Friday, August 13, 2010

Friend Friday: Size

For this week's edition of Friend Friday, Katy is asking questions about body size. Considering the wide range of body shapes and sizes in the style blogging community, I think this is a fascinating subject and I can't wait to see some of the other bloggers' answers!

1. Should someone's size stop them from fashion blogging or having a voice in the community?  
Absolutely not! I can think of several women who are bigger than me (well, I'm short so that doesn't take much) and several women who are teeny tiny, and I feel like they all have such fabulous style! The style blogging community would be sorely lacking without their contributions which have NOTHING at all to do with their size.  
 
2. In your opinion, can the term "curvy" and "plus-sized" be used interchangeably when it comes to fashion?
I don't think so.  I think that a lot of women who aren't plus sized are still curvy.  Curves have nothing to do with what size clothing you wear. Curves have more to do with your body shape. 
 
3.  Many people make the argument that catering to plus sized women would promote being overweight as "okay".  What do you think?  Should more designers be catering to plus size women?
I think designers should cater to plus size women as much as they cater to any other size.  Designers don't have the right to regulate the size of women and should consider it their jobs as designers to give ALL women the ability to feel fabulous in their clothing.  
 
4.  Should the mainstream fashion industry be showcasing more plus size models?
Absolutely. There are so many plus size women that are drop dead gorgeous! Size has nothing to do with style.  Size may affect a person's confidence, which in turn affects how that person dresses, but there are people who are confident in who they are regardless of their body size, who let their style shine, and those are the people who should be modeling!

5. For you personally, how do you view your size, the struggle with it through the years, your ideal size, etc...
I've always had issues with my weight.  I was overweight most of my life and lived in the shadow of my older brother, who was involved in all sorts of sports, captain of the swim team, Mr. Popular and I felt horrible next to him.  I felt like my friends were only friends with me so they could come over and see him. As I grew up and started exercising, I did start losing the weight - but I also got into the entertainment business where most of my friends are entertainers (and still are - although now I'm a mom with a desk job) so I am constantly comparing myself to these beautiful, thin, "perfect" girls.  After I had my daughter it was a HUGE struggle to lose the baby weight.  After working so hard at it, I'm terrified of gaining the weight back so I get nervous when I think I may have gained a few pounds. But that's just me. I have a lot of other issues to work through, too!

So to my readers who don't participate in Friend Friday, I'm really interested to hear your thoughts on this too.  Let me know what you think in the comments.

10 comments:

  1. Hi Melissa....great post!! I agree...catering to plus sized people would not promote being "overweight". It gives EVERYONE the freedom to wear what they want and more choices that they do not have as of right now as far as fashion.
    Its just a personal struggle for many people..... and BTW..I think you..look great!!

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  2. I so agree that the style blogging community would be lacking without the contributions of all the bloggers regardless or their size

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  4. Edited for grammar:

    I tried typing a million different ways to really explain why designers CAN'T carry all shapes and sizes of clothing - It really boils down to the fact that there's no logical way they can make every one happy. It's great when they try, but there's always some outcry how it's not good enough.

    I'm thrilled to blog-follow someone of ANY size with fabulous fashionable taste.

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  5. You're so right!

    The fashion community would not be fabulous if we didn't have the opinion of all types of women! We can all learn from each other and that's the important thing!

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  6. Glad I found this topic on your post today. I really needed to write about these things and I agree, 100% with everything you've said.

    You look wonderful and you ARE wonderful, no matter what. Remember it.

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  7. Love your answer to #4: 'Size has nothing to do with style. Size may affect a person's confidence...' It is SO true.

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  8. great answers!
    "Designers don't have the right to regulate the size of women and should consider it their jobs as designers to give ALL women the ability to feel fabulous in their clothing." No truer statement could be made on the topic.

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  9. Thanks so much for this thoughtful post, Melissa. And I am so appreciative that the blogging community includes women of all shapes and sizes, which allows readers to see how various pieces can work similarly or differently on a number of different people.

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  10. I think we all agree that any designer who specifically omits certain sizes (I do realize that the teeny tiny sizes are hard to find too!) is really doing themselves a HUGE disservice!

    Considering how long women have been around, you'd think designers would've smartened up by now. Women have been around a LONG time. :)

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