Back in the heat of the awards season, Vanity Fair put out its “Hollywood Issue” with a cover featuring up-and-coming actresses. There was some uproar because all of these “up and coming” actresses were 1) white and 2) very skinny. Many pointed to Oscar nominee Gaby Sidibe’s exclusion from the cover as one of the most glaring “snubs”. Gaby handled the whole thing with grace, telling Access Hollywood that she was “happy to be in the magazine…. I think if I were a part of that shoot I would have felt a little left out anyway.”
That controversy was over pretty quickly, and soon people found a million other things to criticize Gaby about. Throughout it all, she’s remained the same upbeat, positive girl, which I think offends some people much more than her weight. The newest controversy is about some comments an unnamed “nasty little fashion queen” made to PopEater’s gossip guy regarding a potential Gaby Sidibe Vogue cover. Beware, this sh-t is not pretty:
Sources tell me that the editors of Vogue magazine rejected the idea of letting Oscar nominee Gabby Sidibe grace its fashionable pages because of her size.
“She’s a joke in the fashion community. What she wore on the red carpet at the Academy Awards wasn’t a dress, it was a tent,” one nasty little fashion queen (who I shall not be talking with again) told me.
“Vogue is venue where designers debut their best new pieces. All are of which are one of a kind and sample size. It would be impossible to get a regular-sized girl in those clothes, let alone Gabby,” a less acid-tongued fashion source explained.
A spokesperson for Vogue editor Anna Wintour, who after a trip to Minnesota said, “I can only kindly describe most of the people that I saw as little houses,” didn’t return calls by deadline.
I say, if Vogue is so buddy-buddy with all the designers, tell them make a dress for Gabby for the next issue. See? Problem fixed. That was easy! And for all of you magazine editors out there, normal people don’t want to see all of these skeleton models — give us the real girls!
[From PopEater]
How about this? We don’t make controversies where none exist. Who the hell was even talking about giving Sidibe a Vogue cover anyway? Because whoever mentioned it was just saying it so they could bash Gaby.
Beyond that, I think this “source” doesn’t know what the hell he’s talking about. Sure, designers’ samples are all sample sized (zero or two), but plenty of designers make “bigger” clothes special order for a Vogue shoot or for a red carpet. Gaby wore lots of designer clothes for her awards season (like Marchesa for her Oscar gown) – and her stylist told media outlets that designers were clamoring to work with her on red carpet looks. What the hell, people? Leave. Gaby. Alone.
Love the sparkley grey dress. It’s the first time I’ve seen it.
I agree, the beaded one at the bottom was the loveliest.
i don’t really buy this because i don’t see anna wintour putting gaby on the cover so whoever said it was a joke probably made up the rumour just to have a wee moan and a bitch
Sounds like High School all over again .
I for one am so tired of the weight game in Hollywood/women. Gaby is obese, this is a fact, and I love every unneccessarily large ounce of her! Here’s the thing; the average sized woman is somewhere between a 10/12 and 14/16, so already it has been verified that these designers are not displaying clothes for the common woman. Now, women on the heavier side complain that there is nothing designed or adequately advertised for women with such figures and that the skinny women look unhealthy. The skinny women complain that the “fatties” are just jealous and that they really only wish long life, prosperity and health upon the fatties *cough*.
Heres my take: If you’re skinny then youre unhealthy and if youre fat youre unhealthy. Now does this end the argument? No. There is still going to be a war over who is MORE or MOST unhealthy, i.e. fatties’ increased BP/heart rate over a skinny chicks’ malnutrition and decreased Galbladder function. It will never end.
We as females need to quit trying to tear each other apart. If you’re unhappy that you’re one size versus another, then do something about it. You are tired of being picked on by the fatties because you look like a 12 year old Asian (referencing body build, no disrespect to Asians) then eat a cheeseburger and shuddup. If you’re a fattie who are tired of being picked on by the skinny twerps, then put DOWN the cheeseburger and shuddup. Otherwise if you don’t want to make that sacrifice (and it isn’t necessary!) then just be happy with what God has blessed you with even if it is crappy genetics or problem skin. If we all looked like the emaciated models who admittedly starve themselves, then wed be boring.
I love Gaby and think even though she is obese, she is beautiful inside and out and that many of us can learn something from her. Many of us are smaller and have not one half of the personality she has or the appreciation for life.
/Soapbox
As for the “queen” who wrote this, clearly their knickers are in a bunch about something in their personal lives because I could think of a great many designer who would tailor a dress to be put on an Oscar winning lady 😉 Furthermore, Kathy Bates has always been one helluvan actress and I hope that Gaby can channel some big girl love and keep on going!
