somebody will not twist it every which way) clothes only look good on that body type but they are not made for that body type.

I can't believe we are talking about this again.

If you really think people are not influenced by the media and society, than you are very naive. The media is constantly telling women that their bodies are wrong, and airbrushed images of models and celebrities are right. Even logical adults who know these images aren't real cannot escape the pressure they create. This isn't even just about weight, its about breast size, hair color, skin color, wrinkles, etc.

Designers continually create clothing that looks good only on certain, modelesque body types. This isn't anything new. Woman are changing their bodies to fit these ideals, when designers should be changing their designs to fit women's bodies.

[izzie stevens]

All of this talk of these super thin models being what women desire to be really makes me laugh, almost, because I have never, ever heard anyone say something like, "I want to look just like... (Insert super skinny model's name here!)" I've heard... "I want to look just like...

Heidi Klum.
Kate Moss.
Anna Beatriz Barrios.
Gisele.
Ivanka Trump.
Etc., etc., etc.! But never any of the models that are spoken of in this thread.

[Grunged]

Originally Posted by masquerade

I can't believe we are talking about this again.

If you really think people are not influenced by the media and society, than you are very naive. The media is constantly telling women that their bodies are wrong, and airbrushed images of models and celebrities are right. Even logical adults who know these images aren't real cannot escape the pressure they create. This isn't even just about weight, its about breast size, hair color, skin color, wrinkles, etc.

Designers continually create clothing that looks good only on certain, modelesque body types. This isn't anything new. Woman are changing their bodies to fit these ideals, when designers should be changing their designs to fit women's bodies.

Yes, we are talking about this again (like nothing mentioned in this thread hasn't EVER been mentioned before). When did I say I didn't think people weren't influenced by the media and society? When?
Herve Leger designs for body types that aren't meant for sticks as do many other designers. Their clothes are just modeled by super thin models therefore you and others believe that they only look good on super thin body types. I did say, however, in my previous post that some clothes only look good on this type of body. But not all clothing is created for and only looks good on a certain body type.

***EDIT***

[cestmagique]

Originally Posted by Grunged

Yes, we are talking about this again (like nothing mentioned in this thread hasn't EVER been mentioned before). When did I say I didn't think people weren't influenced by the media and society? When?

Let's no one flare up, alright?

You said in your other post that 'smart, independent women' weren't absorbing these messages and that's probably what masquerade was referring to, because I had the same reaction as she did. Intelligence and independence have nothing to do with it; it's not like this skinny ideal is a rational one, and people's responses to it aren't always rational either.

[izzie stevens]

The media does influence what women see as beautiful. That's very true. But how many women actually know who these models are, and by name? We here at TFS do, those who follow the modeling industry do... But I'd laugh if my mother, or cousin, or any of my friends ever said to me, "Oh, Coco Rocha is so beautiful." Simply because, really... How the heck did she/they go about finding out that the girl in that editorial is Coco Rocha, or Natasha Poly, or Chanel Iman... Etc., etc., etc. if they are not closely following the modeling industry? The general public does not know these models by name because they are not supermodels. They are just a pretty face. They may be supermodels to us, to those who follow fashion/modeling very closely. But to your older sisters, your fellow peers who don't buy magazines for the sake of seeing McNeil's editorial, but for the sake of seeing what will be in next season, they aren't supermodels. To them, supermodels are Heidi, Naomi, Tyra, Linda. (And all of them do have boobs, and hips, and curves, and are not ridiculously thin.) Those are supermodels to the general public, not these girls who's careers we follow and that's why I don't feel that these girls who we speak of in this thread actually affect what women feel is perceived as beauty all that much. If anything, Hollywood is the biggest culprit in pushing what beauty should look like, not the modeling industry, simply because Hollywood is a monster of big names. People know Charlize Theron, Amy Winehouse, Jessica Simpson, etc., etc. by name. And by the way, I am just using random names. I'm not trying to say that any of the people I mentioned have a weight problem or are too skinny, nothing like that!

I hope I am making sense. Jeez. What I mean to say, basically, is that most of the super thing girls... yes, it's a shame that they are this thin and some, more than likely unhealthy. But do they influence women (of the general public) to grow thinner? I don't think so, no.

[Grunged]

And you know what, intelligence has a lot to do with it. I don't know of anyone who would want to adopt this body image unless they had no knowledge of how unhealthy it is and/or lacked knowledge of anything overall and just felt that they weren't worth anything more than trying to have a 21 inch waist. When I said "smart" I didn't mean book smarts, I meant someone that has a healthy mindset and is knowledgeable that body images like that are not healthy by any means nor do they send out a healthy message.

my post was directed towards cestmagique