anotheranon | Sep. 27th, 2006

I recommend this rambling post that covers, among other things, the inconsistent, shifting nature of women's clothing sizes and the ban on too-thin models from Spanish fashion week. Lots of interesting linkage throughout about smaller than zero sizes (!), Jamie Lee Curtis' efforts to expose the glamor for what it is, etc., but one I especially wanted to point out is that the SizeUSA National Sizing Survey is using a scanner to attempt to find out how Americans are REALLY shaped, on average.

Preliminary findings: less than 8.4% of women scanned have the idealized hourglass shape. Indeed, they've found 4 basic types - I myself am either an inverted triangle or a rectangle. Kind of reminds me of the shape icons in Land's End swimwear catalogs (alas, not available on their site).

Random thought on the too-skinny models debate: IMHO it comes down less to pressuring designers and advertisers to use more realistically shaped/sized models, and more to do with improving the health/safety standards of the modeling business itself. The Spanish decided to use BMI (body mass index) as a standard in an effort to prevent eating-disordered women reaching the runway, but I think it's also worth pointing out that a lot of the girls look thin and underdeveloped because they ARE girls - 14, 15 years old. Maybe another starting point would be agencies restricting representation only to women 18 and older?