US Elle June 2016 : Bella Hadid by Terry Tsiolis

[MulletProof]

Benn, that's Jeremy Meeks.

I love Bellemere's story.. it is an old concept (Natasha Poly in Vogue Paris) but not a common one and also not poorly executed, it is even better than the original and the pastels are perfectly distributed. I never buy Elle but a few years ago I got a free subscription for 3 years in a row (lol) and all of their stories were the 'feel-good' kind, nothing pompous or super original or ambitious, just pretty fashion, I liked that, and the stories here look 100% Elle and what their readers should expect and go back for.

I like the cover, I think Bella is a good model and I like the type of sexiness and style she brings into pictures. People overreact on her physical changes, she's 19 and they use pictures from when she was 13 like 'this is the real you, liar'.. nobody's the real anything at 13 .. unless you peaked at that age and were devastatingly stunning, most of us looked awkward, deformed and bloated lol. She had a nose that was socially considered huge and had it changed at an early age, maybe I live in a sadder world than most of her critics but ever since I can remember big noses = big teasing in school, a lot of girls I knew got it "fixed" before turning 20, sometimes even at their own parents' suggestion. So for someone with clear pressure from an early age to be and look model-ish and in a conventional way (mom, aunt, sister all models..), it makes sense and good for her. The lips are a bit too much but it's not like she has duck lips, and the hair.. it's just dark. I think people put themselves through bigger changes when reaching adulthood, not necessarily cosmetic surgery because (thank god) not everyone can afford it but some become orange, some lose their eyebrows.. if they manage to look great, then who cares.

 

[tigerrouge]

But there are also many places where plastic surgery for teenagers isn't normalised, and the question is, should it be? After all, a medical procedure isn't on the same level as fake tan or dyeing your hair, or buying a new blusher or designer bag, the typical things a magazine attempts to sell to people.

To be a teenager, and to have to contend with the traditional issues of self-image is bad enough, but to live in an environment where popularity is going to people who have had the scalpel taken to themselves... the message is that you're not trying hard enough to alter yourself. You too could transform yourself and be successful (by teen parameters), because you don't need to be born beautiful anymore or even rely on airbrushing. There's no reason to learn to accept yourself when you believe money can buy you a better face.

I'm well past the age where this would bother me, but I do wonder about the tortures that teenagers put themselves through, when it comes to image, and what effect it has when plastic surgery girls get the applause.

 

[MulletProof]

It's a bit of a tricky subject for me, I in no way endorse cosmetic surgery for vanity purposes but I do think society is harsh and some people deal with it differently and find alternatives (often according to their budget) that for those of us who had it easier through environment, are morally questionable. In my teenage years everyone would get teased in school for something (for walking a certain way, having a short neck, being too tall, red hair, dark skin, big feet, you name it.. really silly things), I remember being so overwhelmed when my turn came and someone asked me how I'd got inside the classroom when my head was so big rolleyes:) and half of the classroom burst out laughing, I might've cried, it was something I had never noticed about myself, lucky for me I grew up and realized that head and long extremities in general were there to match what was gonna be a tall body (haha!). That was my brief experience, which was hurtful for a while, but for the people (particularly women) that had large noses, the bullying was endless, toucan, parrot/jungle sounds as they passed every single day... so many 'she would be hot.. if it wasn't for that nose', 'is that the one with the nose?', even parents would comment on it. If I had a daughter, I would talk to her and show her images of successful, smart women that looked amazing mostly because they didn't comform to conventional beauty standards and embraced their differences. But ultimately, if she comes home crying everyday and she will be living in the mundane world where criticism and acceptance is sometimes harder than in more creative worlds, I don't think therapy or the acceptance process that society will make sure is an excruciatingly slow one when one of part of your body is "off" would be a fair advice. Maybe I would first try sending her to Europe or somewhere where beauty (big noses included) standards don't seem so strict.

I see a lot of Malibu/Bel Air girls these days, so I can only imagine the pressure on Bella, I think it's even worse when you have the means ('what is she waiting for!').

