I don’t care if it looks good on her…I want it to look good on ME!
Recently an event came across my Facebook feed. It was a casting call for models for local Vancouver fashion mecca, Aritzia. It read:
We’re hosting a casting call for Aritzia models! If you’re a size small / size 4 on top and bottom and no taller than 5’10 – we’d love to meet you.
A second ad read:
Maintain personal body measurements within tolerance of Aritzia Standard Size S or 4; Waist size 25 – 27; height minimum 5’7 to 5’10 maximum
I re-posted the event on the Thirties Grind Facebook page and said:
Hey ARITZIA, how about representing girls of all shapes and sizes??!! Great opportunity here for a Vancouver company to take a stand and push back against cultural biases!!
I’m totally serious. Wouldn’t it be great – revolutionary even – for one of our local, and now world-recognized, companies to take a stand and start incorporating all body types into their ad campaigns? A recent study shows that, aside from showing greater social consciousness, it is actually good for business. “We are undergoing a shift in the mind-set of the modern female consumer,” explains Ben Barry, who conducted a study of 2,500 women, and found that “…women increased their purchase intentions by more than 200 percent when the models in mock advertisements were their size.”
So, aside from the fact that the fashion images women are presented with are representative of a small fraction of the population (and nothing is saying we should not represent these ladies, too) and, consequently, have been shown to contribute to body dis morphia issues in women (especially young girls)…these images are actually deterring women from shopping in certain retailers…not so good for bottom lines. Basically the message is, as I said above:
I don’t care if it looks good on her…I want it to look good on ME!
So…show me someone like me wearing it!
———-
We have enormous power. Eighty-six percent of the purchasing power in this country is in the pockets of women. Well, let’s use it.
Pat Mitchell, CEO Paley Center for Media
Make your voice heard:
Sources:
http://benbarry.com/2009/11/glamours-body-image-revolution/
YES! YES! YES!!! Well said…I am 48 years old, workout regularly and have an active lifestyle, am 5’7″ and weigh 140-145 pounds and in Aritzia sizes would be a Large (maybe) or an 8-10…a few weeks back a walk-in clinic doctor told me I should LOSE 10 pounds…WTF?!? Well said Melissa!!
This is the exact reason why I haven’t set foot inside of Aritzia since I was a teenager…I am considered plus size at size ten when frankly don’t feel very good when I’m in there….I guess they have a very narrow market they are targeting….
that should read…”I am considered plus size at size ten AND frankly I don’t feel very good when I’m in there”…
I don’t set foot in Arizia anymore either – but hey, maybe they want it that way. Pretty sure I have more disposable income than the teens they are selling to but I am too large (a Canadian size 8….) to fit most things there. How unfortunate really. I look through their racks and most things *might* fit over my ankle *they are THAT small*
No wonder young women have body image issues.
omg I haven’t stepped foot in Aritzia in years… Nothing in their fits me so i’m more than happy to never give em a dime!! lol, shopping online is WAY cheaper anyways lol!
Totally agree with you but don’t think Aritzia is the place to start. Have you ever been in there? I think 4 may be the largest size they carry!
First of all, great blog, I’ve been following it for a few weeks and you make me laugh.
Secondly, the research you are referring to is true, however, it would make no sense for a brand to use models that are not going to attract their target consumer. Aritzia’s main consumer is a 15-30 year old girl and their most popular sizes are 0-6. So why would they put a size 10 girl in their ad, if their current consumer is going to be alienated? And most of their customers are a size 4?
And honestly, HONESTLY, would you actually go and shop there if they started using size 10 models? I wouldn’t. I’m 33, a size 8 and wouldn’t set foot in there. I can’t wear high waisted pale pink pleated trousers, and I won’t spend $140 on a dress I can get from H&M for less than half. (And while you might be supporting a “Vancouver” brand, they manufacture in the same factories as all of the big fast fashion chains. Their stuff is totally overpriced, and I either trade down (and buy H&M or Joe Fresh) or buy high end, which for me, means high quality and manufactured properly and ethically. Aritzia is neither of those things.
So there are no 15-30 year olds over size 6 who would shop at Aritzia? How do you know most of their customers are size 4? Aritzia is just my example of a larger problem. By age 13 53% of girls are unhappy with their bodies…by 17, this number grows to 78%.
Btw, H&M is no better…in fact, they are notorious for distorting women’s bodies to sell their clothing. http://www.adweek.com/adfreak/hm-under-fire-putting-models-heads-perfect-cgi-bodies-136974?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Brandweek-NewsAndFeatures+%28Brandweek+-+News+and+Features%29&utm_content=FaceBook
Of course there are 15-30 years olds over size 6 that might want to shop at Aritzia, but the point is their main market (which is keeping them in business quite nicely) is small. I am all for using non-size 0 models in fashion, but not for a brand whose main customer is that size. Talk to Banana Republic, J Crew, or Club Monaco, brands that actually do target markets who aren’t skinny 16 year olds. I know about their sizing because I work in the fashion industry and I know people who work there.
And my example of H&M has nothing to do with their “body ethics,” I brought them up because they sell cheaply-made clothing (like Aritzia), but don’t over charge for it.
I’ve worked in fashion for 15 years and models have always been thin. Everyone is making such a big deal about it right now because the fact is, the population is getting fatter. We go around screaming “she is too thin!” but no one says “you are too fat” if you are overweight or obese. The industry hasn’t changed that much, but we are using it as a scapegoat to distract us from the fact that obesity is a HUGE problem (pardon the pun.)
When you were 17 (I am presuming you are 30+?) were you unhappy about a part of your body? Who isn’t? My friend works in eating disorders and says there isn’t actually a huge rise in anorexia/bulimia, etc… We are just making a big deal out of it.
Anyway, the point here is not to get into a debate about body ethics, it is about Aritzia. And Aritzia is a brand whose main customer is skinny 15-30 year olds, so there’s no point putting a bunch of size 10′s in an ad campaign. Save the campaigning for another brand.
Very well said.
I worked in men’s fashion for years and heard the exact same critisisms about our models.
We eventually tried out the suggested sizes for the models and emailed every single one of the customers that had asked for larger models, the ones who said they would never buy from us because of our models.
Want to take a guess at how many of those that complained purchased when we had different sized models?
None. And to make matters worse, it was the worst selling collection to this date.
When you sell anything you are selling to your target audience for sure, but you are also showing the items in the best possible light. If clothes on plus sized models sold better than clothes on skinnier models, you better believe that every single retailer in the world would be doing it. They all market in the same way because it brings in the most sales and at the end of the day that is what business is about.
Something else to point out is that size 4 in modelling is actually considered above average – so I appreciate Aritzia for allowing for more sizes than just zero.
You go girl!
What a great point. I’m a size 6/8 and about 5’4″ tall. Over the last few years I’ve started to feel much bigger than I probably am because the sizes in retail stores and their models just keep shrinking. It would be really great for companies to embrace a movement like Dove has done with real women and real beauty. Somehow I think they would sell more clothes too!
Raj
Pink Chai Style
[...] wanted to follow up on the post I did about fashion retailers using models who are representative of all body types. Some of the comments I received were very positive and supportive of this notion…others [...]