Okay everyone, I’m retiring Crystal Renn.
This has nothing to do with her ability as a model. As I’ve said time and again, she’s a wonderful model, probably talent-wise the best of the current crop of runway walkers.
But she’s a size 10.
There’s nothing wrong with being a size 10. She’s had a tough row to hoe body-image wise and if that’s where her body is happy then far be it from me to complain.
But she’s a size 10.
That’s not plus-sized, that’s not close to plus-sized and even though I am the biggest fashion industry apologist on the planet, I just can’t pretend that she counts as a plus-sized model in any meaningful sense and therefore she deserves no more and no less press or attention than any other model who doesn’t wear plus-size clothes.
Don’t get me wrong. I’m delighted to see a size 10 on the runway and I hope she stays relevant for years to come. She’s a smart girl, she makes interesting editorial choices and she knows how to play the semi-plus-size thing in her favor (witness yet another Paris Vogue photoshoot by Disgusting Pervert Hack Terry Richardson, wherein she’s orgasmically orally fixated on pasta.)
But she’s a size 10.
I’m a big proponent for variety and I’d rather see a size 10 model as a staple than a size 20 as a gimmick every few years, but the days of breathlessly reporting on her every move as a victory for fat girl kind –inasmuch as I ever have– are over, unless you tell me otherwise.
God, I hate Terry Richardson. He rivals the American Apparel guy for vileness. Yes though. Crystal Renn, beautiful model. Just not plus sized. Like Whitney someone from ANTM years ago.
Comment by Josie — October 18, 2010 @ 11:55 am
I have no dog in the fight; however, that picture is vile.
Comment by theDiva — October 18, 2010 @ 11:56 am
I’m totally fine with retiring Crystal Renn from this blog, seeing as how she’s not actually plus-size.
I’m also totally fine with some horrible “accident” befalling Terry Richardson, should that happen to occur. Ahem.
Comment by Chicklet — October 18, 2010 @ 12:02 pm
Oh Terry Richardson. Please. Go Away.
Am fine with Crystal Renn retiring from this blog, as well.
Comment by AnthroK8 — October 18, 2010 @ 1:21 pm
I concur on all points.
Comment by Rubygirl — October 18, 2010 @ 1:27 pm
Word, sister. I don’t mind hearing about her if she does or says something genuinely newsworthy, but she isn’t plus-sized. She has a lovely body, she looks better than 90% of the current offerings but I don’t really want to hear about her in the context of plus-sized models.
Who, WHO is paying Terry Richardson to take pictures? People with more money than sense, that’s who. He’s so sleazy and seedy, with just no imagination or wit or cheek or irony or anything to back it up. He’s just a pervy one-trick pony.
Comment by Frances — October 18, 2010 @ 7:38 pm
I’d never tell you otherwise. Renn is no more a plus size model than any of those other well known models out there. And those sweaters in that shoot are about as flattering as wine barrels, with even less appeal.
I don’t know who Terry Richardson is, but man, has fashion photography ever become predictable because of people like him. Makes me wanna read phone books.
Comment by ChaChaheels — October 19, 2010 @ 9:25 am
That is not a good photo–it’s an unattractive pose, an ugly sweater, and unappetizing spaghetti, and it does nothing to make that beautiful model look interesting.
Comment by wildflower — October 19, 2010 @ 7:15 pm
I’m glad you said it, sista. I think Crystal Renn is awesomely beautiful. I’m glad she’s adding variety to the runways and editorials but she isn’t plus size.
Comment by BrooklynShoeBabe — October 20, 2010 @ 8:56 pm
I agree . I have never really been to impressed with her as a ”plus size” model . She is an amazeing talent , but shes , well …thin . She seems to pop up on every plus size blog our there . I have made a point not to put her on mine bc I dont agree that shes plus size at all . That photo is disgusting to me . There were others in that set also , all of which make me gag a little , to be honest .
Comment by Dawn — October 21, 2010 @ 4:03 pm
She’s quite thin now. Photos of her from the Lingerie New York 2010 show her downright emaciated. I hope she is well but it doesn’t look that way. If you go to Getty Images and do a search on her, you’ll see what I’m talking about. She’s not a size 10. She’s quite a bit smaller than that now. I know in the past she’s referred to an ED. Perhaps she’s relapsed?
Comment by AND — October 22, 2010 @ 12:26 pm
stupid picture, but boy, is she beautiful! I figure, if you can look gorgeous in a picture like that, you are really beautiful!
Somehow, I don’t care that much about her size. I find myself drawn somewhat to her story and the way she manages to make even stupid pictures with her in it interesting. As for her size, I’ve heard she’s started exercising again (she had stopped years ago because she was being obsessive about it, with bad results) and she has dropped a size. But I can see you might not want to write about her from the point of being a big girl. But from the point of talking about fashion (which we often also discuss) she still is very relevant.
your blog, your call on this!
Comment by larkspur — October 25, 2010 @ 9:00 pm
I agree 100% with your decision. Crystal is not plus sized and is now in fact quite thin.
To AND: if we want people to stop critiquing our bodies and casting aspersions on our health because of our size, we have to extend that courtesy to others. If we don’t refrain from speculating about the health of people just because their bodies look a certain way, we have no ground to ask that other people stop doing that to us.
Comment by Rachael — October 25, 2010 @ 9:35 pm