Plus-Size Model Crystal Renn Brings the Quote of the Day
December 26, 2009 in Beauty & Body Image, Celebrity Quotes, Crystal Renn, Hot Models by Versus
‘I’d love to see [the fashion industry] open their eyes to the variety of women. That variety is what’s beautiful.
Current sample sizes that models are all expected to fit into are ridiculous – a US size zero or British size 4 is the standard. They should go up to a British size 16.
‘I’m not saying all models should be size 16, but bigger dresses can be pinned and adjusted, while tiny size zero clothes can’t really be changed. It means all these models starve themselves, like I did, to fit them.’
Plus-size model Crystal Renn
What do you guys think about her statement?
she looks good
I totally agree that there should be a variety; not only size zero models can be beautiful, curvier women are pretty and sexy as well. It’s so refreshing to see some meatier women in the ads, I think it makes us, women, feel more comfortable with ourselves. I also believe that such models like Crystal send a positive message to all the girls who pursue a super thin physique saying that beauty comes in different sizes and shapes.
By the way, I think she looks super hot here!
She speaks a world of sense – a bigger range of sample sizes would mean a bigger range of models. Generally, a UK 4 is NOT a good size for a tall woman. there are very, very few women who are like that are like that naturally. I believe what she says about most models starving themselves to fit the sample sizes. Sure, there will be the odd few who are extremely slender (I’ve seen a few girls in real life who are tiiiiiiiiiiiiiny and tall, and believe me it IS entirely genetic, one of them ate like a horse!)
And don’t any of you dare try to tell me that ‘fat women’ arent made to model. 1. a model between a UK 4 and a UK 16 is very rarely fat, especially when the said model is near 6ft tall. A tall woman can look thin and be a 12-14 quite easily. 2. Modelling is entirely a social construct, and can be changed and evolve with time. being tiny doesnt have to be a requirement if we don’t want it to be. most of the 19th century saw models ( actresses, really) with voluptous figures, and the first 30 years of the 20th century saw quite soft, curvy figures (bar the 20′s, but even then the models werent anywhere near as skinny as we have them now)
I totally agree with you. Most people want to see a wider variety of shapes and sizes in modelling and the media as a whole. There will always be people that prefer models to be very thin but it is a misconception that clothes can’t look just as good (if not more so) on curvier people. There is also a difference between using thin models and emaciated ones.
I don’t think anyone can deny that there is this growing pressure or obsession with weight and being thin, especially in young girls. The only way I see this changing is to start with the designers and sample size issue as it all seems to stem from there and ends up being self perpetuating.
Larger sample sizes =
* Less pressure on models to be as thin as possible —> models feel they can be at their natural weight rather than starving themselves into the tiny samples.
* Agencies would then consider representing a wider variety of figures and sending these models to the castings.
* Designers would then have a wider choice of models to choose from. If the client wants emaciated then I guess agencies can cater for that but at least there would be a viable, healthier alternative.
* We would then see healthier models on the runway and the curvier celebraties would be able to wear these designs which would all filter down into the media.
* Eventually this might change people’s perceptions of what is and isn’t healthy.
As Crystal rightly says, clothes can be pinned or made smaller. I don’t believe that crap about it being too expensive to make clothes bigger. Maybe in couture if you are making it out of gold or something but the amount of profit these designers make, I am sure they can afford a couple of inches extra fabric. They also have a social and moral responsibility too.
Bottom line. Most people do not want to see anorexic, emaciated models anymore. Those that do have either been brainwashed into thinking this is attractive/nomal/healthy OR are suffering from an eating disorder.
Jenna, your comments made me think of a website I saw a couple of years ago, but I don’t remember what the name of it is
Basically, it is about what you said about sample sizes, and it has a video that shows the well known models from a couple of decades ago and how they would be called “fat” now, and women doing a narrative about how they aren’t represented anymore in regular modeling because they are “too big”. Anyone have any inkling as to what site I’m talking about?
I’m 50/50 with what she’s saying.
It is very uncommon for a woman to be that size naturally, and woman of all shapes are beautiful.
