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The Fashion Industry Has a Plus-Size Problem. These Women Want to Fix It


“I’ve been going to Fashion Week for years, and street photographers are still a big problem. They literally won’t take a picture [of plus women]. I know I look cute, but it makes you feel like you don’t belong there, or it was a mistake that you were invited to this place. Up until three or four seasons ago when brands began focusing solely on inclusive galleries, I was starting to feel like I didn’t want to go to Fashion Week anymore. People walk past you, or act like you don’t belong there. It wasn’t until designers started including one or two plus models in their shows—or really trying to make sure people know they’re inclusive—that I started getting moved me closer to the front row. It’s nice to feel included, but it’s also like, I know I’m just here as a token or a pawn. It’s somewhat more inclusive, but it almost feels like tokenism. It’s a double edged sword.” —Kelly Augustine, Owner of August Raye Boutique

Model and author

Courtesy of Leah Vernon

 
“One time I was in London during Fashion Week. I wasn’t invited to an actual show, but I was to an after party you had to RSVP for. I was there with another huge plus-size influencer in Europe, and another plus-size gal who works behind-the-scenes in the fashion industry. But when we got to the after party and pulled out our phones to show our RSVP confirmations, the woman didn’t even look. She just said, ‘Sorry, we’re not letting anyone else in. We’re at full capacity.’ People were literally walking out the door as she said it. We pushed back and asked to talk to her manager, where we had to wait five minutes for them to finally let us in. Of course, once we got into the party, it wasn’t close to capacity, and we were the only visibly plus-sized women there. Stuff like this happens too often when you’re plus size.”

“At Fashion Week, the seats are one long bench, and each ‘seat’ is a piece of 8-by-11 paper with your name on it. And one bum is supposed to go in each of those seats. I used to just move to the back row—and if you’re in fashion, you understand that sitting in the front row is a status symbol. It’s important for your publication, and it’s also important for you as a person. If you want a promotion, if you want to get poached and go work somewhere else, if you want to show that you are as important as the straight-size editor beside you, your potential new editor-in-chief needs to walk in to that show and see you beside your competition, not in the back hiding. I got to a certain point where I wouldn’t move. I remember one show where I had a quarter of my left butt cheek on the end of the bench, and I did a wall sit without a wall for the entire show. Fashion shows are only five to 10 minutes long, but still, that’s a long fucking squat. I was sweating and shaking, and in my head thinking, I’m not moving.” —Lauren Chan, founder of Henning and former fashion editor

The Fashion Industry Has a PlusSize Problem. These Women Want to Fix It

We’re sick of brands pretending they include us—when they don’t

Writer

Shammara Lawrence
Heather Hazzan

 
“Sometimes I’m invited to events, like the launch of a new collection, and there’s nothing in the line that could fit me or any other plus-size person. My fashion writing revolves around plus sizes, so why would I cover that? Even worse is when a publicist tells me how size-inclusive a brand is only to find out their clothes just go up to a size 18. Newsflash publicists and brands: it’s not! And to suggest otherwise is incredibly offensive—plus size typically starts at a 14/16, so you’re barely even dipping your toes in the plus-size market.”

Fashionista editor-in-chief

Tyler McCall
Getty Images

 
“I realize that this comes from a huge place of privilege, but gifting [is a real issue]. I’ve always been somewhere between a size 12 and a 14, so anytime brands are gifting and I’m asked for a size, I respond with a range. Some of my favorite responses are, ‘It goes up to a 10, but it’s a roomy 10,” which, cool, thank you. A ‘roomy 10’ is still not my size, and also, what a weird thing to say. I think people mean well—they’re taught that to point out any kind of difference in size is rude. I get it. I often call mediums the ‘polite large,’ because if I get random mailers from people who haven’t emailed me for my size and they send me a medium, I know they went and looked at my social. They know I’m not a small, but they were scared to send me a large. If they asked, I would’ve said I need a large, and that’s fine.”

Writer and founder of Rascal Honey

Sarah Conley
Courtesy of Sarah Conley

 
“As a size 28, I am consistently pushing the plus-size industry to include larger sizes, which feels extra ridiculous. On a weekly basis, I’m approached by brands who want to work with me and even though I am very open about my size (it’s even in my Instagram bio), I often receive confused and callous replies from brand representatives when I tell them that I’m outside of their size range.”



