Fashion Funhouse Emporium

Guest Blogger: LaShauna Carr - Flowers of "The Brooklyn Diva"

Brooklyn, NY

Usually my husband isn't interested in my online browsing adventures.

Last night I told him he had to take a look at this V magazine spread. He took a viewing break from "Family Guy" and was treated to a view of pretty plus sized models. "Wow, they finally got some regular thick girls modeling." He said as we browsed the rest of the photos shot by Solve Sundsbo. Then he returned to Peter Griffin.

I had to look at the photos again and again. It's a rare opportunity for me to see shapely women in high fashion spreads. It reminded me of when I was a pre-teen and studied Tyra Banks Covergirl Ads; I was excited to see a black woman smiling back at me. Now there are models of all colors and apparently sizes.

I was a chubby kid and transformed myself to a thick chick in high school. I'm from East NY Brooklyn and being "Thick" is good. Thick is big thighs, round butt and if your lucky, big boobs too. A little belly is ok too, I mean come on you gonna have a little extra something to go with the other goodies.

I had all of the goods and all the guys as a teen. When I got to college I was always annoyed that most of the females were either complaining about being fat or dieting. Soon I began dieting and complaining. I took aerobics and moved off campus away from the dining halls.

When I graduated and started working in the world of fashion and theater, I always stood out because of my shape and confidence. I accepted my body and ate Hot Pockets for lunch while the other fashion editorial interns ate salad. I wore a pair of control top panty hose for leg support while I shoved actresses into long line bras and Spanx.

In an industry of thin obsessed women, I became a happy thick chick and admired for the way I loved the my "Thickness". Looking at the models on my computer screen was like looking at myself one year ago.

Having a baby made my stomach soft and covered with stretchmarks. So what?  They have a little crease in the back...that's Hot! That's normal! Starving yourself to look like Kate Moss is not normal (I'd rather look like Beyonce in 2002). Will we see more photo spreads like this? Probably, I believe to only sell more magazines since the Industry is hurting.

I think some other publication will feature transgendered models. It will be on "Inside Edition" and "Extra" as controversial, we will flock to the newsstands and internet, and the cycle will repeat.

Photo: Sølve Sundsbø for V Magazine

Be sure to check out LaShauna's own blog, The Brooklyn Diva!

V Magazine's Size Issue is not out until January 14, but I wanted to start the conversation now.  What do real women really think of  this spread? Im sure you don't want to hear only my opinions on the subject. That's why I'm recruiting guest bloggers to do their thing.  In part 2, my sister says what she thinks.  Note, that I posted my commentary after I got her submission and before I read hers.

Guest Blogger : Alea Guerra, Las Vegas, NV

Welcome one and all, students of fashion and faux paux alike, I'm about to talk about the V Magazine"Size Issue." Now, yes, I know what you're thinking, Mama always said, "It's not the size of the ship, but the motion of the ocean." However, at this junction, I think it may be even more about the size of the splash you're making.

It seems as of late, whoever is bold enough to show "average" girls gets the newspot. V has taken it one step further. They've solidified their place with the first real "big girl" shoot, "Curves Ahead."

These girls are beautiful, they are large, but was it really done in taste? There is a certain sex appeal that comes with curves. I think these women's bodies made the clothes look more oversexed. I mean, they are designed for little boy shaped models. This issue feels more like a fetish spread to me than a fashion shoot. I understand the art of the nudity and duality of the shots, but these girls can carry it off in more clothes, and certainly don't need to look like they're about to bump uglies to make the art and style point.

I'm not saying they need to wear nun habits, but was as that little gray number really worth it? Please, don't get the wrong impression, I'm well on the way to becoming a plus size myself, but really? Would you ever? (wear it)-

In drastic contrast, the "One Size Fits All" section screamed of the classic high fashion nerve and spunk that the high fashion consumer craves. Think about it though, this girl is plus sized in the model world.  Yes.  But, her dimensions would be considered downright hot in the land of ordinary people. The photos do a terrific job making the statement about the negligible effect of size on true fashion. They pulled this one off, thumbing their nose at traditional fashion hangers of skin and bone, while pushing the style. Bravo.