On the other hand, a woman shouldn’t have a waist above 32 inches, as it starts to get unhealthy… With a UK Size 16, the waist is above that.
If models started getting larger, then more ‘larger’ people would find it acceptable to look that way… I’m not sure if that even makes sense now!
actually, a UK 16 is a 32 inch waist. And The waist size thing is totally relative. A 5ft woman with a 32 inch waist is not the same as a 6ft woman with a 32 inch waist.
Its not a hard and fast rule, height and bone structure will affect the waist size, as well as distribution of weight.
Having larger models is fine, because it SHOULD be acceptable to look bigger than a UK 4. Don’t throw that bullcrap around.
I completely agree with you H.
Yes, I know it’s not acceptable for me to be the size I am. But no, I will NOT feel that I am acceptable if they started using more models between the regular size model and Crystal Renn’s size. Using different and bigger size models than the current standard isn’t going to tell women to be and/or stay unhealthy big, mainly because the sizes Crystal stated are still in the healthy range. But you know what it might do? It might give the larger ladies a more realistic goal to look forward to when they see larger than tiny women being held up as beuatiful, abel, and acceptable to model/wear fashion. What’s the point of a larger woman trying to get smaller if the smallest she may be able to get down to is still “significantly” larger than what is now being shown to be the beautiful, able, and acceptable woman to model/wear fashion? Yes, I know she should be doing for it health reasons, but when it comes to fashion and modeling, when do they actually use “healthy” as a requirement for “what looks good”? o.O Let the larger ladies know that they can look good and be healthy at the same time, if they see “larger”(and HEALTHY sized) models, I don’t understand how that will tell them to stay larger and unhealthy and that it is acceptable for them to stay that way.
With most models looking as thin as they do…with this image portrayed as beautiful..there are so so many fat people…now imagine what portraying the plus-size figure as beautiful would do to society…people would think that it is okay to look over-weight..or at least chubby or big…
Why should the point be for women to feel comfortable with their bodies..even when they are really over-weight and don’t look all that good..why should that be the point?
What I mean is if curvy or blump is portrayed as beautiful…if most models look big…just so that big women would feel comfortable with their own bodies…this is really sad…there are already so many big or over-weight women..even though thin is in…and most models who are considered beautiful are so thin..
This is just as bad as the size zero figure I think…
On another point I think some people have mentioned before…not all women are able to have the weight distributed all over their bodies this good..like Crystal..
She is beautiful but..
You know..normal guys..normal women..normal people don’t really believe that size zero is attractive..
but… I never want to have a 32 inches size waist…
People should work hard on being in the best shape they can be…looking unpleasant and being depressed about it and complaining about how the society and other people are mean or cruel to them…without doing anything to change that or even wanting to make an effort…those people do not really have my respect
I’m with you on this!
I agree. I think women look at the size (Oh she’s a size 12, like me) and don’t consider the fact that A) she’s really tall, B) she has really unrealistic fat distribution/amount compared to most women who are size 12 and who will have unhealthy fat.
I’m all for women feeling better about themselves, even the most obese and the most anorexic (otherwise, if they didn’t love their body why would they want to get healthy?) but I don’t think the media should be a mirror to hold up either. I do feel models should be ideal, whether a size 2 ideal or a size 10 ideal.
“Why should the point be for women to feel comfortable with their bodies..even when they are really over-weight and don’t look all that good..why should that be the point?”
This is sad that you wrote this, on so many levels. It’s sad that you feel that people should hate themselves, which is the vicious cycle that leads them into unhealthy patterns in the first place.
People are not obese because they love themselves too much. It takes a certain amount of self-love to begin to treat yourself in a loving way, by eating proper foods and exercising regularly. A clothing designer making a size 0 dress has nothing to do with that.
I can’t believe that so many people believe the idiocy of people starving themselves to fit clothes, rather than insisting that clothes fit THEM.
