In the words of my Grandmother you can never be too rich or too skinny?

What is it with this ongoing quest to use skinny models for our photo shoots and fashion shows?

And with Fashion Week looming the debate is bound to rare its ugly head again. The sad irony for all of us in the fashion industry is that our clothes just look better on the smaller girls.

Selling frocks is all about creating inspirational looks that women aspire to rather than normal looks i.e women simply don't want to see themselves or what they can achieve themselves on the catwalks and in the magazines.

Alongside this runs the unkindness of the 10kg that the camera is thought to add to a woman's frame.

I guess the same debate runs through the publishing world with the cover photos of our magazines and the level of touch up that is applied to them.

God knows that some of my photos have to have some serious work now that I have joined the 50s brigade but why not… why would I want to put myself out to the world not looking the very best that I can.

Not so sure that the naked (no touch up) Lorraine Downs cover shot for the Australian Women's Weekly was such a ground breaking thing. Sure there is a truism around this but all in the name of what?

 So let’s get back to the model debate and how skinny is too skinny as I certainly have had a strong level of feedback on some of the recent photos that I posted to showcase one of our collections. The collection in question was a collaboration, so the choice of model was out of my control in regards to who was chosen for the shoot. I did however have choice around placement when it came time to load the images to our website and I effected the upload without too much thought to the visual.

I have, however now been forced to reconsider and rightly so given the many emails that I have received. Thank you to these women that have ensured that the messages I send around health and what is acceptable around body size remain consistent.
I am forever faced with the most perfect of figure shapes as I attend the many fashion shows that we do and will always have a preference for the healthy size figure as is shown in our latest Chameleon shots.

Jessica looks gorgeous and simply came to us via a Facebook model call.

(contact me if you think you'd be a great fit for my brand. I'd love to find a few more of this type of girl) She is simply stunning and I was proud to show her shots off in my recent UK trip. She is living proof that a great shot does not equate to a skinny girl!

Healthy girls simply look better in our gear and are a more relevant fit to our customer but unfortunately a healthy size 10-12 is about as big as we can go. It’s absolutely the best way to showcase those inspirational looks each season but that’s a long way from some of the unhealthy size 6-8s I have encountered in the industry. I'm even considering using dancers for my next show as I love the muscle tone that their occupation builds up.

So my request to you is to make sure you continue to have an opinion where the girl is too skinny. Just as you were able to contact me you can also contact others. Make a stand and help our industry move on from believing this is the look that sells our clothes. Remember you, in the end, are our customers and it’s all about you!

Email us an image of yourself if you think you have what it takes to be one of our healthy girls! admin@strettonclothing.co.nz