If you take a second to look at what the fashion trends have been in the past decades, you’ll notice how they tend to only showcase bodies that are petite and tiny. Actually, most clothes don’t really accommodate those who wear larger sizes or have curvier bodies, as evidenced by some stores only offering up to a size small or tight-fitting clothing. This isn’t a new phenomenon by any means, but the focus on smaller figures has undoubtedly increased even more in the last 20 years. As media outlets and brands try to push what they deem “trendy” or “fashionable,” there seems to be an ongoing pattern of favoring slim bodies.
Historically speaking, the focus on skinny people for fashion seems to have substantially bloomed in the 1960s with the rise of modeling and figures like Twiggy, but later became mainstream societal standards in the 90s, as Caroline Garland for the Independent reports, “a slim almost childlike body symbolized the new obsession with youth. It later re-emerged as the fashion fantasy of the 1990s, with young beautiful girls taking over catwalks and billboards.” The “childlike body” that became popular for women’s fashion hasn’t disappeared either, as it has persisted into the 21st century and is typically spotted on many magazine covers as being advertised (implicitly or otherwise) as the “ideal” body for girls.
So where did this toxic ideal originate? Well, first, it’s important to highlight how beauty standards have been used as a means to control women’s autonomy. Prior to the 1900s in America, it was a major taboo for women to wear pants or express themselves as freely as today. Fatshaming is also deeply rooted in racism and colonialism, the most infamous example being Sarah Baartman’s story, which details the mistreatment of an African woman by an exploitative European “freak show.” Today, America is still ` struggling to integrate cultures that stem from deep patriarchal and colonial impediments. Women’s beauty standards to look young, skinny and have a “childlike” body as much possible is a consequence of this deeply ingrained history.
An online trend that has blown up recently recognizes the favoritism towards skinny people called “Is it a fit or is she just skinny?” This is an online slogan that users have used and filmed to test if an outfit was praised for the look or for the person’s skinniness. The usual format of these goes like this: women finding media of an outfit worn by a very slim girl, replicating it on their bodies and determining if the compliments are based on the outfit being genuinely good, or if the praise instead comes from a bias towards smaller body types. This trend magnifies how fashion is quick to fixate on skinny figures and cater to them. The concept of people thinking clothes look better if a skinny person wears it shows that their bodies are usually the center of the fashion world.
“When people watch fashion shows, look at magazines or see clothing ads, they usually see models with [slim or very fit] body types,” Jose Ortiz (10) said. “In my opinion, even though fashion is becoming more inclusive, the industry still seems to prefer skinny or fit people because that is what we see most often.”
A part of the obsession over skinny bodies has to do with the resurgence of certain fashion trends such as Y2K, which is full of low-waisted pants and cropped tops, and the heart of the 2010s: skinny jeans. Specifically, the style known as just “2016” is based on what people wore 10 years ago, which consists of a lot of said skinny jeans. The rise in popularity of these two styles has also increased the appeal and bias of skinny bodies due to these eras’ highlighted tight clothes and revealing clothes.
Fashion writer Jenna Nordman says, “runways are mostly populated by super-thin models, and labels considered more high-end don’t often use models who aren’t skinny.” The model industry perpetuates the favoritism that we see towards skinny people in the fashion world. Consequently, this causes a cascade of popular brands only catering towards skinny people to attain this high-end fashion standard. Combined with the human nature to conform, patriarchal standards and upper-class fashion standards, there is a deadly outbreak of people genuinely causing harm to their bodies to be skinny. Everyone is conditioned to only see skinny models, so it causes people to think every woman should be like them.
The usual way that styles get labeled as being “in” is if it’s in popular stores or endorsed by popular brands. Brandy Melville, a store that only holds one size (XS/S), sells many of the clothes that are labeled “cool”. In contrast, Torrid, a store that holds plus sizes from 10-30, isn’t promoted as much and even shamed online for its clothing. Brandy Melville is famously controversial for its sexual exploitation of their young workers, racial discrimination and many other dark business models in this exposé . Even the architecture in Brandy Melville stores is hostile, with extremely small doors and stairs that would prohibit many from entering. This is by no means the fault of the stores, but lies with what society believes is “better” and what the fashion industry thinks is more profitable.
“I think that trends change all the time. In the 90s, everyone was obsessed with very low-rise jeans and being very skinny—it was dubbed ‘Heroin Chic’,” CHHS English teacher Ms. Tina Schaefer said. “I believe that this does impact society negatively and that it fuels eating disorders and the weight loss industry, where we see an increase [in] weight-loss drugs. This is very scary because we don’t really know the long-term effects of these drugs. I think that social media exacerbates this issue by showing us images of impossible beauty standards.”
It’s surprising that the fashion industry hasn’t tried to diversify itself and include models of all sizes to appeal to a larger audience. If every body type had more opportunities to be involved in modelling, then more people would feel seen and be represented on screen, and it could lead to larger profits. This could be beneficial to stores everywhere that would see an increase in their buyers if they sold products that could be bought by more people. People can be quick to view diversity negatively when, in reality, it’s something that can strengthen communities and benefit all.
Even though billboards and ads might only push clothes or trends that appeal to thin people (or make those with other body shapes feel like they need to be thin), it’s important to know the importance of showcasing the variety of bodies. These industries should try to include every type of body in their campaigns, instead of excluding the vast majority of the population. While the popular brands might continue to favor small bodies, all bodies are beautiful regardless and should be seen more on-screen and in print despite the rigid beauty standards that we so commonly see.