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The Little Women Trailer Is Finally Here—and People Are Very Excited


Greta Gerwig’s adaptation of the classic Louisa May Alcott novel, Little Women, is one of the most-anticipated films of the year. You won’t be able to see it until Christmas Day (a perfect family outing!) but the first trailer for the movie is finally here.

Gerwig has assembled an all-star cast to tell the story of the March sisters, including Saoirse Ronan as Jo, Meryl Streep as Aunt March, Laura Dern as Marmee, Emma Watson as Meg, Florence Pugh as Amy, and Timothée Chalamet as Laurie.

From the minute the project was announced, it’s been an Internet favorite, with fans following every casting decision and photo from the set. The last big Little Women remake—starring Winona Ryder, Claire Danes, Kirsten Dunst, and Christian Bale—was also incredibly popular, but that was in 1995, well before the social media age.

We don’t want to keep you waiting any longer, though. Check out the trailer for yourself, below, and then we can discuss.

The acting, no surprise, is top-notch—with Saoirse Ronan emerging as the breakout. “I’m so sick of people saying that love is just all a woman is fit for. I’m so sick of it,” she says at the tail-end of the trailer. Streep also gets in a memorable line, telling Jo that she’ll need to marry well in order to make her way in the world. “But you’re not married, Aunt March,” Jo says, to which Aunt March says, “Well that’s because I’m rich.” Is that an Oscars sweep I see in the distance?

People are living for this trailer. Peep just a few reactions here:

“All praise, Greta Gerwig,” one fan tweeted while another enthusiastically posted, “SAOIRSE RONAN ??? OSCAR NOM IMCOMING.”



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Employers Have Policed Black Hair for Decades. These Women Have Had Enough.


“As a black woman who’s worn my hair natural since 1995, I’ve understood how important hair and hair texture is for women, especially the issues we’ve had surrounding our hair,” says Eggleston Bracey. That’s also why she felt a corporate responsibility to expand on [Unilever brand] Dove’s commitment to real beauty and diversity. “I was looking out around the room, and I was looking at how diverse the legislative officials were; how many of our black legislative officials had textured hair. And it occurred to me, ‘Wow, with this critical mass, we can change this.'” Her plea to those legislators? Find a resolution to hair discrimination.

Eggleston Bracey’s speech cut right to Mitchell’s core. “It’s personal for me from many perspectives,” the senator tells Glamour. Growing up, she wore braids with decorative beads through high school—a style that helped solidify her sense of self. She now wears locs. “Fast forward several years, to having my son in high school. He wore twists to school on the first day of his junior year, then came home that evening and made the decision to take them out, because he wasn’t comfortable with bullies,” she says, adding, “I graduated from high school in 1982 in Riverside [California], which wasn’t a bastion of progressive politics. At no point was my wearing braids to school every day an issue. I thought, How did we go backward?”

Mitchell flagged down Eggleston Bracey as soon as she got off the podium.

“I followed her out of the breakfast, grabbed her staff member, gave them my card, and said, ‘Here I am, a state senator in California, the fifth-largest economy in the world. A progressive, important state legislature, and I’m loc’d. I think it would make sense that I carry the bill,'” Mitchell recalls. It’s a crucial example of just how vital representation in our boardrooms and our legislation truly is—in few other scenarios could two people with the power to make change not only empathize but honestly understand why the need for protection against hair discrimination is so imperative.

From there, the two went to work, recruiting the help of a handful of activist organizations to co-found the CROWN (Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair) Coalition. While Mitchell began drafting language for the bill, Eggleston Bracey led Dove’s CROWN Research Study, in which the brand surveyed 2,000 women ages 25 to 64 who worked in office settings to uncover just how societal norms and corporate grooming policies unfairly impact Black women in the workplace. The results, depending on your own awareness, were either shocking…or not.

“What the study showed is how pronounced and prevalent the issue around hair is,” says Eggleston Bracey. “Eighty percent of women reported that they’ve changed their hair from its natural stage to fit in a corporate environment. That’s four out of five black women in the study. I knew it would be an issue, but to see how broad-scale and pervasive it was [was surprising].” Another stat that was widely reported from the survey? Black women were 50 percent more likely to have reported having been sent home or know of a black woman sent home from the workplace because of her hair.

The stats and Mitchell’s powerful introduction of the bill spoke for themselves. In July, the California state assembly unanimously passed The CROWN Act. Five days later, the governor signed it into law, making California the first state to legally enforce that locs, twists, and braids are just as school- or business-appropriate as any other hairstyle. New York state followed 12 days later with its own anti-discrimination bill.