I like the sparkly gray too, that’s pretty.
IMO, a good designer can come up with designs for all body types. Not everyone is going to look good in the same thing.
Kaiser, I’m in agreement that this was only brought up to trash her. No one was demanding she get a Vogue cover! People questioned why she wasn’t included in Vanity Fair’s cover, but that was a totally separate issue. I also agree there are some people who want Gabby to break down, cry, and beg them to accept her or help her. And she’s not, she’s simply being happy and confident, and they can’t justify that. Which says more about them than her.
Nasty little fashion queen? Karl Lagerfeld? He seems to have been giving interviews lately and we all know his opinion on size, although he’s generally not afraid to put his name on the record.
Both of those bottom two are lovely. Is someone like whacked out Peaches “dead eyes” Geldof any better?
If Vogue is where the “best” designers show off their new designs, I’d hate to see the worst. Vogue’s clothes look like something one would wear to a Halloween party. And their bony, emaciated, deathly pale Eastern European models look like animated skeletons who have been drained by a vampire.
“…she’s remained the same upbeat, positive girl, which I think offends some people much more than her weight.”
This is SO true.
One glaring assumption this nasty little dumbass fashion person is apparently unaware of, and that is, Gaby is not IN the “fashion community”, she an actress! She’s lucky as hell to NOT be in that dysfunctional anorexic mess.
And she’s lost a bunch of weight since her movie too, so suck it.
Oh we’ll tear down that upbeat spirit just yet… never fear. She’s only human after all, the public will find that soft spot and deploy a blitzkrieg…
Oh Gabby. I admit i was one of the nasty ones before going on about her size instead of her talent. But enough is enough. She’s grown on me, by continuously being gracious and not descending to the new levels of low we are seeing here. This constant criticism about her weight has since stopped being mere criticism and has now turned into bullying. They don’t like that she is not weeping, that she is not bending, that they keep poking at her but she still gets out there with her head held high and that beautiful smile. You are trully in a class of your own and you deserve every good thing that is coming your way. So tell those haters to keep on hating, and you continue being who you are.
(I’m going to get on my soap box for a second)Why do people like Ana Wintour and Karl Lagerfield even matter anyways? They are in FASHION, a completely frivolous, shallow industry that (for the most part) contributes nothing to the world. Most of what is considered “fashion” nowadays is ridiculous and a poor excuse for “art.” Gaby is a good person who did a meaningful and heart wrenching performance in a movie. These people put expensive clothes on anorexic women. So let them criticize all they want, cause in the end all these snarky aholes have done is live vapid superficial lives.
@gaby you are so right, echoing sentiments most of us share. I wish – I so just wish that everyone across the country could see what I see in LA daily. The tragic little secret about size 0-2 celebs (and their wannabe followers like that Rachel zoe chick) is that in real life these women look miserable and malnourished. Strap some fake DD on them and they look like horrific cartoon characters gone wrong.
Plus the only way for a normal sized woman to get to those sizes is to use drugs…which is even more horrific. They don’t call her “coke-kate” for nothing.
That is not to say LA isn’t full (98% full) of small fit people, its just that once you move here you see that most of the truly gorgeous women in this city are Kim (or Khloe)Kardasian size, they are healthy and fit and they take care of themselves.
Don’t believe me? check out Nicole Egert on VH1s celeb fit club. this week the girl weighs 122 pounds, which is very healthy and appropriate for her 5’3″ height- but they make her look so much bigger.
All I wish for Gaby is that she take some steps to be healthy and avoid life long problems associated with obesity. She could be an amazing role model for all young girls who struggle with health affecting weight problems.
if she is a “joke in the fashion industry” than i say fuck the fashion industry! if they are so petty that they are trying to tear this person down to make THEMSELVES feel important and relevant (which, as she was nominated it sounds like they are using her name to garner some attention-maybe indeed someone from vogue because hey-the mags been mentioned!) then it shows how terribly insecure and irrelevant they are. thats what i learnt from being bullied for many years, and i sincerely hope Gaby keeps her cheery persona, she has a wonderful smile which is infectious! 😀
Did anyone notice the Hitler surfer boy looking bug-eyed in the backround?
Love Gaby; love the sparkly grey dress; and it looks wonderful on her. And while I am unapologetic for bashing Kate Gosselin, I would never bash anyone based on their looks. Gaby is a lovely young woman. I do hope she takes steps to ensure her health.
So I am the only person who thinks the grey dress is ill-fitting and unflattering?
Just me?
She’s killing that black one though. That looks kickass.
