Is 12 years old too young to be a top fashion model?

[MissMillie]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/cbbcnews/hi/newsid_6990000/newsid_6997500/6997580.stm

Frankly, I think most people are missing the point.

Why is the fashion industry designing women's clothing to fit the body of a 12-year-old girl?

[distantearlywarning]

1. I figured they'd get around to that sooner or later.

Eventually someone would realize that it's easier to just hire 12 year olds than to try to find grown women who LOOK like 12 year olds.

As you said, the real question here is not whether or not it's appropriate for a 12 year old to model at all. After all, lots of kids model kids' clothing.

The real question is: why do the clothes they design fit on a 12 year old in the first place?

[seemunkee]

2. She's a tall girl, 5' 7"

She won't have the womanly curves that the fashion industry hates so much.

[MissMillie]

3. that says it all

most women have curves... and the industry hates curves. So the industry hates its clients.

What would the world say about the fashion industry if it designed its clothes around a 5'0" 400 lb. woman?

Why is it any different to go to the other extreme?

[xchrom]

4. is she a fit model -- because if she isn't a fit model then the fashion industry

isn't using her body as model for anything except as someone to walk the runways or appear in print to show off the clothes.

you have to know the designer and know what fit models they use before you can make the claim you are making.

also it would be wise to know what sizes these designers go up to -- very few designers offer clothes in size 4 petite only.

many designers offer clothes that go from 0 to past 14.

[MissMillie]

5. offering clothes in a specific size isn't the problem

clothing designed for someone who wears a size 2 looks different on someone who wears a size 12.

Sure I can find a skirt in my size (I'm not even a plus-sized woman...well not for the lower half of me)... but this year, all the skirts have pleats that start at the widest part of my thighs. It's as though I were announcing to the world "hey look everyone... here come my thighs!"

The average size for women is 12. That's not wishful thinking on the part of big women. It's a fact.

So why is the fashion industry designing the overwhelming majority of its clothing to look good on someone who wears a size 2?

And the problem isn't just with the fashion industry. It's w/ women. Women buy this stuff thinking, "oh, if a size 2 can wear that, I can too, and I'll look hip and thin."

[xchrom]

7. as someone who was in the fashion biz for a long time -- i can tell you that's not

true.

each designer is different -- and follow their leads for their designs.

and there are many, many designers -- some for only petite women -- some for only plus sizes -- and of course the majority fall in between.

if you are finding a lot of pleats at the stores you shop believe me that's more of a problem of the buyers than it is of the designers.

designers do not -- i repeat do not -- design for everyone. they design for their perceived clients.

[La Lioness Priyanka]

6. because the rest of us have tits and thighs and bellies and other gross women parts

sigh :(

[Burma Jones]

8. We have an acquaintance that's a Plus Size model in Manhattan

and she ain't plus sized, she's about where she's supposed to be, maybe a few pounds light....but she is tall, 5'10"

[La Lioness Priyanka]

9. plus sized models are generally normal sized women

just like models for normal sized women are nothing like normal sized women.

[Sanity Claws]

10. Remember Brooke Shields?

I think she was 14 when she started being a big time model. I can't believe they've picked someone even younger. In addition to the fashion designer questions, what about the parents? I can't imagine having my child work at that age. They're too young to handle it.