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Some have made the argument that there are more pressing issues to set legislation around than hair, a complaint both Malalis and Mitchell have heard repeatedly. “When we first came out with our guidance, there were some folks who said, ‘Hair? Who is going to care about hair?'” says Malalis. “But there were other folks who said, ‘I cannot believe you actually have to say this. I can’t believe people don’t know this is racist.’ The reality is that so many people have been experiencing this because schools and employers have never really cross-examined their own policies or what’s behind them. Is this really about health and safety? No, it’s not. Because even the U.S. Army who exacts the highest degrees of health and safety amongst its ranks has also said this is not okay. So if it’s not about health and safety, what [are these rules] really based on?”



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These Women Are Redefining What It Means to Have ‘Parisian Style’


How many times can a fantasy be recycled and repurposed until it feels attainable? In the canon of women’s self-improvement, the French-girl ideal—the most persistent and prescriptive of the fantasies—is always just one pouty red lip, marinière, and pair of skinny jeans away from becoming real.

A quick Google image search for French girl reveals a host of eminently familiar faces, each more calculated in its composition of faux effortlessness than the one before it. Model and actress Jeanne Damas, our generation’s Jane Birkin, figures among the first twenty results, alongside equally as slender, tousled-hair brunettes. The sole non-white exception is a woman from this story about defying beauty tropes. Never mind that French girl is used as a stand-in for Parisian—a conflation we likely owe to the framing of the 1950s and 1960s mavens of popular culture like Françoise Hardy and Brigitte Bardot as French icons, but who remain eminently tied to Parisian mythology—their reverence to a billion-dollar archetype is as reductive to the real women of Paris as it is to the women aspiring to be them.

There’s a plurality of Parisian styles and personalities—that’s obvious from walking the streets of Paris. But with more and more women using social media to access and share a more diverse sample of images, experiences, lifestyles and opinions, the disconnect between fantasy and reality is growing deeper and more glaring. If author and journalist Sophie Fontanel has given the middle finger to the notion that there is a codified set of rules for fashion and beauty over fifty, the women highlighted below are proudly showing the way for a younger generation of women who are ready to express themselves free from the grips of a generations-old myth.

Anlya Mustapha, 27

“The mainstream, accepted image of the Parisian woman is embodied by sophistication and elegance on slender, tall, white women. If something stands out as Parisian in style, it’s in their simplicity—not necessarily in color or print but in the total look. Yet on the ground, the style leans ultra-casual. There’s streetwear and minimalism. The dolled-up look we see time and again isn’t actually the norm.

“Women of color generally don’t find themselves in the classic representations of Parisian women, in terms of fashion or makeup. A red lip might be common on a white woman, but we might go for something entirely different. We can’t all be reduced to a few images or to one archetype. Luckily, there’s been a democratisation of makeup and beauty, which now leans very American (think: contouring, highlighting). That has been a step toward liberating Parisian women to express themselves as they wish. That’s a good start.

“I discovered modest fashion as a style through Dina Torkia when I was studying in London. It’s far more present in the U.K. than in Paris. But I’d also say my style is Parisian insofar as it is meant to be elegant, simple, minimalist. I like oversized and androgynous pieces—that’s Parisian, too.

“Modest fashion allows me to express my femininity and the plurality of my identities, as a woman and practicing Muslim. It’s not an attempt to respond to or address the systemic Islamophobia that continues to plague France—the idea that Muslim women may not be ‘French enough’—because that message, told through fashion, wouldn’t be heard by the people and populations who espouse such beliefs. The photos I share of my style, rather, are targeted to other women like me: women who may not have the confidence to seize the legitimate place they deserve in society. And it’s not only Muslim women—it’s anyone who may not feel accepted or legitimate.

Anlya’s favorite places to shop: “The Frankie Shop for a more traditionally Parisian esthetic and Kenza B, which specializes in modest fashions.”

Ellie Nesmon, 32

“Parisian style has always been synonymous with elegance, effortless chic and with an antiquated image that no longer matches reality. Parisian women aren’t always in ballet flats, sporting a marinière or a beret—thank goodness!

“I’m from Martinique. and I’ve lived in Paris for several years. I express the dualities of my identity through fashion. One day, I’ll wear a lot of prints and colors and very feminine cuts that remind me of the island. Another, I’ll embrace neutral colors and classic, more masculine cuts that convey a more traditional Parisian chic. I don’t need to choose between Paris and the Caribbean. Fashion allows me to be a chameleon. That’s why I love it so much.