@JuiceinLA I’ve lived in Miami my whole life so I also know what it’s like to live in a city full of superficial, materialistic,silicone-filled people :/ It’s so refreshing to see a successful young star who can actually be a role model and has real talent(unlike the Miley Cyruses of the world). Obviously she should try to lose some weight for health reasons,but she should not be criticized into doing it, it’s her body and I’m sure she realizes what she needs to do. Btw… this is off topic but I just noticed Jesse James creepy little head in the corner of the top picture, lol.
Vogue… the same magazine who told Oprah she had to lose 50lbs (or whatever it was) in order to get the cover (worse though, she did it). Who cares what Wintour thinks? Apart from the odd interesting article (usually non fashion related) it’s irrelevant to regular people. The bitchy little queens can have it.
I’m so happy that this woman is clearly on a higher level than her haters – let’s hope she can stay there. everyone is upset because they think the should be miserable because of her appearance instead of loving herself as she does. Infinite kudos to her for getting it and living it – the fact that looks are such an unimportant part of who we are, to those of us who don’t choose to trade on them.
De-lurking to say this:
I am 5’2, was a size 5 from ages 11-15, a size 10 from ages 15-18, and a size 16 from ages 18-22. When I was 22 I had a breast reduction and lost 60 pounds. I have been a size 0/2 since then.
All I’m saying is, it IS possible to be a size 16 and then lose weight until you are a size 2, and still be healthy. I am not anorexic; I eat 1800 calories a day, do pilates, and drink on the weekends.
Oh, and I’m now 31.
“I so just wish that everyone across the country could see what I see in LA daily. The tragic little secret about size 0-2 celebs (and their wannabe followers like that Rachel zoe chick) is that in real life these women look miserable and malnourished. Strap some fake DD on them and they look like horrific cartoon characters gone wrong.”
@JuiceinLA Oh. My. God. Truer words have never been spoken.
I’m an average looking (and size), plainish woman and here in Texas I’m often overlooked by men for my friends who are all very pretty. It isn’t that I’m ugly or not pretty, I’m just not the one who stands out. I’m the “funny one”, the “great personality” and the perpetual “so easy to talk to” girl. Usually men get to know me and THEN think I’m attractive.
I’m okay with all of this. I was lucky to have parents who loved me and who made sure I didn’t get too wrapped up in my appearance. I was lucky to grow up in a wolf pack and those boys made sure I knew how much they loved me (I was the little sister to all of them) and how beautiful they thought I was. Because of that, even though I know many people who don’t think I’m pretty, *I* think I am so I don’t worry about people who don’t agree with that assessment. I just think they aren’t as smart as I am. 🙂
However…..
In LA I can’t walk more than 50 feet before having some man rush up to me. At parties, I’m surrounded by men. The men I interact with such as waitstaff, cashiers, hotel staff, studio tour guides, random men on the street etc… treat me like I’m royalty.
It’s downright freaky. Seriously. It kind of freaks me out sometimes to have someone literally rush up to me and start a conversation.
It took me years and years to figure out it’s my confidence they are attracted to because quite a few women (not all, mind you, but so very many) in LA have desperately low self esteem and are desperately desperate for attention. God help them, it’s written all over them. The expression on their face (assuming they can move their face), their obvious implants, skin tight clothes with deep cleavage and, most sadly, their insistence of sexualizing every encounter are dead giveaways. LA has a lot of Heidi Montags walking around. They just reek of desperation and it breaks my heart to see that.
Conversely, I walk around in my own little world not paying any attention to others. When I do interact with someone I’m friendly and chatty and usually interested in what THEY have to say and am not spending all my time trying to convince them I’m so great/beautiful/whatever. I’m not rocking the cleavage and most of the time the men can’t stop staring at my eyes. (<- I know that’s hard to believe but it’s true! 🙂 )
I constantly bless those girls hearts and hope they will someday let go of their need to be approved of. It’s only then they’ll realize how beautiful they really can be.
Great post, great thread. Bravo & three cheers to all of you! I am so sick of the demented race to be size 0 to be beautiful or cool. It is so unhealthy and unnatural. I have two nieces who are size zero, they used to be beautiful girls with fabulous thick blond hair; now their hair is thin and they have more wrinkles than I have and they now have severe health health problems. Thanks Revolting Hollywood and Disgusting High Fashion industry! You are destroying your own and many young people besides.
Karl Lagerfield, sit down hoe! I remember how huge he was years ago. Ana Wintour? Didn’t I see her as a extra in Dawn of the Dead.
Gaby has the things those losers will never which is heart and grace.
This girl came out of nowhere and killed that role. Ms.Gaby I love you!
I like her in the blue gown. She looks stunning there.
