Courtney & Laura Wells for Cosmo Australia: The Plus- and Straight-sized Debate Rages On.

It's no secret that featuring plus-size models is not the norm in the majority fashion magazines.  That is why it seems to make world headlines every time it happens. 

The latest headline has to do with sisters Courtney and Laura Wells.  According to The Huffington Post:

"Cosmopolitan Australia had a family reunion of sorts in its August issue, bringing together two sisters kept separate in fashion mags due to their different sizes. Both Courtney and Laura Wells are models, but Laura is plus-size and usually relegated to special spreads. In this editorial, both girls show off the season's trends on their slim and curvy bodies."

I love the idea, and I think the photoshoot is a nice departure from what we usually see in magazines.  Having two different body types featured together, rather than models that are all the same size, definitely gives the reader a much better idea of what the pieces actually look like.  It's also a much truer representation of the real world.  After all, we all come in different shapes and sizes.  However, I do think that the plus-sized sister got the short end of the stick where some of the clothing being modeled is concerned.  A couple of the outfits are really cute, but seriously - they couldn't find some more-flattering pieces?

However, a quick look at the comments on the Huffington post article also seems to indicate that the photos are causing a bit of a stir. 

PatricefromNH: It's cool to view the similarities and differences of these sisters but what surprised me while viewing this comparison was how I instantly felt tuned in and connected to the plus sized sister. Maybe it's because she's built more like me and most women I know. She definitely exudes more sensual and luscious vibes in that way that appeals to males and females alike.

GBO: Plus size is always better...only dogs like bones.

Rosecrazy1948: These pictures emphasize the skinny unhealthly look of "normal" models. The "plus-sized" model is what an actual healthy woman would look like. I would love for my granddaughters to be plus-sized instead of "normal" (read skinny).

EllenDennis:  Have we gone entirely insane? The "Plus Size" fatty is absolutely normal. The "normal" model is nearly anorexic looking. This comparison is utterly through the fashion looking glass, nuts, and why women either damage themselves to look like NO ONE LOOKS! Or finally acquire a self image of dignity outside this realm of dysfunction and disrespect.

Samuel Perry: Anyone over size 8 is plus sized? So we should just reset and get rid of all non-plus sized models then, since "plus sized" = normal now? 

and my personal favorite:

Paganmist: Both women are beautiful... I'm not sure why people feel the need to tear down one woman in comparison to another. How is it any better to insult a thin woman and praise a large woman... as it is to insult a large woman and praise a thin one?  It seriously sucks that we're ripping apart women based on their appearance like this anyhow. 

Most of us know that a plus-sized model is not the same size as someone who would be considered "plus size" in the real world.  No, a plus-sized model is significantly smaller than your average everyday plus-sized woman. 

Australia's BGM Models Agency represents many plus-sized models, including Laura Wells.  According to BGM, Laura is a Size 14.  However, being that BGM is an Australian agency, I assume that means she is an Australian size 14.

This equates to about a US size 10.

Plus-size indeed.

We already know that, in the world of high-fashion, the majority of designers only produce clothing up to a US size 8.  A few pieces can be found in a size 10.  Hunting for sizes higher than that is like looking for a needle in a haystack.

I am happy with my size 14 body.  I know my body type can be categorized as everything from plus-sized, fat and big-boned to curvy, voluptuous and womanly. But I am a 34 year-old woman, not an impressionable young girl.  I am self confident and I have a positive self-image, so none of those characterizations mean anything to me.

In addition, as stated above, I also know that a plus-sized model is not the same size as someone who would be considered "plus size" in the real world.  So knowing that Laura Wells is a US size 10 doesn't make me feel bad about myself.  But I wonder about that young, impressionable teen reading Cosmo.  The one that doesn't have a positive self-image, and that doesn't want to be considered "plus-size".  What does she think?

 

On the-flip side, the comments from Huffington post readers above that reference how skinny and unhealthy Courtney looks are also alarming to me.  Again, the female body comes in different shapes and sizes.  Skinny doesn't equate to unhealthy.  Plus-size doesn't equate to unhealthy.

Are their models out there that look anorexic?  Yes.  And I am not a fan.  Are there models out there that are obese?  Perhaps, and they aren't healthy either.  But the Wells sisters don't fall into either of those categories.  Both Courtney and Laura look healthy and normal in this spread.  

I just wish that models didn't have to be categorized as "straight" or "plus-sized".  

Do you think it makes sense that there are only two categories to encapsulate SO many different body types and sizes?

Friend Friday: Blogger Privacy (and a question of Anonymity)

Do you remember the last time you saw a high fashion shoot where the model's face was completely obscured?  No?  

