| In fitting rooms across the planet, "Does it make me | | | | Filippa, the Ralph Lauren model fired for weighing in at |
| look fat?" - is without a doubt the pivotal issue that | | | | 120 pounds. To add insult to injury, scary |
| makes or breaks a clothing sale. Ultimately, it's a | | | | Photoshopping for a Japanese advertisement turned |
| rhetorical question because the woman doing the | | | | her body into a Barbie doll. |
| trying-on will make the call herself. If she has even | | | | There's no question that the fashion industry is the |
| the slightest uncertainty that the garment doesn't | | | | source of this Size 0 fixation and now, with the |
| shave ten pounds off her hips, midsection or thighs, | | | | annual release of the mega-sized fashion magazines |
| chances are, it's cast aside. And the alarming thing is, | | | | and their fall coverage, I'm inclined to think there's |
| the question is as likely to be asked by a size 8 as a | | | | extra pressure brought to bear. I was intrigued to |
| size 18! These days, I'm frequently found in fitting | | | | read in a recent New York Times article, that |
| rooms - my calendar is full with image consultations | | | | German magazine Brigitte has decided, instead of rail |
| as old clients and new come to terms with crisp | | | | thin models, to photograph real women, despite |
| mornings and sweaters at sundown. It's almost fall. | | | | hostile criticism from designer Karl Lagerfeld. |
| Time to freshen up and get back to business. | | | | Incidentally, when Herr Lagerfeld designed a |
| Although the FAT question is all too familiar, when it | | | | condensed collection for retailer H&M a few years |
| comes to image and creating an individual sense of | | | | ago, he insisted that production be restricted to small |
| style, my guiding principle is body proportion. What | | | | sizes. |
| most people don't realize is that while ten pounds | | | | Closer to home, Glamour magazine has made |
| makes the difference between one size and the | | | | headlines for featuring so-called plus-size models on |
| next, those same ten pounds don't alter the basic | | | | several occasions. (Most would argue that these |
| proportions of a body. Short neck or short legs? The | | | | women are healthy and normal, not overweight.) |
| right necklines and skirt silhouettes will play magical | | | | Although the intent is noble - to discourage women |
| tricks. Same story for sloping shoulders or thick | | | | from aspiring to wafer thinness - the overwhelming |
| thighs. My strategy is to enhance the body's | | | | trend for fashion shows and photography continues |
| framework with confidence-building clothing. | | | | to be Size 0 models. |
| I know size doesn't really matter because ten pounds | | | | But there is progress, of a different sort. Typically |
| here or there won't make a difference to the body's | | | | fashion magazines worship youth but three of this |
| intrinsic shape, but sometimes it's a challenge to make | | | | fall's gigantic issues feature 40-plus cover girls. |
| a perfectly proportioned client accept the fact that | | | | Something of a milestone, although admittedly, all |
| her Size 10 or 12 frame is not overweight. There is | | | | three are movie stars: Julia Roberts (Elle), Halle Berry |
| something wrong when educated, successful women | | | | (Vogue), Jennifer Aniston (Harper's Bazaar). |
| have Size 0 as a goal. Last fall I mentioned Countess | | | | |