 

[kokobombon]

I remember Kate Moss saving my self steem when I was a teen. Being skinny was so not in in my country in the early 90s LOL

 

[MulletProof]

^ Anouck Lepere did it for me , she was so masculine-looking and still so feminine and celebrated for that... I don't look masculine lol but I never wanted to pluck my eyebrows or dress provocatively. What you're exposed to or expose yourself to plays a major role.. and in the case and generation of Bella, barbie looks are all the rage, looking quirky has died down, the 'legit' models that are treated as icons look like barbies too (Anja, Natasha), so for someone that's being pushed into it, I don't think you can accuse her of being ruthlessly vain.

 

[[Piece Of Me]]

Striking cover image, but the headlines make me cringe a lot. 'Super boyfriend'?? Why does that have to be mentioned?

 

[gossiping]

She had a nose that was socially considered huge and had it changed at an early age, maybe I live in a sadder world than most of her critics but ever since I can remember big noses = big teasing in school, a lot of girls I knew got it "fixed" before turning 20, sometimes even at their own parents' suggestion.

whatever happened to accepting yourself for who you are...

 

[MulletProof]

^ went down as condemning others even for not accepting themselves went up..

 

[tigerrouge]

Surely one of the lessons of life is that it doesn't matter what you get bullied for, if someone is intent on being a bully. Too tall, too small, too white, too black, too ginger... the list of 'reasons' goes on. If you don't exhibit one of them, the bully will find something else to pick on.

So there IS nothing wrong with the person, and changing it does nothing to stem the behaviour of any truly determined bully. Because there are two types of bully in the world - the amateurs, who will shut up as soon as someone stands up to them, and who will likely grow out of it, and the professionals, who will spend their entire life making those around them miserable with their behaviour.

You'll encounter plenty of amateur bullies at school, but it's when you hit the workplace that you'll meet the professionals, and if people start changing themselves to fit in with their forever unreasonable demands, they can end up in a bad place. So I think it's good for anyone to get some practice at standing up to school bullies before they encounter the adult sort.

Anyhow, does this mean that Bella has appeared on the cover of a big US mag (Elle, Vogue, Bazaar) before Gigi has?

 

[MulletProof]

Practice on standing up for yourself is a great advice and completely doable with solid foundation (strong values, loving family, big group of friends, extracurricular activities). It is not the same for everyone, some even have their family and "friends" indirectly endorsing the same reasons they're giving a hard time for at school, which just like it is the time for the amateurs, it is also the time when humans are usually more vulnerable and gullible.

People equip themselves differently for adult life and sadly, by the time the 'professionals' come into the picture, most people are still underprepared... which might explain why post 30 nearly everyone finds shelter in strange places like cosmetic surgery, depression, some high horse or just lack of understanding because "we all had it just as hard".

 

[Benn98]

Anyhow, does this mean that Bella has appeared on the cover of a big US mag (Elle, Vogue, Bazaar) before Gigi has?

Gigi booked W and a shared Teen Vogue cover prior to Bella's Allure and now Elle. I would argue that the Elle and Allure demographics are more substantial, so the exposure for her is immense.

 

[Benn98]

Anyhow, does this mean that Bella has appeared on the cover of a big US mag (Elle, Vogue, Bazaar) before Gigi has?

Gigi booked W and a shared Teen Vogue cover prior to Bella's Allure and now Elle. I would argue that the Elle and Allure demographics are more substantial, so the exposure for her is immense.

@ Mulletproof: Thanks, thought it was 'the hot convict' because of the tats, but you're right! Lol.

 

[justaguy]

FRILL SEEKERS
PHOTOGRAPHER: AZIM HAIDARYAN
MODEL: LAURA JAMES & SEAN LYLES
STYLING: SIMON ROBINS
HAIR: CHARLES MCNAIR
MAKE-UP: NATASHA SEVERINO
NAILS: ASHLIE JOHNSON

IN UHQ.


VISUALIZING.FASHION