Comments on: Do Ultra Thin Models Sell More Clothes?

By: nikki

nikki — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 20:02:42 +0000

personally i do NOT want to buy the clothes a heavier model wears. i would much rather buy clothes from the companies who have waif models wearing their outfits. heavier women to not appeal to most of the demographics the clothing companies are trying to appeal to. young girls want to be thin, and look like kate moss and not like jessica simpson.

By: annie

annie — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 22:36:00 +0000

well you know this issue is very bad for our society this is not good, that all skinny models are not realizing how beautiful they are in and out and by not eating, its ugly to be very very skinny so why would u skip out on food? I mean it’s like the best! SPECIALLY ICE CREAM!

By: tinu

tinu — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 23:21:52 +0000

The reason the best thing on TV is Mad Men is because the sexiest women on there are real sizes. I don’t think they sell more clothes, but then I’m from a culture where healthy sized women are adored. It seems like you can sell more clothes to people if they fit, and that it can be done without promoting obesity.

If ultra-thin models sell more clothes, there are so many neighboring industries complicit in this deception that it’s not even funny.

By: Donovan Glass

Donovan Glass — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 06:18:25 +0000

Being only 26, I was very much so attracted to the skinny “pre-pubescent boy” type body. Then as I got older I formed my own opinions about wanting curvier women, purely because of what I felt when I was with them.

It would be interesting to see if women buy more clothes from skinnier models simply because they subconsciously aspire to the perceived lifestyle (glam, prestige, rich men, value in others eyes). My theory is that “normal” looking models might be too close to home and therefore, subconsciously women aren’t jealous of their perceived lifestyle. Of course all of this is based on perception, and obviously is not the TRUE reality, but when is good marketing about fact and logic anyway.

By: Mark Silver

Mark Silver — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 12:54:42 +0000

The problem with polls and studies being done about “how women react” is that there often seems to be an underlying assumption that it’s somehow set in stone, that women are somehow genetically programmed to react to these starvation victims.

The truth is exactly what @Linda Bustos says: that which women’s bodily shapes are considered attractive is culturally-based, and has changed dramatically just since the 1950’s, and even more if you look back hundreds of years.

By only focusing on the size of the model, you leave out entirely the entire creative range of expression of how retailers could speak to/with women.

When retailers point to simple-minded studies like that, they are abdicating responsibility for the culture they are helping to shape with their millions of dollars in marketing. I don’t believe hiding behind “well, that’s what women want, what can we do?” relieves them of the responsibility to find ways to speak to women without contributing to the alarming level of eating disorders and other health problems, such as binge dieting, that their models have helped to create.

Can you tell I feel strongly about this?

By: Linda Bustos

Linda Bustos — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 04:05:09 +0000

I thin-k you hit the nail on the head with association with higher fashion. Thinner model means more prestigious brand/store. There’s high fashion, “runway” models, “local” models (department store catalogs, for example), men’s magazine models, and they all have different looks and bodies. Runway models don’t sell lingerie, local and men’s mag models don’t sell Prada.

Personally I think that’s messed up, but if people realized how much of their opinions and preferences have been shaped by culture – and we have the nerve to make fun of cultures (past and present) that favor different traits like the Incas who liked cross-eyed gals with big noses. The young girls would wear a headband with a bead hanging in the middle, so they would stare at the bead and it would help them go cross-eyed.

That kinda girl would have sold a lot of maize and cacao, a waif would not!

By: Carolyn

Carolyn — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 18:02:36 +0000

I think you’re on to something with the biggest offenders being the high-end design houses. On the other side of the scale (pun intended), the “big girl” section of the department store has traditionally been filled with low quality, unfashionable clothes made out of cheap polyester. The association between bigger models and crappy quality may not be accurate, but it’s already in our heads.

By: Jamie Sanford

Jamie Sanford — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 15:00:40 +0000

My apologies- ARE manufactured only to size 12 or 14.

By: Jamie Sanford

Jamie Sanford — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 15:00:06 +0000

I don’t particularly find ads with ultra-thin models appealing. I am definitely drawn more to ads featuring models with some hips and breasts. I don’t expect them to look normal, no fashion house is going to hire a size 8 girl to promote clothes that aren’t manufactured only to size 12 or 14. However, why show the clothes on a model that looks really nothing like a normal woman? My expectations aren’t that high to begin with, but the models could at least look more like women than pre-pubescent boys.