Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Is She Plus Size?


I came across this article on Fashionista and just had to blog about it. This photo of "plus size" model Crystal Renn caused a stir on the Internet last week with people asking if she's no longer plus size, and her agent confirming she's now a full size 8 (just weeks ago she was a  size 10). 

As someone who's struggled my entire life with weight issues, I'm baffled that the industry considers a size 8 and/or 10 "plus size" Ac.cording to a WebMD article I found, the "average" woman is 5'4" and wears a size 14, so how can an 8 possibly be "plus size?" 
I know that the fashion industry/Hollywood is different, and that many people fit into the sample size 2, but seeing stats like this for the fashion industry is so frustrating. It breeds a culture of insecurity for those of us who aren't sample sizes. Crystal herself has been a champion for healthy living and not buying into the hype of size labels, but if she really wants to be a champion to the average American woman, then she has to take the opportunity to not keep dropping dress sizes. And really, who would complain about that?

2 comments:

Julie-Inspired Shares said...

Woah..that's crazy. Are they living in some kind of bazarro world? Hope you have a very Happy Thanksgiving!

Julie xo

Michele said...

Thanks Julie, it is a little bizarro, right? I'm just shocked that a size 8 is considered "plus size" in the fashion industry, but more importantly, it's crazy that it seems like you can't win either way. Either you're "skinny" and get criticized for gaining weight, or you're "plus size" and get criticized for dropping a few pounds.

Happy birthday and Happy Thanksgiving!