Who is bashing Karl Lagerfeld again? Remember he is friends with beth dito, not so skinny on her own.
problem is the target group of vogue or other high fashion mags. these women really have body issues and underlying racist issues. i really think gaby knows what she is doing i really admire her.
…..”And for all of you magazine editors out there, normal people don’t want to see all of these skeleton models — give us the real girls!”
He should speak for himself. There is NOTHING normal or real/natural about Gaby Sidibe’s body size and it promotes serious health issues saying that. It might sound mean but that is the plain truth. The PopEater’s gossip guy sounds far more bitchy then the people he interviewed.
I agree with gaby as well. People like Karl Lagerfeld and Anna Wintour are such ugly people both inside and out that I have no desire to emulate their styles either. Who wants to sound like a crabby old queen or a magazine editor who is known for being so nasty that they made a movie based on her called The Devil Wears Prada? I mean, really?
The fashion community tends to lean towards whatever is less common at the time. When everyone was starving and emaciated, then it was fashionably to have some curves. Now that most of the U.S. is overweight from terrible diet and exercise habits, it’s desirable to look as though one is starving or on drugs. Nice.
Yes, Gaby is lovely in her attitude and grace. I’d much rather see someone who is pleasant to listen to than a nasty old shrew.
PopEater’s gossip guy is obviously not very well liked by many celebrities and has absolutely nothing better to do than to pick on someone like Gabby who won’t bite him back. I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised, if he didn’t intentionally solicit these responses by allowing these fashion industry insiders to believe they were only having a very casual conversation.
Truthfully, the vast majority of people have moved on and aren’t overly obsessed with Gabby’s appearance. She’s a very lovable young woman who will succeed at whatever she chooses to do with her life. PopEater’s gossip guy needs to “get a life” and actually report some “real” news! Racist jackal!!!
loooove that hot chocolate!!!
I can only wish her all the best on her career.
I’m just afraid that she might be too nice and that ”Hollywood” will eat her up.
She’s 1st class all the way,a true role model for women or men. 🙂
lol @ “vanilla gorilla” in the background
Honestly, who cares what these people think? When I reflect upon what is probably important to them & their world, it actually makes me giggle with pity. I’m sure Gaby could care less as well.
I don’t like the way people have been treating her about her weight, and she does seem like a nice girl.
But honestly, I was not that impressed by her performance in Precious, I mean all she did for most of it was stare forlornly. Monique really stole the show in that movie.
She is a ROCKSTAR! These fucking “fashion” morons could learn a thing or two from her! She is a fantastic actress with a killer attitude! Jealous unhappy pricks! Why don’t these “designers” go Photoshop another size 2 bitch into a size zero cuz they think she’s fat too?! LOSERS!
Honestly, what kind of designer are you if you can’t manage to design and make an outfit for a larger body?
This happens every season on Project Runway, when the designers have to design a look for “ordinary women”: typically 85% of them act like they’ve been asked to design a spaceship out of chiffon, and 15% realize that this is actually part of being a designer, ie. knowing enough about your craft to be able to drape a flattering silhouette for every size.
As Crystal Renn (goddess plus sized model) said: If clothes don’t fit you, move on. It’s the clothes that are wrong, not you.
it’s easy to bash the superficiality of the fashion world with their dour, emaciated models,unwearable clothes, and the ruination of Vogue under Anne Wintour, but Hollywood is no less superficial. As I recall Megan Fox got her “part” because she washed Michael Bay’s car in a bikini – hardly a testament to authenticity. Hollywood likes money no less than the fashion world, and for every vapid model and designer there’s an equally vapid starlet and producer, and I wonder which world has more animated silicon.
I love fashion. It’s a wonderful way of expressing yourself every day, and it’s interesting to participate in the evolution of style.
However, if an architect was incapable of designing a house that could withstand the elements and function for everyone he would be considered a pretty lousy architect.
But apparently if you design clothes, it’s OK to expect your customers to starve themselves to fit into your clothes, and be limited in their movements, rather than designing clothes for actual potential customers and their actual lives.
(And don’t even get me started on shoe “designing geniuses” who are the equivalent of 16th century Japanese foot binders — you can’t walk fast or for more than 2 hours tops in those Choo/Blahnik things. Be a sculptor and call it a day.)
So much of fashion seems to be about crippling women — making them physically weak, limited in their movements and uncomfortable. I really think it’s a subconscious/conscious way of compensating for the social-political gains women have made in the last 100 years…
I’m always amazed at how the Project Runway contestants whine and mewl when they have to design (horrors!) for anyone above a size 2. Ditto Anna Wintour asking her cover women(who she’s going to Photoshop anyway) to diet. Incompetence all round, at a level at which no other profession is allowed to perpetrate.