I completely agree with you. We shouldn’t be made to feel that we have to conform to something that is not natural for us. If you’re naturally thin or naturally plump (by natural I mean you’re moderately active, eat decent and fall at a certain weight) then that is the way you are. You shouldn’t feel that there is something wrong with you b/c you don’t fit into a mold some person has created from an industry that is BASED on you feeling crappy with yourself. I’ve been fighting this battle for some time now. Right now I’m 5’9 and 147 pounds. My measurements are 34DD-27.5-38. Most people would say I’m fine but I used to think I was fight and there are days where I still do. Why, for a variety of reasons, but one of them being b/c I’m bombarded by pictures and media of women who are my height and are like 27 pounds lighter who are considered the “absolute” or the norm. It’s ridiculous.
Annie, you’re beautiful. So well said. As someone who has went from a size (American) 12 to a size 6 I can say that I did try to make myself feel bad about myself. I tried to pressure myself into losing weight. And you know what, it didn’t work. It just made me miserable and as a result I stayed indoors and ate more. Then I started getting love and attention from friends and family and I started to feel better about myself. I started to hone in on my skills and realize what I was good at. As a result, it boosted my self esteem and THAT’S when I lost the weight because, as Annie has pointed out, it was only until I loved myself enough that I was able to give my body the attention that it needed.
I agree with the point she made about VARIETY! Also, what she said about sample sizes made a lot of sense, too…you CAN always pin or alter clothes to make them smaller, but making them bigger is a lot harder.
Variety like that recent pic of Salma Hayek in that teal dress would be good. I’m sure she’s not a size 0, and she looked stunning.
But those “one size fits all” pictures were not a good kind of variety, in my opinion. Crystal does look a little overweight to me (in other pictures where you can see her body better). Maybe starving herself messed up her metabolism.
she is a plus size??? Anyway I am all for MEDIUM!!! People seem to forgot that category, you are either “plus size” or size double zero/ zero…
exactly! shapes and sizes aren’t black and white! when we want to see real women in magazines, it’s just someone who has some meat on their bones, but is still perfectly healthy and normal weight!
Hm, is she trying to say that models should be all shapes? She always talks about this.
Models should be in a variety of ranges. There are some people that I believe are just naturally bigger. Even when they eat right and exercise they just appear larger. Like me I have a curvy body type and a large body frame so although I’m overweight now by 50 pounds (I’m working on losing the weight) when I do get smaller I will still look bigger comparatively next to most of these models and I don’t think that’s right.
Agree, although I don’t think mainstream models should go above a US size 10, just like I don’t think models should go below a US size 2. You can have specialty models for sizes outside that range.
Also, just because she starved herself doesn’t mean everyone did. I hate when people assume that everyone is like they are.
I’ve made the personal decision to just not buy clothes from designers who have a size zero obsession. It may not be much, but they sure won’t be getting my money.
The labels that are the ones that are advocating size 0 models don’t care about what the average person thinks. Why? Because they are not catering to the average person. They are catering to the fashion and financially elite. These labels cost $10 000 upwards for a jacket (then if we are talking haute couture, it’s anywhere between $30 000 and a $100 000 for a dress). Personally, I can’t see your average american and generally overweight housewife wanting to wear these clothes (and most could never afford to). And it’s these clothes that are being advertised in Vogue with the “skinny” models. In this case, I don’t think that they should have to use larger models because larger women aren’t their target audience. When it comes to these clothes, it’s not as simple as “making them in a bigger size”. A lot are made by hand, and can take 100′s of hours to do, and they are also made of expensive materials. The bigger the person, the more material and work that goes in to the dress, and thus it costs A LOT more to make (i’d say more than doubling the cost and time involved).
It all sounds extreme, but it is a fantasy world. Go look at say the Jak & Jill blog- these people who buy from these designers live a different life to us. Flicking through the pages of Vogue for most of us though is a mere breif escape from reality. We can imagine, just for a moment, such an indulgent and luxury life where our biggest worry is obtaining the latest pair of LV shoes.
It isn’t high fashion we should be targeting with our “variety” finger- its the middle and lower designers and magazines. A lot of them already do use more “normal” shaped models, but they could definitely use even bigger girls, and different heights. These brands are the ones that are catering to the average woman, so as such it would make sense for them to appeal to more “average” figures. I guess you could say that they are targeting to the “real person”, because these people are looking at items objectively, and wanting it for themselves, as opposed to high fashion (which uses the super skinny models that apparently aren’t real women according to a lot of the people on this forum.)
I find models like Daria & Stam exceptionally beautiful, there faces are much more striking than Crsytals. But hey, I’m happy to be me, because we should accept ourselves for we who are and not look to anyone to validate our existence or to make us feel better about our insecurities.
Neutra, I find your comment to be one of the most well thought out posts I’ve read in a while. You’ve really changed my opinion on things.
You are right about the middle designers are the ones we should be targeting, but also I will say this: while the top designers expect only the very rich to buy their designs, they also influence the whole of the fashion world. What they design is what influences what is in our shops the next season. What colours, shapes, styles, cuts of clothing, materials and accessories they choose and create dictates what ends up in H&M, topshop etc.
They infuence fashion. Thus, they influence the people on the streets. Its all around us, we live and breathe it because we want to, or because we have to. Fashion is horrendously important in our culture, and only people who go against the grain ignore it.
Fashion includes that skinny ideal. Its not about health with fashion, it never was and never will be. The desired is what is the least available, and right now, the least available is an extremely emaciated figure. There are plenty of healthy people out there, who eat well and are passionate about their excercise and sport. They, the healthiest of us, are hardly EVER as thin as fashion tells them to be, unless they are genetically set so.
As for sample sizes, making a sample size that is one, or even two sizes bigger than the 0 models are forced into is hardly twice as much work. The difference is minimal.
I will also say this: The top designers shoot themselves in the foot by focussing on only the richest and thinnest. Its an incredibly small market, relatively, and I’m pretty sure there are some very rich fat people around. There’s also the high-earners who arent so wealthy but would willingly invest in a few good designer pieces. Designers DON’T earn enough from just wealthy clients, actually. Its an incredibly small and insular world up there in the lofty heights of society.
They don’t do their job, when they refuse to design for people who arent ideal. They miss out on opportunities because their blind hatred of the non-skinny prevents them from accepting work (there was a designer who was hired to design some opera costumes, but refused to design for part of the cast because they were too big for her tastes. The company subsequently hired model-thin replacements who COULDNT SING. they should have just sacked her, and one day pulling a stunt like that WILL result in that.)
she’s so beutiful…
feminine… a real woman 2 me…
I can appreciate that it is difficult to make smaller dresses large enough to fit, but it isn’t easy to adjust bigger clothes to fit smaller bodies either. Especially if they are petite (short). Not only may one need to take in the waist, but also shorten hems, move the position of the knee and alter the rise in trousers, fiddle with the back, raise the armholes, shorten the sleeves in tops and dresses… If you don’t fit into what’s considered ‘average’ you can easily spend a fortune on altering clothes to look normal instead of ridiculous. Yes, there are speciality stores in places, but they either look like they’re for teenagers or for elderly women.
I don’t think every model is starving themselves. Just because that was her experience, it doesn’t mean every other model is having an identical one.
I think it is all relative to each person. What is a healthy weight for me may not be healthy for you. We are different heights, have different bone structures. To put each person into a specific mold is ridiculous.
being a certain may be unhealthy for certain people, but that doesn’t mean they can’t deserve to look good and dress up and wear fashionable clothing! that IS discrimination “just because you’re overweight, you can’t wear hot clothes”. yes, being overweight is unhealthy, and it’s not something that should be advocated (which NO one is doing here), but if you’re healthy person – why do you care if someone else, you don’t even know is overweight? there are so many unhealthy habits people have, like smoking (im just giving an example here). i am sure plenty of models smoke, but no one says ‘she shouldn’t model because she smokes and that’s unhealthy’ but there are so many that say ‘she’s overweight, that’s unheathy, so she shouldn’t model’ or even worse, a model just having a higher bmi (but still healthy!) some people say she shoudn’t model. and no matter what, you have to admit that there are plenty of models who are underweight and are not naturally skinny, that’s unhealthy too! so why can they stay, but plus size models can’t?