It's an unusual approach, to say the least.  A faceless model and a faceless photographer. 

Yet this is exactly what you will find in Italian fashion brand Patrizia Pepe’s AW 2010/2011 Ad Campaign entitled “Who is Patrizia Pepe?”

The campaign captured my attention for a number of reasons.  It is unique.  It is whimsical.  It is curious.  It is beautiful.  And it is anonymous.  

It is the campaign's anonymity that truly resonates with me.  Most of you know that I have decided to keep this blog anonymous for a number of reasons (last discussed here).  I have decided to revisit the topic here because this week's edition of ModlyChic's "Friend Friday" is all about blogger privacy! 

1. Do you think privacy is something we should worry about as bloggers?  I think privacy is something everyone who is on the internet needs to worry about, not just bloggers.  People who use social networking sites like twitter and facebook, flickr, etc. should also be concerned with exactly how much information private information they may be making available to the general public.
   
   
   
2. Do you use your real name or a pen name? What was behind that decision? When I decided to start my own blog I knew that I did not want to use my real name.  Why?  Have you ever googled yourself?  I have.  I have an extremely unique name, so if someone google's it - they find me. Right away.  The search doesn't yield a ton of info. about me.  However, it includes where I work and other details.  Details I don't want to share with everyone who might come across my blog. 
   
   Instead, I thought long and hard until I was able to come up with a blog name that I felt would describe not only the blog - but me as well.  That is how "Beautifully Invisible" was born.
   
   
3. How much personal information do you reveal about your life beyond the blog?  The internet is a funny thing. It's very nature encourages us to reveal and to feel safe doing so. But we have to be responsible about what we reveal.  I reveal what I consider to be non-descript things about my personal life.  I've revealed that I recently went through a breakup.  I reveal the way that made me feel.  I've revealed places I shop and the city I live in.  I've revealed that I am a fundraiser and I've revealed a number of my interests.  I probably reveal even more random facts via twitter, and I know I'll reveal more as the blog grows. 
   
   However, as I said, I try to keep these "reveals" non-descript.  When I think about my favorite blogs I realize that i feel like I "know" each of the authors, even though we have never met.  I hope that my readers get a sense of who I am through the way that I write and through the things I DO reveal, but they don't have to know every last fact about me. 
   
   I think that people who DO know me in "the real world" could easily figure out who I am from reading my blog.  There are enough clues to my identity that are spread throughout various posts.  However, at this point I hope I can still be interesting enough to my readers without revealing all.
   
   
   
4. What will you never reveal?  Right now I don't think I would ever reveal my real name and where I live/work. Everything else can be revealed in snippets, within reason.  Perhaps if my name was a bit more common I wouldn't be as hesitant to reveal my identity one day, but as of now its extremely unlikely!  That being said - I don't plan to keep it hidden from friends that I make via the blog.  I just don't plan to share it ON the blog.
   
   
   
5. As bloggers, we have to an extent made ourselves 'public' figures. But still there are things that are intimate to each of us that does not need to be known by anyone that stumbles across our blog. How do you determine what is appropriate for public consumption and what is private to you?  This goes back to what I was saying above about posting non-descript things.  I think it is important that your readers have a sense of who you are as a person.  It makes you more real to them, and it helps you connect.  Some people may not care that I am sad because of a break-up, or that I may not be feeling well, or that Jon Bon Jovi is one of my long-standing crushes.  Yet each of those things gives you some insight into ME.  Yet, they could just as easily be about someone else.  An example of what is private to me is WHY my ex and I broke up.  That is something private that is between us.  If it's something that impacts another individual in my life - it won't be posted here. 
   
   Ultimately it's all just a judgement call, isn't it?  Some people are more comfortable sharing than others, and there is nothing wrong with that.  Each person - be it a blogger, facebook-er, or tweeter - has to decide for themselves what they are comfortable sharing.  What is "personal and private" to one person may be "public domain" to another.  Every person has to decide for themselves.
   
   

I think that I am in a different position than a LOT of the other fashion bloggers out there in that, since this isn't a personal fashion blog, I don't have to reveal my face.  Blogs like mine that tend to focus on editorials and photography lend themselves to being a bit more private.  No one is going to recognize me as "Beautifully Invisible" when I walk down the street in Cleveland.  The same can't be said for personal fashion blogs, and I would imagine that in itself adds a whole other layer to the question of blogger privacy.

What about you - what are your thoughts on blogger privacy?  How much do you share?

Note: This is my first contribution to ModlyChic's Friend Friday series.  If you are interested in joining, or for more information about how it works, click here.

Photoshoot Details:

Patrizia Pepe AW10/11 Ad Campaign

Model and Photographer: Unknown