There is so much hypocrisy in this post and in the comments section. Most contradictory are the comments about how ugly Lagerfeld and Wintour are. Really? We’re talking about a woman who is overweight, not mentally challenged or handicapped. Besides the fact, that how are you better than anyone else by calling others ugly?
Holy crap-let’s take a queue from Gabby and handle things with grace instead of name-calling etc. It’s ok if there exists an industry, such as fashion, that doesn’t cater to EVERY body type.
I would like to give a smack in the face of those idiotic, skin and bone fashionistas! Gabby is a lovely girl and a very talented young actress! Ok, I think she should watch her weight for health reasons, but she has nothing to answer to these stupid people whose lives revolve around the latest trend! Leave Gabby alone and go back to your vomiting marathons and to your diet of coffee and cigarettes!
If designers have difficulty designing a dress for her, then they can’t call themselves designers.
Mizz Kitten, I don’t think it’s hypocritical to compare and contrast Lagerfeld and Wintour. I think the point that is being made in the comments is that they’re not aesthetically superior to be evaluating who is and isn’t attractive (as a package, as a human being). Wintour and Lagerfeld are all about, not their designs – Lagerfeld has been designing the same thing for decades for Chanel and big whoop! But he earns his money because he caters to wealthy Asian women who are thin enough to wear the same old boring Chanel suits.
Our value as human beings is limited by the fashion industry all because of the rubbish they want to sell, most of which is produced at a firm surplus. A Chanel handbag is made in China at a cheap price (at a production cost of less than, most likely, US $100) and sold for thousands.
To me, I see this as racism masked with false health concerns. When people point the finger at overweight people and proclaim to care, it’s all BS. They’re just using the new scapegoat – fatness – to their racist advantage because they know they won’t be called on it.
Magazines like Vogue are notoriously racist.
I wish everyone would just live a happy, HEALTHY life, no matter what size they are… but that just isn’t going to happen, is it? 😛
VOGUE IS TOTALLY OUT OF VOGUE. WINTOUR IS OUTDATED. Seriously, Gaby Sidibe acted the part of Precious so well. How could useless fashion cows even begin to understand the depth of the acting craft and the emotion involved. Gaby Sidibe is amazing. Vogue is a snobby stuffy mag that no one should buy; there are mostly corny ads….you are buying ads every time you buy a Vogue mag. Gaby, ignore Vogue and the fashionistas….you are amazing and you and everyone with talent knows that.
I never buy vogue. Its a massive snooze.
I do not want to see “normal” women in fashion magazines.
Fashion is fantasy, period. It’s a form of entertainment for some of us. I like flipping through a Vogue and Bazaar in the Barne’s and Noble coffee shop (I think it’s a waste of money to buy them). I like the artistry of the photography. I like the artistry of the lighting design. And I LOVE the clothes and shoes. They aren’t meant for “normal” women to wear. That isn’t the point.
I’m so sick and tired of people saying that they know people who are too skinny “because of” something external. The only person in charge of their bodies is THEMSELVES. If someone is too skinny because they feel they should look like a photo-shopped fantasy woman (who is often just naturally very slim), they need parental guidance. If a child/teen can’t differentiate between reality and fantasy, that is a failure on the part of the parent, not the industry.
The fashion industry does not purport itself to be a role-model of any sort. If anything, it’s extremely exclusionary-only accepting want it deems “beautiful” at the time.
This young woman should only be a role model in the sense that she did want she wanted and was successful at it. No one should admire her or strive to be that obese. No one should be confident with themselves at that weight just because she is. Doctors warn us about the dangers of obesity for a reason.
Now, some like to say that the people criticizing her don’t really care about her health. I’d say that’s a logical fallacy. Plenty of people do, myself included. It’s her body, sure, and she has every right to be okay with being, and stay, that fat. But all I can think about when I see her is how much pressure all that fat is putting on her body-her heart, her lungs, her bones and her muscles, just the same as when I see a smoker how much lung tissue they are damaging.
The only reason why the so called current fashion is still “in” is because that’s what we get to see media wise and buy as magazines.That is what is served to us as consumers,like one same meal everyone eats in a restaurant.You see everyone’s having it so you think..okay..that must be good.Well…there’s plenty of other meals out there and they are just as good too.If you have the same number of ,say, magazines in a store featuring normal models who look like anyone on the street verus the ones featuring’ imposed skinny’and the same ratio TV wise and similar, you will soon realize that if everyone really thought that current fashion equals the ultimate achievement in life looks wise,then none of us common mere mortal women would be taken or married.
Think about those who do not even have or have lost body parts and preserve yourself the best you can. Appreciate every healthy cell you have at all times.
