Tuck Takes Off

Wow, check out this message attributed to Nike Women, though perhaps the product of someone’s fertile imagination. Either way, it is so, so, so right on! Love this, and one reason  it really strikes me is it illustrates a sea change in the pressure imposed on women to conform to an unrealistic, skinny standard. This gal looks great; she is strong, her body fat is low, and  yes, she has a bubble booty. Um, duh, that’s because she’s a woman and she’s built that way.

I remember when I was an editor at InStyle 10 years ago and had a startling conversation with one of the fashion editors there. She was saying she often hoped for a stomach bug as they are an excellent way to get extra skinny. Pardon me? I told her that sounded really unhealthy and…and she waved me off, saying “There is no such thing as too skinny. It’s fabulous.” Period. End of conversation.

Ralph Lauren ad from 2009. Lord above.

The fashion industry continues to support this thinking. Check out the infamous ad from Ralph Lauren (right) from 2009. The model was airbrushed so much she went from slim to anatomically impossible, and THIS was the image they placed in magazines and on billboards. Didn’t someone inside Ralph Lauren look at it before it was approved and say it looked a little funny (as in strange, not humorous)? No. To their fashion and marketing team, she looked GOOD. She looked ASPIRATIONAL.  It took an outpouring of disapproval from bloggers and other writers – and a lawsuit from the model! – to get Ralph Lauren to take down the ad. Victory. Let’s keep  images like this out of the mainstream media.

Okay, gotta go – off to Equinox to work out with Mez Alexandre, my killer trainer. I think Ralph Lauren Skeletor would last about ten seconds with him. I work out to get and stay strong, to feel alive. And yeah, if you happen to see me walk away, and if I happen to be wearing jeans, what can I say…bubble for days.  And I’m fine with that 🙂  xxoo Steph