Spirited Women Come in All Shapes, Sizes and Colors

I am not sure if the latest Kate Moss scandal made the news stateside or not but I certainly heard about it in the UK and France. Ms. Moss, also known as "La Brindille" (the twig) is of course one of the longest lasting supermodels in fashion history. Where most of her model sidekicks from the late 80's have found other pursuits, Kate remains at the top of her game with contracts from such prestigious names as: Dior, Louis Vuitton, Longchamp and Burberry.

During her career Kate has seen her share of scandal and though I won't go into any messy details here, it has been questioned what kind of role model she makes for young girls who want to be just like her. The supermodel does thrive on provocation but her most recent remark may have gone a bit far. As many of the fashion world's young models struggle with the enormous problem of anorexia and bulimia, Ms. Moss decided to put in her two cents. When she made a statement about her take on the very real problem of eating disorder, Kate simply said, "Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels." Her close friend, designer Karl Lagerfeld, had just a week or so before been quoted as saying "no one wants to see fashion on a woman with curves."  Perhaps his remark prompted Kate's unfeeling statement. In any case, it rang very harsh for much of the general European public and quite a bit of ink has been used to theorize on the implications of her words on her adoring young female fans.

Kate Moss is a beautiful woman but beautiful women come in all shapes, sizes and colors. What a boring place the world would be if we all walked around looking like clones of one person's beauty ideal. Luckily certain people in the media have realized that variety is the spice of life. Just take a look at Dove's campaigns over the last few years or the Revlon ads that use beautiful women from the world over or top magazines like Marie Claire that do fashion spreads with plus size models. Things are changing but there are still miles to go to bring a truly open minded ideal of beauty to the fashion world.

Kate Moss and Karl Lagerfeld are sadly only outspoken examples of a limited feminine ideal that still runs very deep in the world of fashion and beauty. Self love and acceptance is the key to changing the tide. When we begin to judge ourselves with a much gentler, less limited yardstick, the ripple will take on a greater force. As we accept who we are, we give others permission to do the same. I am not saying to stop reaching for the best version of you possible but I do think we need to loosen up the definition of beauty a bit more.

So how about you?  Do you love and accept yourself while working towards your greatest potential? As a Spirited Woman allow yourself that gift and give the same generous acceptance to every woman around you.

Take a moment to watch this Dove video, it will make you realize you really are comparing yourself to unreal standards every time you look at a magazine, billboard or movie screen.

To Your Spirited Style,

- Dawn Z Bournand  www.fabulouslysuccessful.com
Click here to read more of Dawn's posts.

Comments

[Kathryn Levenson]

I worked in the modeling and cosmetic biz once upon a time. How frustrating to be told that they are expanding the range of body types, then be told to "lose 10 pounds" for an upcoming swimsuit shoot. At that time I weighed about 40+ pounds less than I do now, maintained by two meals of slim fast and 1/2 a dinner per day or a large salad and a pint of Ben and Jerry's for dinner. And a minimum of two workouts per day. Now in my 50's, I jog a couple times a weeks, do a few crunches, and even though I would like to weigh less, it obviously isn't so much of a priority that I obsess on it. I do feel bad when I hear my 9 year old daughter say that someone told her she is fat when she is beautiful and really is model slim. Girls even younger are now worried about their weight and body image. Look on TV. How many "well rounded" young girls do you see?

[Dawn]

Hi Jill,

How frustrating that you can not simply send comments and or questions directly to Dove. Not very customer service oriented.

In my post I praise Dove for their innovative marketing and even more importantly the positive messages that they are sharing with women. I am not a Dove user so unfortunately can't comment on the heavy perfume but I do think you need to share your opinion with them. If they don't hear what they need to fix often enough it will most probably go un-noticed.

Best of luck with your crusade.

To your Fabulous Success,
Dawn

[Jill Booth]

Dawn, I agree with your comments but we need to be less gullible and to recognise advertising hype for what it is. Talking of which I followed the Dove link to their sales promotions and was prompted to ask them a question. Oh, no, I have to actually write a letter and post it! Too much bother (now there's another topic for you!)...maybe they don't really want questions...although I imagine that such a large company would do market research.

What I wanted to ask Dove is whether they have any perfume-free products. Their perfume overload in the products that I have tried is, for me, sickening and I would not buy any more, regardless of to whichever demographic they promote it. Do others feel this way?

Jill