I was so prepared to be on Twiggy's side. I too have "long-since consigned [Woody Allen] to the Academy of the Overrateed" .
But, really Twiggy....
It IS obnoxious, pretentious, and dick-ish for one to purposefully try to make another person feel intellectually inferior.
But, cruel?
That probably sucked and all, but she could have just blown it off and then opened a book. Or blown it off and been content without a favorite philosopher.
AS IF everyone can name their fav. philosopher and, of those who can do so, how many really know what the hell they're talking about?!
At least she wasn't interviewed by Steven Colbert or Sasha Baren-Coen. Now that could have been brutal. Esp. the later.
@fluxus flucker: She was only a teenager and this was long before being an asshole was in fashion. I don't see much difference between dickish and cruel anyway.
But but...! If Lara Stone lost weight, then she would just be a model, not a "curvy model". And the designers wouldn't have any "curvy models" to parade on their runways as an example of how open-minded they are!
Why are people so angry at Lara Stone for (unsurprisingly, given the stress of her profession) having a skewed body image? How about directing some ire at ElleUK, whose writer breathlessly and unironically reported these comments and then expressed her approval of how "well" this new "routine" is working for her?
Want [sexy] Megan Fox's [sexy] Transformers costume? Us neither, but if you're looking for a [sexy] leather jacket [sexily] drenched in sexxxy and stupid soundbytes, it'll be up for [one super-sexy] auction next month[, Sextober].
I know it's different for everyone, but is all that exercise necessarily going to work for her? I notice she didn't talk about changing her diet, but I would think she'd have to. If you're already a size 4, working out a lot might tone you up but it won't necessarily make you superskinny. She might already be at her body's preferred size.
I say this as someone who has ranged from moderate daily exercise to hardcore daily activity all my life - and while my body might range from softer to more muscular, it does not go down past a certain size. Not while eating a full, nourishing diet. I don't think I'm alone in this either.
@Pantra: I don't know, I think for already pretty thin people pilates or weight training can really re-shape their bodies. I am on the slender side and if I do any kind of strength training I get pretty wiry and thin fairly quickly, without changing my diet.
@Pantra: I don't think you are alone. I just completed a half marathon for which I trained every week since the beginning of June. I don't believe I've shed more than a few pounds the whole summer but I also did not change my diet at all.
@Pantra: Of course I have absolutely no idea, but my guess is, if anything, size 4 is already below the preferred body weight of most people in the 6 foot range. But she's a teeny model trying to lose weight so as not to be "the fat one" anymore- is it even reasonable to assume she won't severely change her eating? I'm not sure health is the focus here, if you know what I mean.
@Pantra: I think most people have a not exercising, eating whatever they like size and a regularly exercising, moderately watching their diet size.
I think it would take extreme measures to get her down to the negative size of most models, but I would be at all surprised if she could move down to a size 2 fairly easily.
@Vivelafat says Sweep the leg, Johnny.: Those were the pair that caught my attention, too. Question: how high do you think they go? I couldn't see the seam below the knee... they're not connected to the pants, are they? Are they?!?!?
@OneTwoPunch: I believe it. I've heard guys say "I don't really like skinny girls, I like the more full figured ones..... like her" and then they point to someone who's like a size 2 or size 4. So bizarre.
@OneTwoPunch: You speak the truth. I'm in LA, and the same jean size you noted. I had a guy tell me that even though I'm carrying 'extra weight', it's okay because I'm curvy. I won't lie and say that I wouldn't love to drop 10 pounds, but I'm not willing to spend more time at the gym and forgo enjoyable food and alcohol to do it.
@Gumbina80: God, I just had a horrible flashback to a friend in high school telling me that I would have "the perfect body" if I just worked out more and tightened up. I don't talk sizes, but I was quite thin. But, fuck it, I've always been lazy.
@Pantra: Latently homophobic almost. Another freaky but true story: I hung with this skinny-fetish crowd briefly (someone thru work) where all the women dieted and exercised to the point of exhaustion. They introduced me to a man in their crowd, who was like "I don't date women over a buck fifteen!" I heard that, laughed and said "Then, he doesn't like women."
The very next woman he dated? Uh, she was a DRAG KING, a woman who gets paid to dress like a man onstage, and I am not making this up. It solidified my gut feeling that men who are afraid of boobs and butts and hips ain't really looking for a gal, ifyaknowhatimsayin (wink wink): not that there's anything wrong with that!
