Plus-size model Tara Lynn nabbed the cover and more than 20 editorial pages in the April issue of Elle France. Is this proof that fashion might set its parameters for acceptable female beauty a little wider, or just a fad?
Like some of you, I had reservations about the styling of the cover. When I discovered that the baker’s uniform/cricket whites came from Hermès, and cost over $3,200, even this slightly better picture of it couldn’t save the look for me. Also: that bag is fug. And costs $2,800.
So this is a special issue; you could argue that Elle is doing a little bandwagon-jumping, after the success of other high-fashion efforts at inclusivity — like V magazine’s January “Size” issue, which also featured Lynn in this Solve Sundsbo editorial — revealed the overwhelmingly positive response that well-styled and beautifully shot shoots with plus-size models can elicit. But putting out the magazine equivalent of a Very Special Episode has its limitations, and I still wish that more plus-size models would pop up in the fashion titles without the back-patting and fanfare. Also: I am so over the sexy, sultry, all-nude plus-size shoot, and the rather obvious hints it makes about larger women and, ahem, appetite.
But the short article with Lynn, available here in French, manages to not be totally infuriating (even though the writer exclaims over Lynn’s freakish ability to, gasp, look at pictures of herself without cringing in horror, as though her comfort with her body were somehow strange). Lynn, who is 27 and has modeled for two years, earned an M.A. in linguistics, and co-owns a restaurant in Seattle with her boyfriend, called Meza. She once spent two years in France as an au pair, and speaks the language fluently. She tells Elle:
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
