I don't normally read magazines (other than Star Magazine in the checkout line - it is a sickness, I know! but I can't help myself)... but I was in the salon today and Redbook seemed the least evil choice, only slightly better than Field & Stream, which I suppose was provided for the token male visitors.
Anyway, RB has a very interesting article about why all of the models in mags are so slim - apparently when designers create their season's looks, they create two samples: one for the factory and one for use in mag pictorials. The samples are created by the designer in a size 6, which is apparently the "ideal" size from the designer's perspective. Factories then create other sizes based on gradiations from the size 6 in (I think) two-inch increments, which explains why clothes may fit you much better if you are a size 6 than a 10 or a 2. Apparently the further out on the spectrum, the less accurate the size gets. Since mags typically publish the clothes a few months before they're available in stores, the only choice they have are the size 6 samples.
A few designers also said they won't make plus size versions of their clothing because their target market is 90-pound women with a lot of cash to burn, who would be "bothered" to see the outfit they're buying in a size 18 on the same rack. Unbelievable, but at least it was honest.
Oh, and "plus size" models are typically only size 12!!! No wonder our body perceptions are so skewed!
Interesting read. You may want to check it out.
Marie
Anyway, RB has a very interesting article about why all of the models in mags are so slim - apparently when designers create their season's looks, they create two samples: one for the factory and one for use in mag pictorials. The samples are created by the designer in a size 6, which is apparently the "ideal" size from the designer's perspective. Factories then create other sizes based on gradiations from the size 6 in (I think) two-inch increments, which explains why clothes may fit you much better if you are a size 6 than a 10 or a 2. Apparently the further out on the spectrum, the less accurate the size gets. Since mags typically publish the clothes a few months before they're available in stores, the only choice they have are the size 6 samples.
A few designers also said they won't make plus size versions of their clothing because their target market is 90-pound women with a lot of cash to burn, who would be "bothered" to see the outfit they're buying in a size 18 on the same rack. Unbelievable, but at least it was honest.
Oh, and "plus size" models are typically only size 12!!! No wonder our body perceptions are so skewed!
Interesting read. You may want to check it out.
Marie