@OneTwoPunch: Are you saying that since I weigh less that 115 lbs and have pretty much no boobs or butt to speak of that I am less of a woman? And that any guy that is attracted to me must be gay? Because thats how it is coming across...
And when she's finished getting rid of all that "fat," Lara Stone should get her teeth fixed. I mean, who wants to be known as the model with the gap between her teeth, right?
I knew you'd cover those Stone comments. Really, I'm not surprised given that everyone and their mother asks her about her weight. Talk about giving the girl a complex. No need to slam her, Blackbook.
Shouldn't she know better though? Comments like that are AWFUL. And, why wouldn't you want to be the one that stands out instead of looking like all the rest? She seems to get enough work as is, right?
@stacyinbean: Honestly, from what I have read about her, I don't think she gives a shit. She feels that she's just a model, it's her job, and if everyone is essentially asking her about being "the fat one," I don't see anything awful about her response.
@stacyinbean: She might get work, but I imagine having stylists and designers bristle about you being a lard-ass, which I am sure they do, doesn't feel that awesome even if she knows she isn't overweight anywhere but the modeling world.
Plus, she could be getting editorials where people say she is such an awesome model, so emotive and with such a unique face, if only she dropped 10 lbs...
@LaFemme: She does not get editorials because she's "fat," you're right. She gets editorials because she's fucking gorgeous and an excellent model. She books shows because she can walk. Like I said, from what I have read about her (like her W interview), she's pretty deadpan and "whatever" about the whole thing. She's not responsible for the bodily expectations of the fashion industry, and holding her up to be like Renn is, frankly, fucking ridiculous. Renn was never at her level in modeling, for starters, and Renn had an eating disorder, it's just not the same situation.
@Penny: I agree completely. She seems very matter-of-fact about her whole career, and if she doesn't want to speak for the industry I see no reason why that needs to be put on her. She is an "older" model who has suceeded somewhat surprisingly, she wants to milk this gig for what it's worth and get out (it seems). She's an individual, she doesn't have to become the face of body expectation in the modeling industry if she's not interested.
@stacyinbean: Everytime there is a fuller figured model, they end up shrinking eventually to fit the mold and avoid the constant body scrutiny in the media. It happened with Sophie Dahl and Sarah Morrison in the 90s.
Maybe if the media wants to embrace size 4 models and encourage their use, they should stop asking them what it's like to be 'fat' all the time and just let them be beautiful quietly?
@Penny: I agree with most of what you said, except: "She's not responsible for the bodily expectations of the fashion industry" -- true, she alone is not responsible for it, but she is part of it, and she has the choice to accept it (allowing it to perpetuate) or to take a stand (which some have). I'm sure she has her own reasons for not taking a stand, but she does bear responsibility for how her choice plays into the industry -- as does every individual who makes a choice. What if they threw a Size 0 photo shoot and no one came...?
@NefariousNewt a.k.a. General Awesomesauce: I bet that the long decline of the House of Versace is due to boobless models looking all wrong in va-va-voom Versace clothes and no Gianni to protest.
I'm so brainwashed....it's really sad. The first thought that crossed my mind when I saw Lara Stone's pic was - "wait, she's a model? She's not skinny!", even though she's skinny by regular-folks standards.
@Pleasure: That's actually the "fattest" picture of her I've ever seen. I think the editors worked to find the most unflattering picture of her to post. She is not that big at all. Not that that is big, but you know what I mean. In the model world.
J. Crew and Gap are going strong because they have solid basics that are going to LAST. And while not all of us can afford the more expensive pieces, it's a huge money saver to buy $60 Gap jeans when you WERE buying $250 jeans.
@Le Kangourou de Kataroo: I'm kind of surprised about the Gap. Wasn't it only 18 months ago they were on the brink because consumers preferred Old Navy (the lower end brand) and Banana Republic (the higher end brand) to the Gap? I kept seeing stores close down. And I haven't been inside a store in awhile, but I've been disappointed in recent years because the Gap has gotten so boring. I even started to dislike their basics. But good on them if they turned it around.
@Le Kangourou de Kataroo: So true! Defying my expectations, my three-year-old Gap jeans, which I purchased for approximately $50, are holding up as well as my $200+ pairs. AND THEY COME IN LONGS.
That said, their attempts at things outside of the "wardrobe staples" category always seem misguided, and perusing their wares certainly isn't an aesthetically stimulating exercise.
