I came across
this post and if I usually don't have time and actually like so much reading long articles on web,
this one sure caught my attention.
Please take your time to read it as I think
Emily, from
Scarlett Letter Style makes a
really really really GOOD point.
Are Boobs Really Back?
"32 B. That’s the bra size for my minute mammary glands. As such, I’ve always thought that a voluptuous figure is not necessary to be beautiful. You can only imagine my dismay when I picked up the September Issue of Vogue (the Issue of Issues of the Magazine of Magazines) to find that, this season, I am not “in style.” That’s right, folks. The biggest trend this season is boobs.
Fuller cups have gotten the fashion world all fizzed up this fall. Designers, such as Marc Jacobs for Louis Vuitton, chose to cast “curvy” models for their fall 2010 collections. Many fashion editors are attributing this trend to the naming of Christina Hendricks as Esquire’s hottest woman of 2010. The pillowy actress, of the hit show Mad Men, is setting the trend for curves and vintage A-line silhouettes. Now, creative directors and agents can’t wait to get those boobs back in the press. Almost every major fashion magazine has an article on the rise of the shapely model. This flesh fetish is a breath of healthy and fresh air compared to the heroin-chic emaciated models of the late nineties. Or is it?
Don’t think that I’m just bitter in my B bra when I say that this trend is not good for women. Curves being “in” does not mean that the American populace has grown to accept body fat. On the contrary, it suggests that breasts are the only part of the body in which bigger is better. In the article, “the F Word” in the New York Times Style Magazine, the book “Revolting Bodies?” is quoted to say that “fat is seen as repulsive, funny, ugly, unclean, obscene, and above all, as something to lose.” This view of fat seems to coincide and resonate with the fashion society’s obsession with Anorexia and obesity. Fat is something natural, but it is viewed as something that is unacceptable that one needs to conceal in corsets, spanx, and funny underwear. Hendricks even states in the article “Learning Curves” that she must wear a girdle and garters that give her bruises when in costume for Mad Men (Vogue, p. 480). I don’t know about you, but that doesn’t strike me as fashion that is friendly to the figure.
All in all, it appears that haute couture has never been amenable to the idea of a natural silhouette. Through the rib-shrinking-and-intestine-twisting corsets of old and the more recent girdle, designers have created images of the way they think women should look. These images, throughout history, have coincided with women’s roles and freedom. Corsets restricted women in the same way that the old Church restricted women. The structured sixties look coincided with a time when American women were paid less, still expected to be wives and mothers, and were not viewed as equals. The focus on breasts in fashion has been a focus on a woman’s capacity to be a mother. This focus has been a way to separate women from men in clothing, lifestyle, and gender roles. Think of times when breasts were not the focus of fashion: the twenties, the seventies, and the nineties. These times included Coco Chanel’s diversion from the corset and the rise in women’s sexual liberation, the burning of bras and the feminist movement, and the thin aesthetic and rise of the modern businesswoman, respectively.
Although many see the celebration of curves as a celebration of women that will reverse the rampant Anorexia in the modeling world, I disagree. I do not think that it is a fashion designer’s right to dictate which BMI is considered beautiful. In my opinion, it is ridiculous to purport that a certain body shape is a fashion trend. Bodies cannot change as easily as clothing can change, and dictating the ideal figure can lead to less body peace, more figure insecurity, more eating disorders, and more plastic surgery. Although it may seem far-fetched, I propose that fashion magazines focus on clothing. I know it’s ridiculous, but I think that magazines should eliminate articles that talk about body shapes like they are the new trench coat.
Despite all of the body politics, I am personally a fan of fashion. I love dressing myself in outfits that make me feel special. I love the combination of colors and textures and ability to express my creativity through clothing. This may seem ironic coming from a girl who has personally struggled with body insecurity and eating disorders. However, I think that authentic fashion can be a wonderful artistic medium. This is why I love fashion blogs and fashion blogging; blogs allow average women of all shapes and sizes to express their personal styles. In my fashion blog, Scarlet Letter Style, I write about all aspects of fashion except body shapes. In the world of fashion blogging, all bra sizes, from A-Z, are considered to be vogue. In the world of fashion blogging, women can write about fashion that allows them to pursue their individual dreams.
I find the idea of “boobs being back” to be completely ridiculous. Boobs cannot be back; they have always been and will continue to be “in”: a distinctly beautiful attribute of women." I'm curious what do you, my dear readers, think about it?
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