Monday, February 9, 2009

I have a bone to pick with Nordstrom

A few times a year I get a catalog/big ad booklet in the mail from Nordstrom. I think they'veseen the palace I live in and realize I'm made of money, and they want some of it.
I shop there once in a while (mostly from the clearance racks), so maybe that got me on the list.

This past fall's catalog horrified me, and not just because of the prices or the hideous leopard-print loafers (look at me! I'm sassy and sensible at the same time!).

Specifically, I was horrified by the legs on these models:
And let's not forget this model (I think she's in the top photo as well, but that doesn't really matter):



First, I want to invite these girls over for hoagies and chocolate milk (the thick kind). They need nourishment. Second, I want to ask Nordstrom why they are using impossibly thin models to sell their clothes.

I know. I know. They're models. If they're not impossibly thin, they're not worthy of the title. I know that, but I don't have to like it. (Don't get me started on the topic of plus size models. Yeah...a size 12 model [who is probably at least 5'10" tall] does not wear plus sized clothing.)

And really, I don't even expect or want companies to use average size 12-14 women in their ads for misses' and juniors' clothing. I understand that clothing is displayed to its best advantage on a slender frame. I just want there to be a line between slim and starving. Is that too much to ask?

Young women have enough pressure in life without the subtle (and not-at-all-subtle) message coming from the fashion world: "Your body isn't right. You don't meet the ideal." (Raise your hand if you thought you were fat in high school, whether you were or not.)

The bodies of the girls in the above photos go beyond thin. There doesn't appear to be any flesh on their limbs, let alone fat. I worry about their health--really I do. I don't blame the models themselves for these ads--they are just doing their job (which is to look pretty and try to stand upright using the energy gleaned from 1/2 a saltine and a baby carrot).

What's the solution? I don't know. I don't know if I have the the time to figure it out...not today at least--I have things to scrub and polish.

What do you think?

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

I think they had to use double stick tape to keep those boots from sliding down her calves. I think I would be fighting to pull them up on my own calves (darn polynesian genes). My own solution (as my mom had an eating disorder, and I ballooned after having children) is to teach my children health. What is healthy to eat, what is healthy to do, what is healthy to live.

majcross said...

exactly what bone would you pick, I can see quite a few on those models.

Wendi said...

I loved the part about the palace you live in. :) I love your little palace. :) And, "Amen sista", to the rest of this post. I think it's sweet that you're worried about their health--and I loved the part about the 1/2 saltine and baby carrot that probably constitutes their measly meals. :)