@PrettyB is like Whoa: They made a smart move really pushing the 1969 line hard this season and last. The year or two before were a little sketch, but their new denim release is amazing (@jigglyball - they sell EXTRA LONG online!!) and I have Gap jeans that are like 5 years old that have last and kept their shape.
Maybe I'm not surprised because I've always been a Gap girl, but the past couple of seasons have been a huge improvement.
@PrettyB is like Whoa: Their basics have gotten so much better. Lots of bright colors, and I'm pretty sure the color palette was much more subdued in the past. I found a great pair of hot pink straight-leg cords there a few weeks ago--I don't think I would have found that a while ago. Patrick Robinson has turned out some good things in that store.
As for J. Crew? The only way that brand could fail is if they keep having disappointing website issues. Otherwise, I'm sure they'll be all right--as an avid J. Crew lover, I certainly hope so!
@PrettyB is like Whoa: I wouldn't take stores closing down as that much of a sign that the aren't selling well. I expect Gap and JCrew make a KILLING through online sales.
@msAnthrope: The mannequins are hideously frightening but they cost a bajillion dollars less than actual models. When I first saw them I thought, "uh-oh looks like ON's cutting back on the ad budget..."
09/23/09
But, really Twiggy....
It IS obnoxious, pretentious, and dick-ish for one to purposefully try to make another person feel intellectually inferior.
But, cruel?
That probably sucked and all, but she could have just blown it off and then opened a book. Or blown it off and been content without a favorite philosopher.
AS IF everyone can name their fav. philosopher and, of those who can do so, how many really know what the hell they're talking about?!
At least she wasn't interviewed by Steven Colbert or Sasha Baren-Coen. Now that could have been brutal. Esp. the later.
09/23/09
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09/23/09
09/23/09
Fixed it.
09/23/09
*SIGH*
09/23/09
I say this as someone who has ranged from moderate daily exercise to hardcore daily activity all my life - and while my body might range from softer to more muscular, it does not go down past a certain size. Not while eating a full, nourishing diet. I don't think I'm alone in this either.
09/23/09
09/23/09
09/23/09
09/23/09
09/23/09
I think it would take extreme measures to get her down to the negative size of most models, but I would be at all surprised if she could move down to a size 2 fairly easily.
09/23/09
09/23/09
09/23/09
And I will use myself as a witness: I train in kickboxing at least 4 hours a week, and I am wearing a pair of size 4 jeans right now.
Last week, a guy called me...I kid you not, this really happened..."full figured" and "zaftig", because I have T&A.
That, ladies, is how strong the blue pill Matrix is in this town (and Colorado).
With the guy? I laughed and moved on ;)
He wasn't in very good shape anyway, so he probably thought I was gonna kick his ass!!
Ah, you just can't make this shit up. What a book my life story is...
09/23/09
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09/23/09
The very next woman he dated? Uh, she was a DRAG KING, a woman who gets paid to dress like a man onstage, and I am not making this up. It solidified my gut feeling that men who are afraid of boobs and butts and hips ain't really looking for a gal, ifyaknowhatimsayin (wink wink): not that there's anything wrong with that!
09/23/09
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09/25/09
I wish I didn't know people who thought like that for real.
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09/23/09
Plus, she could be getting editorials where people say she is such an awesome model, so emotive and with such a unique face, if only she dropped 10 lbs...
09/23/09
09/23/09
09/23/09
Maybe if the media wants to embrace size 4 models and encourage their use, they should stop asking them what it's like to be 'fat' all the time and just let them be beautiful quietly?
09/23/09
09/23/09
09/23/09
Size 4? Fat?
*headdesk*
09/23/09
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09/23/09
Lara- you're beautiful! Don't fight your body!
09/23/09
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09/23/09
That said, their attempts at things outside of the "wardrobe staples" category always seem misguided, and perusing their wares certainly isn't an aesthetically stimulating exercise.
09/23/09
09/23/09
09/23/09
Maybe I'm not surprised because I've always been a Gap girl, but the past couple of seasons have been a huge improvement.
09/23/09
i blame those wretched mannequin ads. every time i get an email from oldNavy i don't even want to click through because the mannequins are so ugly.
09/23/09
As for J. Crew? The only way that brand could fail is if they keep having disappointing website issues. Otherwise, I'm sure they'll be all right--as an avid J. Crew lover, I certainly hope so!
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09/23/09
Are we talking Gap or Gap, Inc. anyhow? If Gap Inc. it doesn't much surprise me, especially because of the popularity of Piperlime.
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