Barrio Gotico? Great artsy shots, terrific local, gets the other extreme of the size issue across, but it's been done. It is the token traditional shoot of this issue.

Enough dissection of the premise, onto the real meat of the issue. Why are fashion mags now gearing toward the average and plus sized crowd? Do they want us to feel better about our bodies? Eh, Please. Are designers trying to find a wider market? Maybe. Is V trying to sell more issues by pleasing the ever-expanding majority? Very Possible. The most likely scenario, however, is it's all just a big fat fad. It's who can get the most press today, followed by some more of the same tomorrow. Only time will give us our most honest answer.

So who cares why they're doing it, right? How do we, the consumers feel about it? Lets get a little background on your columnist. I was a fat kid, waa waa waa, I know. Do need to bring you all back to that age? Pimples, trauma, weird clothes, trauma, poor family, trauma, fat kid, quadruple threat. Crash dieting down to 125 lbs at one point, and struggling to maintain, unsuccessfully, I might add, this unsustainable goal- Yeah, I had some body issues.

Does this issue make me feel any better about my body? No. I see fat and even obese people daily, and no, I do not smile inside and feel better. Do I feel any safer buying high fashion clothing after seeing it on models closer to my size? Look fashion world, it's pretty to look at, but if someone is afraid to take a risk to begin with or is uncomfortable in their own skin, I doubt that you'll make a convert by showing someone else's rolls in print.

I have to admit, it is refreshing getting a break from the inundation of scary skinny girls gracing the pages of my favorite mags. I almost feel like it gives me permission to eat a potato chip today, but don't worry, I'll freak out again tomorrow. Do I really want to see this on a regular basis? I'll be frank. I have no desire to see unsexy rolls in fashion rags.  Love handles are cool, but please airbrush out the double chins and cellulite, make the curves more consistent, and dress these poor girls in clothes that don't cause muffin tops.

I don't think we need to sell fat to the public, we've bought it by bushel from McCorporations already. After the initial shock of seeing normal sized people in the fashion world wears off, and if this is indeed more than a passing fad, I suggest the mags focus less on size and take it back to the original purpose, FASHION.

Don't look for validation in a fashion shoot, love yourself, buy what you like, and demand what you want, whatever it may be. This is your average girl, in the middle, signing out.

Huffington Post got their paws on more photos of V Magazine's Size Issue.

Photo: Huffington Post via V Magazine (Photographer Solve Sundsbo for V Magazine)

If you thought the the Great Weight Debate of 2009 was a fleeing issue, it's not going away at the start of 2010.

What I'm interested in knowing, is not just how I feel about magazines like Glamour, Germany's Brigitte, and V Magazine doing "Size Issues" and recruiting "real women" but what the real women in settings other than my own, the women these spreads are saying they portray. How do they actually feel about these fashion spreads.

As an insider in the fashion industry, and as someone who has always been the media and society's standard of thin, my thoughts likely vary from what other women have to say on the subject.

PART 1

Photo: Terry Richardson for V Magazine, via Vmagazine.com

In Part 1 of this blog, here is my take as someone who is 5'7" and 120lbs.

I reached a my current and steady weight when I was about 16 years old. Certain girls in my high school started rumors that I was anorexic.  I've been an open target for unsolicited criticism because thin people are thought to be lucky, I suppose. "Did you loose weight? Have you gotten thinner? Do you eat? We need to fatten you up!"

I've heard all the standards, said directly to my face and not behind my back.  It's taboo to insult a woman who is considered overweight.  Somehow, for the thin, these words are not supposed to be offensive:  "I wan't to feed you a sandwich. Eat another piece of cake, you can use it." and "You look emaciated! Eat!"

My father was "under -weight" according to those doctors's old school charts. My own childhood doctors feared I was suffering of malnutrition.  I have a small frame and yes, a "lucky" metabolism. But, I am cautious of what I eat. If I eat a giant muffin for breakfast, that's my bakery intake for the day. I rarely drink sodas. I didn't say NEVER. I am not the picture of perfect health, thats certain. Yet, I do attempt to balance my meals.  While I don't want to put on pounds, I also don't want to die of some wretched disease. Cancers and diabetes run in my family genes.

