She's gorgeous, and she likes the word Curvy. I do too, but it's important to understand how we got to Curvy.
In the timeline of fashionable female body type silhouettes, curvy has a prominent role. Aside from the Flapper Girl of the Roaring Twenties, and sixites "it girl" Twiggy's influence on mod style, women have had some junk in the trunk or up front, depending on what century or decade. Bustles, corsets & farthingales are just the tip of the iceberg when we consider the lengths women have gone to alter their shapes.
BBW, the acronym for Big Beautiful Woman, was coined by Carole Shaw, who had been a broadway performer and singer, when she founded the magazine with this name in 1979.
The need for women's apparel in larger sizes at retail became glaringly obvious as women entered the workforce in droves during this decade. Carol Shaw was beautiful, proud and brave and she worked it, garnering a recognition for an acronym that has been co-opted as a term used mainly in online personals. Queen size was an attempt to be polite but cute. Queen size didn't really catch on, except for panty hose sizing and mattresses! By the year 2000, the term Real was being used more and more to describe a woman of size. I was an editor of one of the first online portals for this customer, RealSize dot com. Founded by Nancy Kaye, an early adoptor and not plus size herself, RealSize dot com was a fun and informational, magazine style portal with interactive sales features that let you purchase the clothing showcased in the fashion pages. Real Simple magazine (unrelated to anything plus size) was founded in 2000, capitalizing on the concept of authenticity. Fast forward to the 21st Century, and the online explosion of opportunity and options for every woman, but particularly the younger plus size grrrl, whose voice is as real as her authentic self. Taking a cue from the confidence women of size in ethnic cultures regally bare, curvy girls started popping up, strutting their stuff in cute, short, tight, colorful and sexy clothing, mostly available on the internet or in stores like Torrid. The Curvy movement has steam, stamina and sex appeal! Just look at some of my gal pals on Twitter! @CurvyMagazine, @CurvesandChaos, @Curvatude.
At the recent Full Figure Fashion Week LA, founded by Gwen Devoe, I met up with a lot of curvy girls.
The torch for Plus still burns bright, no matter what you call it, fueled by the ongoing need, passion and desire for stylish clothing that fits at all price points.
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5 comments:
In the UK I never came across the term "Queen Size" I guess what you call "panty hose" we call "tights". But I like the term plus-size for some reason, I'm not ashamed to use it as I'm not ashamed to be slightly larger than the sizes they tend to sell in most stores (although as a UK size 16-20 I can still find things in my size in most stores). I think "curvy" mean different things to different people. For some it just means shape not size (ie hourglass figure). I love the word "voluptuous" though, it sounds kinda sexy, just like us!
in Italy 'curvy' is used for US size 12-14 and not more, else people will jump on you and tell you you are promoting obesity (like Italian plus size model Elisa D'Ospina, whom you might have seen at the Full Figure Fashion Show in NY). I am a plus size and have a blog on plus size fashion but I am the only one in Italy who dares as a plus size to take pictures of her outfits and put them on my blog. Curvy here is used by thin girls so they can feel sexier. Recently Vogue Italia has come with an issue featuring a shoot with American plus size models and people have called them 'fat'. I guess we are not ready for this...
Well, in Australia, plus size term is fine, as long as its not used offensively. And besides, plus size is more common specially for clothing sizes.
I dont think there is anything wrong with the term plus size. I like the saying "curvy women"
eplussizeeveningwear.com
I don't care what you call it. I just want to find clothes that make me look and feel good. Plus Size, Curvy all work for me.
I have enough issues about my weight without trying to label it. We are living in a time where many of us are Rubens style women. (Peter Paul Rubens was a painted from the 1580's)
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