Friday, September 11, 2009

Plus-Size For Me Is Plus-Hot (+ Crystal Renn)

As some of you may know, I am a big fan of fashion. But I am not such a fan of the fashion industries single-minded, outdated obsession with being dangerously thin and unhealthy. Some may argue that this trend is slowly dying out, but that just isn't so. Small steps do not equal actual progress until models on the runway start looking more like healthy women who take care of themselves, rather than emaciated skeletal beings.

That's why I was so pleased to hear about Crystal Renn's new book, Hungry, which talks about her experiences growing up in the modeling business and going from her normal weight as a young model to an emaciated weight, and back to a size 12 again to work as a plus-size model.

I've seen Renn in a lot of different ads for a long time, and I've always thought she was unbelievably gorgeous. I'm glad to see that she stuck with it and went back to her normal size, because I think she is a lot more beautiful and natural that way.

Now, I'm not saying that there aren't women who are naturally small. My younger sister, through some genetic repositioning that I clearly did not personally come in contact with, is a natural size 0. Great for her. But battling the construct of models being 5'10" and a size 2 is certainly more a matter of representing clothing and fashion in a realistic manner that makes allowances for all shapes and sizes.

Does Crystal Renn make this Jean Paul Gaultier couture gown look any less fabulous and chic by mere merit of being full-figured? Not in the slightest. If anything, I think it makes the fashion more beautiful. Renn is zaftig and comely, with curves in all the right places. This is what women want to look like in a dress, at least most women I know, and as a male friend pointed out, this is what attracts men to women. Sure, there are some guys who go for stick-figures, but there are an awful lot more men who are attracted to a voluptuous figure.

In any event, I found some of the interviews shes been doing about the book pretty enlightening. What do you think?


Crystal Renn: New Book 'Hungry' - ABC News

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