subject: Plus-size Fashion: Are We Finally Waking Up To The Shape Of Women? [print this page] After London Fashion Week, which kept to the tradition of a svelte catwalk, it might come as a bit of a surprise for some to see the decidedly-curvy models on the cover of Elle magazine last week. The girls are definitely in the plus-sizes, with plenty of belly and bum. The leading girl on the cover is wearing just a bra and jeans, all curves on show. All of them look fantastic.
Such a statement was bound to shock the Parisian fashion scene with its rigid loyalty to the skinny model way of doing things. We can speculate as to whether or not Elle produced the cover as a cheap alibi against accusations of catering only to slim fashion. But the cover proves that plus-size women don't really need to be treated as a poor, suffering sibling of 'regular' fashion. The girls are bold, full, bursting with femininity, and in a style that is not derivative of the sleek Parisian look. Whether the act was in earnest or not, the results are good nonetheless.
The problem with Women's Plus Size clothing is that, to pull the look off like this, girls have to be comfortable with the fact that they are not going to fit into a size 12. What makes this difficult is the language surrounding plus-size fashion; condescending, over-compensating, over-the-top. It's rarely plain-speaking, and magazines and newspaper columnists espousing shapely women are often guilty of doing disservice to the women they're attempting to fight for.
Perhaps, ironically, the traditional fashion industry is not an area mature enough to deal with plus-sizes, being normally too busy daydreaming about ideal of a uniformly-slim and generic-shaped woman. If Elle magazine's cover was a real statement, and not just a way of paying off the critics, then the French fashion world could be in for a big change. In the UK we are slowly becoming more serious about plus-size fashion; no longer does plus-size mean just oversized, chaste outfits it's sexy, full of presence, attentive to the reality of the curvaceous body shape.
There was a time when airbrushing was used to trim away the belly or the bum of a fulsome model. Now it's the opposite; hips and curves have to be airbrushed in by the editing team of a magazine, showing just how far the pendulum can swing. Digitally applying shape to models: why not go for the easier route and give plus-size women and plus-size fashion their rightful place? For many, many women it's not that the ultra-skinny look is something to envy; it's something that's not relevant, it has no bearing on the way they dress and the way they want to look. Hopefully this cover is a sign of the changing shape of women's fashion, and we will begin to see more of this in the near future.
Happy shopping and don't forget you can get these clothes online.
