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Member since 7/11/05
Posts: 3783
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Posted on: 1/17/10 7:42 PM ET
I can't decide what I think about the tone of this article but the issue of the magazine might be worth a look.

NYT article on upcoming plus sized issue of V magazine

Apparently there is a preview of the issue available on Models.com.
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I am going for a level of perfection that is only mine... Most of the pleasure is in getting that last little piece perfect...Inspiration is for amateurs. The rest of us just keep showing up and doing the work.

Chuck Close, painter, printmaker, photographer

Hope has two lovely daughters: Anger and Courage

St. Augustine
  
Member since 7/6/06
Posts: 165
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Posted on: 1/17/10 11:42 PM ET
I thought the tone of the article was very patronizing and sneering. Since when is Plus size Ghetto And Karl Lagerfeld..while I like what he designs, Have you seen what HE wears! And we all know its not just size 2s wearing his clothes! While I found it disturbing to see models proudly showing those "rolls" I struggle so hard to contain and hide after almost 50 years of doctrine that I should be ashamed of them, I was also insprired by their boldness, beauty, and their compelling presences.
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Cathy

"I'm not messy, I'm creative" - Mary Engelbreight
  
Member since 12/19/05
Posts: 738
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Re: Anyone see this in todays New York Times? (posted on 1/18/10 9:17 AM ET)
There was a discussion on a blog recently about why plus-sized models are always shown nude. The discussion boiled down to two theories, trying to show the world that larger women are sexy, too (and in this culture, skin=sexy) and that the magazines' stylists just can't find designer clothes for the models.
  
Member since 11/8/06
Posts: 872
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Re: Anyone see this in todays New York Times? (posted on 1/18/10 11:08 AM ET)
I just wanted to comment that the article is not saying that plus sizes are "ghetto." It says that some people feel the magazine is "ghettoizing" plus sizes by relegating them to a special issue. In this usage, "ghettoizing" refers to diminishing a group by isolating/segregating them from mainstream society.
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I rip what I sew.
  
Member since 11/8/06
Posts: 872
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Posted on: 1/18/10 11:09 AM ET
In reply to cathy45
Quote: cathy45
While I found it disturbing to see models proudly showing those "rolls" I struggle so hard to contain and hide after almost 50 years of doctrine that I should be ashamed of them, I was also insprired by their boldness, beauty, and their compelling presences.

Also, I very much identify with this comment!
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I rip what I sew.
  
Member since 8/31/05
Posts: 945
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Posted on: 1/18/10 12:44 PM ET
My long-held theory on the use of anorexic looking models has two parts: (1) They are easier (and less expensive) to design for because they lack significant curves. It's easy to take a length of fabric and slap it on a curveless dress form. I think some of the designers are just lazy or not skilled enough to design adequately for curvy (that would be normal) women. It takes time and does not easily adapt to CAD systems. Further, it takes more staff to do a lot of detailing, control darting, etc.; and (2) Some of the designers like the boyish or male look and may prefer males in their personal lives. I also wonder if there's a control thing going on as well.

FWIW, I predict that with the return of more detailing, we'll be seeing more realistic models again who can show off those details to a much greater advantage.
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Betwixt mine eye and heart a league is took…. (Shakespeare)
  
Member since 6/22/04
Posts: 4602
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Posted on: 1/18/10 1:21 PM ET
In reply to tlmck3
Quote: tlmck3
Apparently there is a preview of the issue available on Models.com.

I looked that preview, it looks like porn. Is this supposed to be a fashion magazine?

It is nice to see real woman shapes instead of sticks but I wish they had actually put some real clothes on the women.
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Liz

thefittinglife.blogspot.com
  
Member since 9/18/04
Posts: 2373
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Posted on: 1/18/10 2:52 PM ET
"No one wants to see a curvy woman." -- Karl Lagerfeld

I think Karl projects his opinions onto others much too freely. Obviously, Karl Lagerfeld doesn't want to see a curvy woman.

A few years back, Karl (77) went on a near starvation diet so he could wear clothing by his favorite designer, who apparently designs for skinny teen-age boys. There was, of course, a diet book from that experience.
Karl Before
Karl After

Then there's my husband who like his women curvy. Whenever we see one of those Miraculous-Weight-Loss-and-Perfect-Abs-In-Only-Minutes-a-Day-(Results-Not-Typical) ads where they show Before and After photos, he prefers the Before picture.

Somewhere in my internet ramblings, I ran across an article that claims that RTW size 8 and 10 models are now considered Plus Size. !!!!!!!!!

For a fascinating look at the designer fashion industry and the women who actually buy and wear the fashions you see on the runway, watch the documentary "The Secret World of Haute Couture". You can find it in 7 parts on You Tube. You'll see Karl in action. Eccentric is too mild a word to describe him.
You Tube - The Secret World of Haute Couture

CMC
  
Member since 7/11/06
Posts: 926
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Re: Anyone see this in todays New York Times? (posted on 1/18/10 3:06 PM ET)
The photos are very beautiful and shows us the hidden, shamed and forgotten beauty of voluptous women.

(Though I must admit to seeing one were the models were standing pressed against each other - topless - in a way that looked a bit porn-ish. Or a lot porn-ish.)

Don't know why people insist on listening to that nasty old misogynist Karl Lagerfeldt.
  
Member since 10/14/03
Posts: 2589
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Posted on: 1/18/10 9:42 PM ET
I agree, several of the pictures looked like soft core porn. I just don't understand why fashion photographers, or whoever makes these decisions, feel they have to push the envelope sexually to sell clothes.

I agree, also, that it's too bad plus size women can't just be included in fashion without the "look at us, see how we're so sympathetic to the larger woman" business. Aaack!



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If I sewed any slower, I wouldn't be sewing at all.

  
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