Tom and Lorenzo over at Project Rungay have an excellent piece on Crystal Renn’s amazing spread in ELLE Canada AND they earn extra fabulon points for writing the following, which could have tripped from my flawlessly maquillaged lips:
“So why not put them in the correct size or in clothes that flatter them? It’s what a photographer and stylist would do with any other model, so why do the bigger models get the tighter, more revealing clothes? You never see plus-sized models in these editorials wearing something classic and tailored or flowing and goddess-y. No, they always look like they’re heading out to the road house on a Saturday night, where ladies drinks are half off. In fact, the more we think about it, we can’t ever remember seeing a “plus-sized” editorial (and it’s not like there have been so many that we have trouble recalling) where we liked the clothes. It’s always super-tight, super-short, super-revealing. We get it. “Big is Beautiful.” They want to promote the idea that bigger women are sexy. Well you know what? Bigger women are fabulous too. Can’t we have a “Big is Fabulous” spread some time soon that doesn’t roll around in the old tropes that fat women are sexually ravenous and a little sloppy to boot?”
You MUST click, if only to see the incredible spread.
Crystal is awesome in that spread (especially in the herme dress, where she looks 100 times more sexy than the size00 who walked it on the runway). Brave Elle canada!
Comment by klee — January 12, 2010 @ 1:28 pm
Yes! I am 51 years old, I have a teen-aged son and most of my life revolves around family, home, school and the small business I run (at home). A curve-hugging wrap dress and strappy heels is never the right thing for me to wear. I’m tired of so many style advisors acting like those of us who don’t want to look sexy all the time have self-esteem problems!
Fabulous and appropriate. Is that too much to ask?
Comment by Deb — January 12, 2010 @ 1:29 pm
Wow. Just beautiful.
Comment by mdegraffen — January 12, 2010 @ 1:32 pm
I love those two! They have really been stepping up to the plate for us big girls! And they make me feel smart and urbane for watching too much tv instead of like a slob. ;)
Comment by Alexis — January 12, 2010 @ 3:42 pm
I think those designers – who are mostly gay men – see plus-size model as the ultimate temptation. In their eyes big girls are a symbol for indulgence – if they like to indulge in food, surely they like to indulge in life in general. And they want to express that in the clothes they dress them with.
Also I don’t think designers see their models as women, they see them as hangers and even though clothes look great on waifish models – sexy clothes kind of need to be filled. So when they get the chance to “fill their clothes” they get a excited and overdo it.
I really don’t think that most designers want to make a point saying “big is beautiful” – they either wanted to artistically express “zaftig-ness” or they just want to make their clothes look interesting. Wether this is flattering – they don’t care – because big girls are not their target group after all.
If you look you will notice that designers who do produce for the plus-size market (like Calvin Klein and Michael Kors) always present their clothes in a flattering way.
Comment by Ali — January 12, 2010 @ 8:08 pm
What a wonderful spread! More designers should learn to design and make clothes for regular and plus-sized women. We all deserve to look fabulous.
Comment by All Women Stalker — January 13, 2010 @ 8:22 am
I hear you, Deb. I’m 35 and simply don’t have the lifestyle that demands cocktail dresses and heels every day. Meanwhile, I find myself lusting after the j.crew and anthropologie clothing – stuff I *could* fit into my wardrobe, but alas, no one thinks fat girls need cute, interesting, stylish casual clothing.
Comment by ginag — January 13, 2010 @ 10:12 am
Gosh, that spread is astonishing. She is just delightful and wears the hell out of those clothes. The shots of the models in the clothes juxtaposed with her photos – there is just no comparison.
Comment by Sarah — January 13, 2010 @ 1:43 pm
I love the Crystal spread, but Tom and Lorenzo wrote that in response to the W. magazine spread, which they didn’t like and – if memory serves – MFTBG did. Now I love both blogs but I disagreed with Tlo’s assessment of the W spread as tacky. I thought it was fabulous and glam and sexy and, as I wrote in the comments over there (very fat hating, BTW) sometimes a fat girl DOES want to look a little slutty.
I agree with the sentiments though. Big is Fabulous, and glam, and sometimes a little slutty, or coy, or severe, and every way a woman wants to look.
Comment by Abby — January 13, 2010 @ 4:27 pm
Abby, I think you mean V magazine, not W. And I think sometimes SOME fat girls want to look a little slutty. I’ve never been tempted, myself.
Comment by Plumcake — January 13, 2010 @ 4:31 pm