Are Women's Magazines Sizest?

When I decided to put my diary online for everyone to see, I promised glitz, glamour and goss, but I also promised that I would give you an insight to my label, and the things that go on behind the scenes. So far all I have spoken about is the “glam” aspect of this business, what I haven’t done is talk about what it’s really like to run your own business and the tribulations and triumphs that come with it!

I have always had a strong work ethic, shoot for the stars, dream BIG, work hard and NEVER, EVER give up, however at the end of the day it’s not always smooth sailing… this week, I have felt a deep tinge of disillusionment and disappointment in the industry I am trying to hard to make a change to. So to say I have a bone to pick is an understatement!

I generally stay away from reading magazines, especially when I am in a “designing” mood, I prefer to draw influences from less common places, however I decided to buy a copy of a few different “popular” women’s publications and was left feeling infuriated.
I digress, I started this label because I felt there was a desperate need of quality clothing for “real” women that was sexy, tailored and glamorous. I wanted to make a difference in the media and the way women are perceived, I wanted women to feel empowered by fashion rather than enslaved.

Yet it seems every time I open a women’s mag something catches my eye and sends me into fury. There was one publication in particular which will remain nameless that had a great article on women over coming eating disorders and what they went through to finally reach a point where they were “friends” with their body, these were real everyday women, in each of their stories they mentioned the pressure of feeling as if they needed to aspire to some “perfect” ideal… accompanying this story was information on places you could turn to if you felt you could be suffering an eating disorder, then to my sheer astonishment on the opposite page was an ad for a fashion label with a 6 foot size 2 model that looked barely 15. Enveloped by a lycra sheath. Does anyone else see a problem with this?

It’s all good and well for these magazines to highlight the problems that women face, I applaud it, however it’s almost futile when they continue to fill the rest of their pages with advertisements and editorials filled with women that represent 1% of the population, whom by the way have been airbrushed and photo shopped within an inch of their miniature waist lines and flawless faces.

Another publication that shall not be mentioned featured all the latest trends and where you can get them, in all of it’s 200 pages with everything from make-up to shoes… only 2 thats TWO fashion labels featured in the entire publication did to a size 16, a few more went to a 14 and the majority were to a size 12, and ONLY one label that provided her range up to size 20. How can this be, when 65% of women in Australia alone are a size 16 or more!

My fabulous right hand and operations manager, Cath, was out on the weekend, and got into a rather heated debate with a male in his mid 20’s who works in the banking sector, he questioned our label and it’s relevance in the market place, claiming that “bigger” women don’t shop, have no money, and no desire to look nice. What’s worse was she had to explain to him point by point, statistic by statistic why he was so far off the mark, till he finally agreed she had a fair argument. When she told me this my blood boiled and I was so very saddened, is this really what it’s come to? Is this the perception of women who don’t fit the “perfect” size 8 stereo type?

So I implore all of you that may be reading this for your feedback, I want to know about your experiences, your feelings and what goes through your mind every time you open a magazine, or walk into a shop that doesn’t have YOUR size! What happens when you want to find something for a special occasion or something nice for work, and you are forced into a department called “plus size” even though you represent the average, real woman. I want to know what goes through your minds when you read these magazines and see the TV shows, I want to hear YOUR stories…mailto:info@lilmama.com.au

Please email me at Look forward to hearing from you all, till next week.
Much LuvMamaxxx