On Tuesday, on the a BBC, they had a report on a German magazine that from next year will be using models that look like normal women. The German magazine being Brigitte. This is coming on the heels of the US magazine, Glamour feature of a "plus size" model in the nude.

According to Glamour, they got a lot of positive feedback. As a lot of people know this has been floating around in the media and had all but died away with the emergence of the fashion weeks in the major Fashion Capitals. But really, what do people prefer in fashion magazines? Women who look like this:


Or this:


Unfortunately, I'm gifted with the ability of seeing both sides of this issue. This makes a very indecisive person.

Side I
As a lot of people know models have always been thin and it's just the way things have been. Also the fashion world is all about fantasy, look at some of the clothes they have featured. $1,000.00 for a pair of shades. There is also the fact that the models are more like hangers for the clothing and it is easier to see and focus on the details of the garments if the model is skinny. Then there is the flattening effect of photographs, an ultra skinny person looks like what a normal person looks like in real life.

Side II
Truth be told models of the past had some meat on their bones. In fact, the women who were crowned Supermodels were not sickenly skinny. Why is it that as we get older, the women we have as examples of beauty are unrealistic. The examples of women in fairy tales are so much more proportioned. Disney knew that. It is only natural that we women have curves, so why are we encouraged to lose them. Isn't it about time we threw away terms like fat and skinny and replace them with the term healthy. That means you could be a size 2 and be healthy or a size 16 and be healthy. Strangely enough, it is only us, women, who are doing this to ourselves. Men don't care if you are a size 2 and you would really have to question the relationship if your boyfriend leaves you if you gained 5lbs. I was glad when magazines used actresses and singers because they were a better representation of regular women.

Anyway those are my thoughts on the whole issue and I want to know from you, who would you rather see in a fashion spread?

This lady:


or this lady: