Body Beautiful

Did you know that, in the fashion industry, if you are bigger than a US size 6 (so an Aussie size 10) you are considered to be "plus-size"? Even being a US size 6 can see you left out of designer gear. 

Since I blogged about British Vogue's Alexandra Shulman way back in June, the UK has been awash with real-woman hype.

Glamour magazine published this picture of 20-year-old model Lizzie Miller in its September 09 issue and were flooded with encouraging responses from excited readers.

  (Image from The Age)

Since this, Glamour have committed to showing more diversity across their pages. Four plus-size models, and the magazine's editor in chief Cindy Leive spoke to Ellen a few days ago.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G2I8dSHURSk

It's not all been roses though. Obviously many fashion alumni don't appreciate their domain being overrun by women who are built bigger than an Olsen. But as the screen grab above from Ellen shows, these models aren't exactly flying the flag for obesity with their Aussie size 12-14 frames. The fashion industry has always supported rail-thin models, and this has provided a great opportunity for the love of fashion and beauty to be shared across all healthy women.

Designer Mark Fast followed suit at London Fashion Week during September by throwing a few size 12-14 girls in his model mix, which certainly ruffled a few feathers. After watching The September Issue though, I'm pretty sure we won't see Anna the Great doing such a ghastly thing in US Vogue. The horror!

It's not about being skinny, it's not about being huge. It's about healthy bodies - not just healthy body image, but healthy, strong, fit bodies. It's about sharing the opportunity to love fashion and clothes and beauty with more than just a tiny tiny percentage of people.