I found this picture in the NY Times coverage of the Fall 2007 Calvin Klein runway show. I have found a connection between traffic congestion (and climate change) and fashion. How far can you walk with those shoes? How did wasteful behavior become the fashionable standard and the practical become outre? How many shoes made for walking does the great Manolo praise? "Manolo loves the shoes", unless they are made for walking. Those are objects of ridicule.
Back to Calvin Klein. I do love the clean lines of this combo. The pockets are a nice, subtle detail. Even though the model is incredibly thin and I have the dimensions of a mere mortal, I think it would look good on me. The Calvin Klein silhouette is traditionally quite slim. I have a collection of CK skirt patterns from the 1990s. I shortened them to just above the knee and made four styles in various light and medium weight Italian wool remnants I bought at Denver Fabrics. I still receive compliments every time I wear them.
I do love, love this dress from the Anne Klein Fall 2007 collection. The neckline detail is so awesome. I have been a big Isabel Toledo fan since the 1980s, when she partnered with Vogue Patterns. Her pockets are to die for.Digression
Much ink has been spilled about the skinniness of the current crop of models. I thought it was no big deal; models have always been skinny relative to the general population. But, I didn't realize just how skinny they had become. My eyes had become slowly adjusted to a very unhealthy image.
The industry has proposed a minimum BMI of 18 or 19 for models. Does that mean there are working models below that threshold? I recall reading about the heights and weights of the glamazons of the 1990s. They were about a BMI of 20.
Tyra Banks said in this AP article that she is 5'10" and was 140 pounds when she posed on the cover of Sports Illustrated 10 years ago. She reprised the bikini photo at 161 pounds today. If you look at a BMI chart, she had a healthy BMI of 20 then; today, her BMI is a healthy 23 despite all the articles about her so-called plumpness.
I have been watching the first season of America's Next Top Model on DVD (I know, Netflix does odd things to a person) and found it fascinating in a sick way.
ReplyDeleteTyra is much larger than all but one of the "hopefuls" she is judging, but looks much healthier. None of the "hopefuls" except for one who was targeted for "plus size modeling" weighed more than about 125 at 5'10 and taller, with the thinnest being 114. It is possible that they are just "freaks of nature" and are naturally that way, in which case they should be left alone about it and not penalized.
I also think BMI is a pretty worthless indicator as it doesn't take into account muscle mass (% of body fat) and bone structure. If you have bigger bones (truly) and a tendency toward a higher muscle to fat ratio, you are likely to fall on the high side of normal or low side of overweight on the BMI scale, while wearing a size 4 or 6. Ask me how I know.
The point of a runway model is not to be an example of beauty for the real world woman. It is to be a hanger for the clothing. The point of the clothing is not to be wearable by the average woman in everyday life. It is to present the designer's artistic vision.
ReplyDeleteThere is zero connection between runway fashion and reality, so if designers want tall, skinny girls to model their fantasy clothing, it doesn't really bother me. As an average-sized woman, I can appreciate a lovely spread in Vogue but I shop at Banana Republic.
I am glad, though, that Tyra is gracefully transitioning to a healthier image and a new role in the industry. She sets an example of style and grace.
Today, someone told me his wife got a new job practically round the corner from their home. I asked if she walked to work.
ReplyDeleteHe said, "No, she drives. She has to wear high heels."