I’m a size 0 and i’m healthy. some people are naturally very thin, and eating more isn’t gonna give me curves. i’m not malnourished. I have muscle. I just thought i’d add that.
Hannah- me too….I’m a little white woman with an asian build no matter how many big macs I eat. Basically I have a healthy lifestyle, exercise a bit, pretty normal stuff. So not all 0s are crack addicts! And for what its worth I don’t think being a size 0 makes you better looking…
Weren’t a bunch of you complaining a few months back over some magazine doing a layout using big models? Didn’t some of you, posting on this thread, post in the other one saying that fat people were gross, and that the models were not “beautiful” they were fat? I just do not get it? I remember a mass amount of people going on and on about how the models needed to lose weight and skinny is the only thing beautifful, and now everyone is saying how great Gaby looks. She is obese. Plain and simple. She may be a nice girl, but that does not excuse her from being criticized just like any other obese person walking the streets. I bet if she were on The People of Wal-Mart site and not on the red carpet, people would be singing a different tune.
You’d think fashion designers would LOVE Gaby because she presents such a challenge. Making a thin chick look good isn’t hard…but making fashion-forward plus-size clothing that will actually look great on plus-size women…now that’s a task.
@Lilias, thanks fo that! Oh Gaby is nice blah blah blah! Enough allready. The girl is obese. Nice and obese usually go together. The fashion industry isn’t to blame for your silly nieces anorexia. WTH?
Where Gabby Sidibe is concerned, I say her size is not the notable thing about her. What people should be gawping at his her utterly amazing attitude – that’s what makes people adore her.
Instead of ripping ourselves up about our size and turning that self-hate into skinny-bashing or fat-shaming on other people (and disguising that hate as “health concern”), we should all be applauding her for getting on with her life – and we should all be so lucky to have an outlook like hers. Life really is too short for the bitchiness.
I hope she manages to turn a blind eye to all the fat-hate and stay positive. Someone should start a “Gabby, Just Ignore ‘Em” campaign.
@Lilias, I agree so much with you!
I work with in the fashion industry and it annoys me to see people who know absolutely nothing about fashion making ignorant comments about how “shallow” and “useless” it is. This is ignorant. Especially because I know that most of people with this sort of opinion never touched an issue of i-D or French Número in their lives.
For all you self-righteous people, Hollywood is way more ruthless to people than the fashion industry. Time for a wake up call.
The fashion industry is a billionaire business that puts food on the tables of many people around the world. To mention some, think about the enormous amount of photographers, stylists, make up artists, designers, hair stylists and models who depend on fashion to make a living. You know, not everyone in the world wants to be a doctor or to work for the Red Cross. People have different talents. Fashion, like cinema, is entertainment and it makes the world less dull. How can someone dismiss the work of a Galliano or the beautiful images of Meisel?
People are so patronizing about Gabourey. Pretending to care about her make the hypocrites feel so good about themselves. They’re all like: “we gave an overweight black girl a second look! Ain’t we fantastically generous and nice? Don’t you appreciate our sacrifice?”
Bullsh*t. Gabourey is not merely “fat”. She’s morbidly obese to the point that her face has no defined features. Sorry, but this is not beautiful. She may be a good person and all, but I don’t have to nerve to say she’s pretty. And I’m completely sure that 99% of you guys would’ve been just as nasty as the” little fashion queen” if you saw this girl on the street.
Isn’t that Jesse James on the background of the first picture? I dont see any nazi emblem on the red cutain…(just bitching)
JJ Hitler lurking in the background is truly surreal.
I grew up with a fashion obsessed mother, grandmother and aunts. I am pretty sure my first magazine was harper’s bazaar. When I was 6!
I was the style editor of my school paper. I went to college in New York to pursue a career in fashion. I had some fun experiences but the people drove me crazy. I was a size 0 but my roommate wasn’t. She was in the dreaded double digits and therefore not considered a favored girl. I worked with world class designers while she was relegated to behind the scenes stuff.
I stopped enjoying the atmosphere and the bitchiness and the constant discussions about weight and sizes. The cocaine diet was very popular and plain old starvation tips were shared without shame. I figured some people were just bitchy because they were hungry.
I went on to work in another glamorous field that had nothing to do with bodysize.
I still love fashion but not the fashion world.
Gaby’s sweetness radiates from her smile and poise. I just think it is poor taste for people to go out their way to make her feel bad. They hate that they can’t make her feel worthless and ashamed. ALL of their self worth is wrapped up in appearance so how dare this girl be happy and fat at the same time!
Her strength is like a personal insult to them and how they live their lives.
When it comes to size and weight people really can be vicious.
