Trigger Warning: Fashion insanity discussed. Some talk about obesity.

A loyal reader of my blog contacted me this morning and was clearly fired up!



She described the segment by Juju Chang and with curiosity piqued and deflector shields up I crossed over enemy lines into a place where I rarely venture…and here is what I found.

Americans Too Big for Zara Clothes

I pushed the play button and watched a segment about two size 18 fashion bloggers: Alissa Wilson of Stylish Curves and Shainna Tucker of A Thick Girls Closet, who accompany Chang (size 8) on a shopping trip to Zara to see what clothes they could find.

The answer for Tucker and Wilson was none.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with Zara, it is a Spanish clothing chain and one of the prominent retailers in the world; out selling other fast fashion notables such as H&M and Forever 21. But while H&M and Forever 21 offer plus sizes in their American stores, Zara refuses to do so. I suppose that is their prerogative; after all, plus sized stores don’t feel obliged to offer smaller sizes and there is nothing new in the world about specialty stores, but this particular piece on Good Morning America raised a lot of questions for me and stirred up a maelstrom of emotions. In the segment we watch Chang, a size 8, effortlessly slip into a Zara XL jacket and we hear her mutter,



I can’t say for sure and I’m curious what others think because I may be projecting, but I detected just a tad of dismay and resignation in Chang’s voice. What I can say for certain is that whatever her tone was, it was NOT elation and I could almost imagine her skipping her next two meals and making it a goal to be a Zara M before Christmas!

And she wouldn’t be the only one. It is well documented that many women’s self-esteem is intertwined with their clothing sizes. I wrote a piece about vanity sizing last year. And as ridiculous as people know it is, and this includes men as well, even if a pound isn’t shed, if the size tag shows a smaller number, people feel better, more attractive, more worthy. So if Zara is trying to sell skinny as the ultimate fashion ideal, they are meeting their goal. I went to their website and was not surprised to find each of their models visibly thinner than thin. I chose not to post the photos as they can be triggering but if you explore the site you see that even the men and children models have the infamous Kate Moss Waif look from the old days when the emaciated look first took hold and spawned a generation of people desperate to emulate that body type; which while beautiful in its own right, is NOT natural for most and can result in disordered eating behaviors in efforts to attain the “LOOK.”

But believe it or not, I digress! The GMA piece doesn’t go into whether Zara’s exclusion of plus sizes may lead to possible increases in Eating Disorders. My hunch is Zara would respond to that line of reasoning with the counter argument that offering plus sizes would exacerbate the obesity epidemic in America and reinforce fat people’s choice to be fat. After all, aren’t we colluding by providing them with the option of affordable and fashionable clothing…EGAD!! Instead the GMA segment has Wilson and Tucker asking the following questions:



And the success of other retailers who offer plus sizes would support that theory, but either Zara doesn’t believe it or they are choosing to shroud their fat bias with a financial excuse and a vague explanation that it would be too complicated to expand (pun intended) their size offerings.

In an article by Suzy Hansen in the New York Times titled, How Zara Grew Into the World’s Largest Fashion Retailer, (November 9, 2012), Ms Hansen discusses an interview with the Jesus Echevarría, the Communications Director for Inditex, (the fashion company whose most famous brand is Zara). Mr Echevarria is asked why there are not nearly as many Zara stores in the United States as there are in other countries? Mr. Echevarria explains some of the challenges with competition and marketplace saturation in America but adds,



Ms Hansen also quotes Mr. Echevarria as saying, “Zara to me is a European store for European style; it’s very fashion forward. And what is the problem in America? They don’t fit in the clothes. So why do it?”

Okay. That is their choice. Who am I to argue with a billion dollar company’s marketing strategy? But that wasn’t the only thing that left a bad taste in my mouth about the segment.

Wilson and Tucker seeing that the Zara clothes would not fit their beautiful curvy bodies in the traditional way decide to go, “…in there with our MacGyver eye – like, ‘how can we make this work?” We watch as these two determined women try to turn a sow’s ear into a silk purse by writhing into a skirt using it as a tube top. While Chang thought this was “innovative” I found it distressing. Why are these two self-accepting gorgeous divas so attached to a brand name that clearly has no interest in them?

It reminded me of the Cinderella story where the sisters were slicing off their toes and heels in order to fit into a shoe that just wasn’t meant for them because they want something that is supposed to be the one and only thing a woman would ever want which is to marry a prince. Frankly, I’d rather marry someone who loved me big feet and all and so when Tucker says,



I felt truly perplexed. Not critical, not judgmental, just completely mystified. Up until that point, the trio did a wonderful job, with the exception of the perfunctory mention of the obesity scare, of speaking out on behalf of the plus size market and NOT blaming women’s bodies for being wrong. It was a refreshing point of view that was diluted by Wilson and Tucker trying to fit in to the Zara products any way possible. Then I saw the story directly underneath the Zara piece and was reminded once again of the lure and power the media and fashion industries have over women.

Fashion Tricks to Fake the Perfect Figure



The segment never specifically defines the “perfect figure” although it is easy to ascertain that it has a great deal to do with being tall enough (counts me out) with some unspoken perfect hip, butt, breast, leg, thigh ratio…like rating a dog at a Best of Show competition.

The Perfect Figure

But the assumption is that EVERYONE wants to be a part of this club to whatever extent they can pull it off. My sanity points at an all time low, I rolled my eyes when I read that one of the fashion tips is to wear longer length skinnier pants to make you look taller. And who do you think provided the pants on the model in THIS story?

I’ll give you a hint…it begins with the letter Z.

Til next time!

Dr. Deah

http://www.drdeah.com/bizarre-bizara/

I'm a fan of only buying pants that come in S-M-L labeled sizes. Something about it seems less scary than a number.