Urban Outfitters, Airbrushed Models, and the New Plus-Size

January 17, 2014

Urban Outfitters, Airbrushed Models, and the New Plus-Size

This blog isn't necessarily about fashion but instead what drives me crazy about the fashion world. I've seen so much reinforcing unhealthy lifestyles it drives me crazy!!

Everyday we are each bombarded with images from the fashion industry through social media and marketing about how we should dress, what makeup we should wear, how we should do our hair, and what body type we should have. We are constantly faced with unrealistic ideals. I hate that people feel badly about themselves because they are not the size zero, or double zero, that so many companies are using to represent their company. There is no wonder why we have such a problem with eating disorders in the country! If it was up to me I would have everyday people as models, representing various body types and sizes. This post is all about blog posts that I've seen recently in this subject.

I saw an old blog post from 2010 that was republished in September 2013. The post was about how Sophia Bush declared war on Urban Outfitters. Urban Outfitters created this shirt that says "Eat Less".

I mean really?! Who in the world thinks that is okay?! Do we really want to send that message to females, and males, who are already feeling vulnerable and insecure with their bodies? I think it's awesome that Sophia Bush posted on her blog about the shirt and boycott the company. I also think it's awesome that mtlblog.com thinks that it is important to bring this blog back to the forefront every now and then.

The other day I saw this post about a plus-sized model. Cosmo posted this photo on their Facebook page.

This is absolutely ridiculous!! In what world is this woman plus-size?! I think almost any woman would love to have her body! And just like Sophia Bush, not all people think that everyone has to be a size zero. One guy commented on the photo saying:

Dear Cosmo,

Kindly take your ideas of "plus size" and shove them up your ass sideways.

Sincerely,
Every man on the planet who has had to reassure his perfectly healthy and proportioned woman she's not fat because assholes like you perpetuate this idea in her head that she's "plus size".

That's an awesome guy and I hope that everyone who struggles with body issues has somebody as caring by their side!

And then there's more from Cosmo! Recently a former editor of Cosmo, Leah Hardy, wrote about photoshopping models. Extreme thinness has gotten to the point where Cosmo has started to photoshop models so that they look healthier. This blog post has images showing the differences between the original photos and the airbrushed photos. I'm not sure why these companies don't just encourage their models to be healthy. Instead they continue to promote the message that being extremely thin and unhealthy is the way to go.

Now I'm not saying that we need to go to the other extreme either like Barbie seemed to do.