People at New York Fashion Week on Plus Sized Models

But why won't they post a video about height?  Don't you wish that body image discussion could encompass ALL ISSUES?  Kind of getting tired of this.  What do you think?

On Using Non-Models at Fashion Shows



Last week was New York Fashion Week.  While most shows featured tall, slim and young professional models, Ann Taylor chose to use its employees. Though, for the most part, the women featured were quite slim, it was more realistic - none of the ladies looked like they have been starving for days.  In addition, the women were closer in age to the clientele.  Honestly, who really wants to wear clothing targetting a 30 year old, yet modelled by someone who is 15?  I still don't quite understand designers.  I guess even the ones who want to use 30 year olds use the teenagers, if not only because of availablility, but also because of peer pressure.If they dare to do something different, people will criticize (this has happened before - a Canadian designer used "real women" as models at a show back in 2009 and some of the more traditional fashion writers apparently didn't like it very much.  Whatever.  I kind of like the idea of this.  It makes it easier for me, the client and wearer to see what things would look like on someone my shape (which is also why I like seeing short celebrities).

However, one thing I have issues with when it comes to size is, of course, the lack of talk on height.  I am not actually sure how tall the women in the Ann Taylor show are (I've asked and will let everyone know when I hear back).  I do know, however, that both Ann Taylor and the LOFT division have featured employees of all heights modelling various styles on their Facebook pages.  They generally list not only the employee's size, but also her height.  A good thing, since the FB user would have a better idea of how and what looks good on them if they're around that size.  I imagine the women would have been of different heights, since they were modelling a current collection, rather than the spring/summer.  It would have been nice to know whether there were actually any petite women, though.  But it seems that media releases on "real people" models never talk about this. 

Would you like to see more brands and designers feature non-professional models?  I do, but I don't know if the rest of the industry would think that's such a great idea.  It might just be too risky (and some would complain about not wanting to see 200 lb women on the runway.  The thing is, for many brands, the "typical" client isn't 200+ lb and a size 20.  She's more likely 130 lb and maybe a size 8 or 10.  She's also closer to 5'5" or so than 5'10").  5'5" and a size 8 is hardly FAT and SCARY.  It's realistic and slim.    Also, I think The Powers that Be are often much too out of touch with the clientele, and while some may think that clothes should be the main focus, clientele often have trouble imagining what things look like on them if the model's shape is nothing like theirs.  But of course, that's just me

This was also posted at DelectablyChic!

Photos courtesy of KruppNYC/Ann Taylor

Fashion industry and size

A recent New York Times article mentioned the fact that model Coco Rocha is being booked less this season because she is now a size four and considered "too fat" by industry standards. WTF!!!! Really, it's up to the designers to make changes. We can complain all we want, but there won't be any changes unless the designers change.

Note: A similar post (with this very video) is up in Prospere Magazine as well.

Update: Coco Rocha has a post about this very topic

April Poll Results

Last month, Shorty Stories asked what you thought of ANTM's decision to do a petite cycle in the fall and whether they'll still focus on fashion, even though shorter models can never make it in the industry. The results are as follows:

27.8% said: Of COURSE Tyra's going to focus on fashion! How many of the contestants have actually made it big-big, anyway?

22.2% said: There's going to be more of a focus on commercial, with a little bit of fashion with petite focused/petite-friendly designers.

0% said: Who decided on a petite cycle anyway?

27.8% said:They're doing a petite cycle?

22.2% said: Other

What do you think of these results? Do you agree? Do you think Tyra should actually focus on petite and petite-friendly designers?

Oh, and don't forget to take part in the May poll question, found on the right hand sidebar.

Alternative Model Appreciation Week: August 11-17

An "alternative model" is anyone who doesn't fit the "standard" model one sees in magazines. While most people, including those in the Facebook event page fall into categories like roleplay, cosplay, etc, petite and plus sized models fall into the category too.

Suggestions to Alternative Model Appreciation Week (from a petite perspective):

Comment on a petite model's blog

Write to fashion-related companies an tell them why it's important to not only have a petite line, but use petite models

Make a video about the importance of petite sizes and upload it to YouTube

Send a letter to your local newspaper about the importance of petite sizes, and how it is often overlooked

Go to a body image board and write about beauty/body image from a petite perspective

What about you? Do you have any suggestions?

Alternative Modelling and Petites

Petites, of course, are supposed to fall into this category, but for some reason, we aren't included in the Facebook Event celebrating alternative models (Alternative Model Week is in August. More information will be posted here and in Prospere Magazine closer to the date). I've even posted a note on the wall, but the admins have not changed anything as of Wednesday afternoon. Perhaps we need to have a bigger voice. You see tattooed people, people with multiple piercings, goth and even the more mainstream plus being celebrated, but us shorties? Nope. Nada.

Maybe there just aren't enough designers interested in risking it, especially in Canada. Maybe we need to encourage fashion students to go an alternate route. Isn't it interesting that people are more willing to be "weird" alternative than mainstream-alternative (i.e. plus and petite)? I would think that there are more people who'd be interested in mainstream-alternative, especially in a country like Canada. We're, after all, generally less risk-taking. Even Ben Barry, the Canadian modelling agent who encourages all shapes and sizes seems to ignore the shorties.

So what can we do? Well, starting a website to talk about these issues is one. This seems to be the most common, though most petite websites don't seem to update very regularly (Serafina, Petite Fashionista and this site are the most regular). Encouraging designers to think outside of the box is another. Of course, the latter can be hard. The fashion industry, as creative as they are, seem to be very narrow-minded when it comes to what looks good. Last year, I was at an event where one of the guests was a Canadian designer who has had shows in L'Oreal Fashion Week (won't name this person, as I am afraid of getting into trouble). I told this designer about this blog, and though this person was very friendly prior to my mentioning Shorty Stories, stopped talking to me all together afterwards. And trust me, it was NOT the alcohol. Petite fashion shouldn't only be shows like Petite Fashionista Presents. Petite fashion should be everywhere.

Of course, even if we are successful in encouraging designers to go petite, there's no guarantee that the Canadian Fashion Design Council will respond well to them. I've heard that some people there have a reputation to be pretty much the Anna Wintour of the North. And we all know what that means.