“I hope women see that, through my style, the parisienne isn’t necessarily a blonde with poker-straight bangs, but rather a cosmopolitan woman who isn’t necessarily born in Paris, but is well-traveled and draws inspiration from other cultures. She defines her own style, which is modern and fun.”





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Natalie Portman Will Play the First Female Thor, and Women on Twitter Are Psyched


Natalie Portman showed up for a panel at San Diego Comic-Con on Sunday (July 21) bearing some pretty huge news: Not only will she be coming back to the fourth installment in Marvel’s Thor franchise, due out in 2021, but her role as Jane Foster will take a new turn. The announcement came after returning director Taika Waititi unveiled the Thor 4 logo and title, Love and Thunder. Also onstage? Chris Hemsworth—who’s played Thor thus far in the Marvel franchise—and Tessa Thompson, who plays Valkyrie.

“Feels pretty good. I’ve always had a little hammer envy,” Portman told the cheering crowd as she took up a replica of Thor’s hammer, according to E!.

Hemsworth will also be coming back as Thor. And if that sounds confusing, we have the source material in the original Marvel series to look to: This development is from a 2014 plotline in the comic books, Buzzfeed explains, where Thor renounces his hammer and name after losing his superpowers. Jane Foster—Portman’s character, who she also played in 2011’s Thor and 2013’s Thor: The Dark World—takes over his hammer Mjolnir, eventually transforming into Thor, the Goddess of Thunder. So, if you’re familiar with the comic books, you might have seen this coming at some point.

Still, that doesn’t make it any less exciting. After the news broke, women headed to Twitter to express just how psyched they were about seeing female Thor on screen—and Portman playing her.

“NATALIE PORTMAN AS FEMALE THOR! I AM: DECEASED,” one wrote.

Others were a little surprised, given Portman had previously said she was “done” with Marvel in 2016—but it definitely seems like she changed her mind.

Portman also shared the news in an Instagram post featuring her wielding Thor’s hammer onstage. “So thrilled to share the news with you today at #sdcc2019 that I’ll be returning to the @marvel #mcu as female Thor with legends @taikawaititi @tessamaethompson and @chrishemsworth. (Remember this as the before picture for when I get jacked),” she wrote in the caption.





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Ariel Winter Is Sick of Comparing Herself to Other Women


Right now it’s Lizzo. She’s killing it. She just puts me in a good mood. I put her songs on repeat. Also Billie Eilish. And my queen is Cardi B. She’ll always be my queen. Always, always, always.

How much time do you spend getting ready?

If it’s just in my regular daily life, probably like 30 minutes. If I’m going to an event, it can take an hour, an hour and a half, two hours, depending on how much we’re chatting and whatever we’re doing. The most time it would take is two hours.

What hair products do you swear by?

Definitely argan oil or coconut oil. I used to bleach my hair all the time and do weird colors. I was trying things. My hair was unhealthy because of it, so I had to cut it pretty short, and I was not happy about that. I was like, Oh my god, it’s not going to grow back, I want my long hair again. But I was like, OK, I need to take a break from dying it and let it get healthy. So I started getting into oils. If I add oils to my hair and moisturize, it makes it a lot easier to dye and go back to those colors. I don’t have to cut it so short and be so sad because my inches of hair are on the ground.

I can sense the passion behind this.

It’s so devastating! I saw my hair on the floor and was like…my hair!

Screw, marry or kill: mascara, lipstick, highlighter?

Marry mascara, kill highlighter, and screw lipstick.

You have $20 and free roam of a drugstore or Ulta, what do you buy?

If it’s a drugstore, candy for sure. Candy, candy, candy. At Ulta, I’d probably want a few different tinted lip balms. I could probably get a couple of those for $20.

What’s the last Instagram rabbit hole you went down?

I’m always going down dog Instagram holes. I will look on somebody’s page and go, Oh, that person! And then I’ll see someone’s friend, and click on their friend, and if they have a dog in a photo, I’ll click on that friend. That’s probably the most specific hole I go down, unless I’m looking for a specific meme. My friend always sends me the best memes. I’ll even look at memes from five years ago.

What’s your favorite emoji?

I just got into the gifs in text messages. I like the Twerkin’ Tina from Bob’s Burgers. She’s so awkward. I love it.

What’s your favorite way to take a moment for yourself?



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