A friend I hadn't seen in a year came to visit me. The first thing she said to me is "Oh, did you gain weight?" I said "I don't think" She replied, "Good, because you were gross skinny before."  I was the same as I'd always been, not any more or less.

I was working in an office and there was a bagel and cream cheese birthday breakfast. I already ate my morning muffin.  When I passed on eating the chunk of bread they were offering, my boss kept badgering me. "Are you sure you don't want one?  You look like you need to eat. You probably didn't eat breakfast, right?" Other co-workers came by, "How come you're not having a bagel?" Because Im not hungry, I don't want a f*cking bagel!

Another incident when I was working at a fashion magazine, happy to discover that I finally had taken my measurements and discovered why I can never find the correct pants size, I said to my boss, "I finally figured out why all of my pants are too big."  Before I could tell her that I was like most other women who fall in between off-the-rack cookie cutter sizes, she said in an accusatory tone "Yea, why DONT your pants fit?" There has always been this assumption by others that because of my size I'm have unhealthy eating habits.

Conversely, the same boss and I were working on a shoot which we needed to find sizes for the editor in chief's front of the book photo. Thoughtlessly, I kept blurting out, "There's no way she's a size 30 jeans! These are huge!"  As it turns out, my boss was also a size 30, and she was not at all "huge." She pointed out that because of my size, I "see the world in miniatures."

Neither of our comments were intended to be malicious, but it shows different perspectives on sizes. Some of you may read this and are saying to yourself in a sarcastic tone "Oh, being thin is sooo hard!"  My intention is not to have readers take pity on my bony soul.

As I see this V magazine spread, however, I do fear for my "skinny" little ass.  If these shoots become a regular occurrence and manage to change the landscape of  how women's bodies are portrayed in fashion, will this make me more of a target to insensitive remarks and force feedings? The point is we all judge each other and sometimes, its unfair. Is it my business what anyone else eats for lunch? We are not clones of each other.

All of my narcissistic concerns aside, should there be more "size issues" or should all issues contain  the various shapes of us all?  Is this just a novelty which will go away when the cash registers start chiming again?  Surely during a recession, magazines and retailers are looking for ways to gather a wider audience- no pun intended.

Is this a beneficial step in conquering body image issues and eating disorders?  Are we blaming the correct people (media) and taking the appropriate actions?

What about different faces?  Barbie is pretty, but what about crooked teeth and bulbous noses?  If the fashion world were to shake up the perception of beauty, would the fantasy of obtaining perfection exist?  Would the same women who are advocating for "real women" still buy magazines with the same fervor?

There is no doubt that the women in the above photos look pretty damn sexy. If this type of editorial is here to stay, however, I think we need to proceed with caution.  We can't just promote fat rolls, we can't just promote skin and bones.

While the fashion world tries to dig itself out of the ideal image mess it created, for me, it will be interesting to see "if these every body is beautiful" style spreads will spark real change in the women vs women culture we've become accustomed to. Will we finally accept our  own shapes? Will ladies stop putting down other ladies? (I doubt.)  And finally, for an industry that has detoured away from art and into strictly selling, will the women they target start buying if they see themselves reflected in advertising and on glossy pages?

Will we ever be able to make a distinction between art, fantasy and commercial? Should we?  Is there a way to make a separation when making art that can be worn on the body?  I think lumps in a garment where they aren't intended to be takes away from the design of the piece. I certainly work in this industry because its pretty. Its not bombs, blood and death. It's doesn't look or dress like me. Its fantasy. I'm essentially the equivalent of a "trekkie" or an avid professional sports fan, only my interest lies in clothing an accessories,some are which are available to me, some are not.

Last, I showed my boyfriend the V magazine photoshoot and asked "what do you think?"  Other than one or two photos that he felt were too retouched,  he said "they're all hot." (I am sure he was not saying this just to impress me, we've been together for so long that  we're beyond that point)

When coming upon the all nude model, he said "NICE!". So there you go ladies.