modeling is about grace and carry yourself. and if an overweight women can do that better than anyone else, she should deserve to have an opportunity to model in the industry just like any other woman!
when women say they find relief in seeing models their own size, it isn’t because they look up to them and copy everything they do. it’s just because they get assurance that they can look hot in fashionable clothing too. you can still look hot and be a big girl! so for those of you who are saying “if we start seeing overweight models, then everyone is going to think being overweight it okay.”, that is so untrue. we are not advocating for plus size models only, we just want variety! (at least that is how i feel) all models of all different sizes – because that is how we are. i am not saying eliminate skinny models either. some girls are just built tiny nd can never get larger than a size 2. some girls are just built larger, they have larger bones and their waistline can never be smaller than a certain number.
The models (RUNWAY MODELS) are modeling the CLOTHES… NOT THEMSELVES. The clothes look better with particular proportions. People take it so damned personally that they don’t look like the model… but it isn’t about them.
totally. when you wanna sell something you want to present them as good as you can. also it is much easier for designers to make their clothes when all the models are the same size.
I guess when people here things like “Clothes look better on thin women”(when someone is explaining why models have to be so thin now, when models weren’t always so thin), I can see why women take it personally that they don’t look like the models.
To be honest, I don’t really care what size models are used. I don’t even pay attention to them. I can generally tell whether something will suit me based on the shape of the clothing. Since I’m quite out of proportion (short and slim with huge boobs), neither plus size nor regular models show my body type, so it doesn’t matter to me.
Having said that, it would make sense for designers to use models that sell their clothes the best. If that’s skinny, then they should go for that. If it’s obese, then they should do that. Suggesting anything else defeats the purpose of using the model in the first place.
She is gorgeous. She is not “plus size”. She looks like a normal, healthy woman. Why do we have to call any model over a size 2, plus size? Plus size is 16 u.s. and up. She looks maybe 12-14?
She’s gorgeous
Annie,it is plain logic..if a woman never watches what she eats..and never works out and just eats and eats and eats ..with no concerns at all..while there are people who work hard to have a healthy figure or maintain a good-looking one…isn’t it unfair that with the existence of the plus-size models and with the industry’s goal be to make the first type of women comfortable with their bodies…while they do not even try…
That is what I meant by asking ” why should that be the point? ” .. I guess I could have said it better…
Also if you look at it from another point…now the big women would feel comfortable with their bodies,right? how about the thin/slim/skinny people..? they are people,too,you know..and it matters that they feel good about themselves just like the big women..
At the end of it,beauty is in the eye of the beholder…
Hahaha!
I hope your comments are meant to be this funny….and you post them just to annoy people….
Im not a ‘size 0′, I work hard at the gym 4 times a week, and watch what i eat…i guess some people are just naturally big, like some people are naturally skinny (and short/busty/flatchested/balled/blonde etc…)
haha, like all bigger people does noting but “eat, eat eat…”
you’re funny
Crystal Renn IS PLUS-SIZE???????????????? ARE U SERIOUS??? LMFAO! Ppl don’t have a clue about what PLUS-SIZE IS!
Ah. Yet we will never hear a model advocating the use of more diminutive sized models, as there are no short fashion models around. It’s simply not the battle of current models.
what about kate moss, she’s short….
Crystal Renn has a size 32 in. waist..like me. However, your hips should be about 10 in bigger and you have a healthy waist-to-hip ration. I’m a bigger girl and I love it. I look young, womanly, and healthy. I’m about a size 12. I used to hate my body because I thought Kate Moss was the ideal, but like Renn, I’ve learned to accept myself. I exercise and eat healthily (vegetarian).
I will never starve myself.
32 in. waist and 43 in. hips ftw!
I think shes absolutely right
I also think she is one of the most beautiful women i have seen in a long time.
you go girl!
refreshingly stunning.
if i looked like her, i would be more than happy to gain weight!
I dont no why we have to call these women plus size models because they are just normally healthy looking women there is nothing plus about them they just arent twigs!