Seriously, who cares if she’s obese? She’s been in what, One movie? Why does “the industry” need to put their .02 in? Maybe she’ll never be in a movie again? So what!!!!
My point is, no one knows where or what direction she’s headed. Maybe she’s got a great singing voice like her mom, and she’ll be a famous opera singer? Or a broadway actress?
And vogue blows.
Gaby has lost a lot of weight since her movie. She was in a horrible state in that movie.
She’s losing the weight but will need surgery to stay in the game.
@juiceinla I am always so shocked for the first day or so when we visit L.A…..where even the owners of cute little breakfast joints have faces all distorted to hell from plastic surgery. It takes me a little while to get acclimated to that!
Kaiser, I absolutely think that “Throughout it all, she’s remained the same upbeat, positive girl, which I think offends some people much more than her weight.” is pissing people off more than anything. It’s like, “ZOMG she’s fat, and HOW DARE SHE not be apologetic and contrite and share how she’s trying to lose the weight” etc. ad nauseum. Gaby seems comfortable in her own skin, and for fat haters and fat shamers that is what’s so galling.
Rock the eff on, Gaby! I’m glad you’ve gotten to a place where you are comfortable with your body, god knows that ain’t easy in our culture.
Here is my whole take on it. Gaby is an oscar nominee. Most people at least know her face. Outside of the fashion world and another small group of people, most people have no idea who Anna Wintour or her staff are, and probably would not even recognize them, let alone care. Soooo…..keep on hating! Nuff said.
She’ll be fine, people.
“…Vogue editor Anna Wintour, who after a trip to Minnesota said, “I can only kindly describe most of the people that I saw as little houses,” ”
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Oh wow, is Wintour trashing Middle-Americans in general, or only the ones in Minnesota?
.
This snide, anorexic, stupid bitch is the reason I cancelled my Vogud subscription after fifteen years. She took a classy publication and turned it into a tabloid.
If you don’t like Vogue don’t read it. If you think the clothes are not for “regular people” wait for InStyle to editorialize it down and highlight trends. Liking and/or working in fashion does not make you stupid, superficial, or vapid.
I think the big problem is too many fashion magazines are being pushed to put celebs on their covers and non-models in their photos. Which I like and support in other magazines. Just not in high fashion ones. It is about the clothes not the people wearing them. They also usually have at least a few well written, interesting articles and the celebrity interview rarely one of the best. Vogue should go back to being an unapologetic high fashion magazine, stay true to what made them succeed, and their artistic vision. Keep the celebrities and ready-to-wear fashion to the entertainment magazines.
“A Chanel handbag is made in China at a cheap price (at a production cost of less than, most likely, US $100) and sold for thousands.” WRONG! If you are going to state something as a fact make sure it is true or clear that you are just making it up.
“But apparently if you design clothes, it’s OK to expect your customers to starve themselves to fit into your clothes, and be limited in their movements, rather than designing clothes for actual potential customers and their actual lives.”
This is completely untrue. Companies like Ashley Stewart and Lane Bryant wouldn’t exist if this were true.
Torrid, a clothing company for larger teens who sway the Hot Topic way and couldn’t find clothes their size, is really popular.
All three companies make their clothes out of quality fabrics and have very cute designs for the overweight and obese.
There are lots of regular stores where generally overweight women can find nice clothes-up to about size 16 usually.
Stuff that is made for models is not made for the average woman. That isn’t the point. The clothes are meant to be an art form. They are meant to only be for the wealthy-just like all other art. Who buys art? Douches who don’t mind spending thousands of dollars on some other douche’s drawing.
The fashion industry represents thousands of jobs down to the steam cleaners who make sure the clothes look nice. It isn’t some big conspiracy to get everyone anorexic. A lot of designers are literally artists doing beautiful work in the form of clothing as opposed to sculpting or painting. This is their art form. Let them have it.
High fashion designers fall into the artist category.
Everyone else designs for the average woman in her average life.
If I hadn’t spent most of my money on fashion magazines during my teens and 20s,I would have had enough money to buy a pretty good brand-new car now.Oh yeah,I own numerous Vogues, Cosmos, Elles, Glamours, Allures..American, British, French editions..you name it..Now,when I can actually allow myself to really buy them, I don’t. Why? Because I realized they are quite boring and a waste of money and time.Even if I needed ideas,I’d rather look at how a real person would do it(yup,be her fat too) than an ever so boring professional fashion magazine.Truth is,fashion is BORING and I am sure the very participants in it know it very well too.But as you mentioned…they must feed families,egos,whatever..Moreover,in the era of digital photography who needs professional models anyway.One can model whatever they wish,however they wish and make it all public anytime they want.
Fashion is all about *exclusivity*. This has held true all through history. Historically, larger women were seen as desirable and dominated fashionable representation because in a world full of people who could barely keep themselves fed, extra pounds were exclusive and unattainable for most. Which made it an aspirational look.
Today in the West it it more difficult to remain extremely thin in a culture geared to feed us on demand and keep us sedentary. Therefore thin girls are now viewed as aspirational by the fasion industry.
Fashion is not here to make everyone look good or even to cater to everyone. It is aimed at wealthy people with the time, resources and inclination to maintain a thin shape.
If this fashion establishment offends you (and it DOES offend me) then get off your behinds and start thinking about how you can be creative and get your own looks together without them. Dont be dictated to. Stop asking to be included because it’s never going to happen, ever, amen. Start thinking about how you can create your own and they will become as irrelevant as they deserve to be.
🙂
BIG.
FUCKING.
DEAL.
She’s an actress, NOT a model. She’s not trying to be Kate Moss. I think she’s freaking amazing and the more I read about her or the more I see her in interviews the more I like her.
Agree lilias and Lindsay – the celebrication of fashion mags has been a constant complaint of fashion devotees for most of this decade – can anne wintour, etc. be so enthralled with celebs that they are blind to the destruction they are inflicting on their mags. Funny thing is the public isn’t as taken by these celebs as anne wintour et al. mistakenly believe.
Vogue frightens me. It’s all advertisements anyway. It’s a really useless pretence. Some yayhoo says to wear rubber miniskirts or aluminum crap jewelry with a Chanel logo on it that year and hope they can sell some for $3K apiece.
AbFab comes to mind – a very good parody.
So a bunch of stuck up nitwits in the fashion industry don’t like her. OMG she should go slit her wrists. Please! She looked lovely in all the pictures. For her size she made very good fashion choices.
Being an ex-model and seeing first hand how cut-throat and nasty that industry is I canceled my ‘W’, Vogue and Vanity Fair magazines once I had children. Now I get House Beautiful and Highlights magazine and that’s IT! I lost all respect for the fashion world when they put coke heads on the cover of their mags a month after being busted snorting it in the bathroom. I love designer clothing and wear some of it when I can afford it, but I buy what I like….not what someone tells me is in season. And to see those two “fashion moguls” think they have any right to comment on anyone in Hollywood is just ridiculous.
Gabby is a breath of fresh air in the celebrity world and I hope to God she remains that way and doesn’t let the a-holes tear her down.
@Hannah–Noo Noo…I think the sentiment tends to be towards people who force their normally size 8-10 bodies into a zero by enemas-diets-laxatives-smoking-caffeine. If you’re “naturally” that way then of course that’s your body’s representation of its health.
I saw precious over the weekend. Really great, very heart wrenching… and of course, sidibe carried the entire movie.
A little off-topic, but I have a question for those who already saw “Precious”. I can’t watch rape in films. Is there such a scene in “Precious”? From what I’ve seen in the trailer it must be a very good film and apart from my angst I’d really love to see it…
Who actually wears those outfits they feature in Vogue anyway?
@sauvage: just saw Precious, great movie, I’d recommend it. there is a scene of rape, but it’s very very short (just a mini-flashback early on) and it’s not very explicit – it’s her rapist taking off his belt and going on top of her, and her underneath. there’s no violence beforehand or anything, no fighting. as rape scenes go it’s not explicit at all.
as for the haters…f*ck them, leave gabby alone!
she is one extreme and the models in fashion industry are another (worse) sick extreme. Why poke fun of her if people are poking fun of scary flat meager models.
I disgree guest. In my opinion being morbidly obese is worse than being underweight. Anorexia is a different thing to being underweight. Being anorexic is a psychological condition and those people shouldn’t be vilified but aided.
Those underweight fashion models are more victims of the standards of the industry than regular people who feel bad about themselves for ten minutes after looking at the images in a magazine. Poeple are quick to insult models but they’re just doing their job and meeting the standards expected of them.
@elisa: Thank you very much! Guess I’ll go and see the movie then. :-))
None of us are perfect, isn’t it about time we stopped picking on people and bulling them for being different from the “norm”.
What ever size she is, she looked pretty and very well groomed. It is unfair of us to be so judgemental perhaps if people of her size were not judge so harshly it would be easier for them to find their own way to a healthy life style, but by keep being so mean we just help to compound these peoples unhappiness, which in turns leads them to abuse themselves more as they feel even more worthless.
Shame on us as a society that we choose to be so mean.
If she was my friend or family my only concern would be for her health and not her appearance and I would encourage her to lose weight on this ground and this alone.
These girls are fierce! I also want all these clothes.