The Codie Young photo that prompted criticism of Topshop

Our first problem is that this photo is generally unflattering, and looks Photoshopped into oblivion. While they don’t specifically call out heavy-handed retouching, a Topshop spokesperson alluded to it when defending Young to the Daily Mail.

“We do recognise regretfully that the angle this image has been shot at may accentuate Codieâ€s proportions making her head look bigger and neck longer in proportion to her body,” said spokesman Andrew Leahy. “While we recognise that Codie is a slim young woman, she is a size eight, not a size zero. The clothes she is wearing are a sample size ten so in some instances they may look a little looser than normal.”

The replacement image of Codie Young, where clothes appear to be styled to actually fit her

Angles, Photoshop bobblehead brush – at least there’s some acceptance of responsibility for a photo that’s bad, no matter what the size of the model. The fact that a photographer, and a stylist, and a creative director couldn’t be bothered to shoot, style or retouch the clothes so they appeared to fit properly and not make Young look like a lollipop is ridiculous.

Moving on to the second problem; when much of the outrage erupted, groups chastised Topshop for using a “size zero” model. That would be a US size 0, which is equivalent to a British size 4 or 6 (US vanity sizes can vary that wildly). So a UK size 8 would be a US size 2 or 4. And Young could very well be perfectly healthy at a US size 2 or 4, but trying to make it seem as if she’s so much bigger than critics were complaining about is disingenuous.

Then there’s the problem of the Scarlet A (anorexia) being brought out for every girl or woman who’s thin.

We’ve stated before that faux health concerns over “plus size” models (who are often not overweight for their height to start with) being some paragon of poor health, or encouragements of obesity are bunk. So are statements that thin models aren’t real, or are all sick. It is possible to be overweight and still be healthy, and it’s equally possible to be underweight and healthy. Are there anorexic models? Definitely, but thinness is usually accompanied by sunken eyes, poor skin and a number of other symptoms that are a better indication of health problems than body type alone.

On her blog, Young writes:

“Firstly this is very hurtful to me as I am naturally skinny; and anyone who knows me would know that I have been naturally skinny my entire life as my dad is 6’5 tall and skinny an my mum is also skinny, not to mention that my entire family on my dads side are all tall and skinny like me!…

You know what some people are just naturally skinny and even if I tried to put on weight it wouldn’t matter, because it doesn’t matter what I eat, I dont put it on. sorry to dissapoint you but why should I be accused of something so awful as being anorexic when I’m most definitally not. I love food as anyone who actually knows me would know!!!”

Fair enough. There are plenty of people out there who, for various reasons, don’t put on weight even when eating normally. There are some people out there who, for various reasons, carry more weight than average even when eating normally. Throw in the fact that the model is 18, an age when many people just don’t gain weight like they do at 30 or 40 and it’s certainly not impossible for her to be thin and healthy.

Then we got to this:

“And finally yes okay I maybe an American size 0-2 and a UK size 8 so what. There are overweight/obese people who are a size 34 or 18 but know one says anything to them because you don’t want to affend them! Just because someone eats a lot doesn’t make them healthy. Just like not eating anything doesnt make you healthy. And funny enough saying I’m anorexic affends me just as being called obese affends overweight people, but the differences is that im not anorexic!” {Codie Young blog}

Before we lay into our last problem, can we revisit this whole size conversion thing again? Because while vanity sizing in the US can trend towards the seriously vain, a US 0 being the same as a UK 8 just doesn’t happen that often. Young admits that for whatever Topshop calls an 8, she is indeed a US size 0, which is what led to the initial criticism. No, it’s not right that people accuse her of being anorexic because she’s a size 0, but let’s not play size games and try to make it seem like “oh no! you’re crazy, she’s much bigger than a size 0.”

We digress though: Codie, dear, have you been on the internet? No one says anything to overweight people? Really? Here’s one example.

And after 8 paragraphs trying to hammer home that skinny =/= anorexic, you’re ready to offer the expert opinion that overweight = obese? Because being skinny without being anorexic is possible, but being overweight without being obese or having weight related health problems isn’t?

Frankly, the multiple spelling and grammar errors throughout her blog post concern us far more than her weight. Eating disorder, no, but have we ruled out a learning disorder?

If the overly airbrushed advertisements that turned models into alien stick figures were too subtle, there’s now a t-shirt from Urban Outfitters that makes it a bit more clear.

They’re selling a t-shirt with the words “Eat Less” on the front. Ironically the unflattering cut of the shirt actually makes the thin model wearing it look bulky. {Gawker}

Here’s our problem with the shirt: while overeating isn’t healthy, neither is starvation. Fashion’s faux concern about obesity as a response to concerns over models who need to be airbrushed larger to appear healthy is really getting old. Some people have naturally thin body types and speedy metabolisms. We all have that friend who can eat pizza all day and not gain an ounce.

On the flip side, we all know a perpetual dieter who may lose weight, but never gets thin. Some people are meant to be thin, and some people aren’t. There’s no need to deride someone if their body doesn’t fall into the naturally thin category.

It’s only one of many reasons why skinny doesn’t equate to healthy, especially if someone has to go to extremes like not eating to attain that shape. While no one should look to fashion for health advice (and designers and editors should stop offering it if style opinion is their only qualification), t-shirts with silly messages don’t help.

The shirt isn’t showing on the Urban Outfitters website, so we’re assuming the company has at least removed it from their online store. Hopefully they’ll follow suit for any shirts in physical locations.

The new 27" waist "Homme Nouveau" mannequins

This new size mannequin, which comes complete with a 35-in chest and not an ounce of discernible fat, along with metrosexuality could be causing some men to hold themselves to the kind of unrealistic body ideals women are subject to, and some men may be attempting to wither down to proportions capable of looking as good in trendy, super-tight clothing as the “Homme Nouveau” does.

Rootstein describes its new mannequin as, “the young and restless redresses the balance of the prevailing male beefcake figure by carving out a far more streamlined sinuous silhouette to match the edgier attitude of a new generation.” {NPR}

If by “edgier attitude” they mean tendency to develop eating disorders, statistics are beginning to show they may be right.

A look from Dior Homme during Hedi Slimanes tenure, where extra slim silhouettes were favored

GQ Style Editor Adam Rapaport says it is naïve to think men are all of a sudden more concerned with their appearance based on the “Saturday Night Fever,” hair sculpting, skinny pant-wearing days of the past (or Hedi Slimane’s slim Dior Homme silhouettes more recently), but evidence shows anorexia in men (read: manorexia) is on the rise, leading to the question of whether the skinny jeans for men trend may be at the root of it.

Today, 25 percent of eating disorder sufferers are men, up from 10 percent in 1990, and 40 percent of binge eaters are men. {New York Magazine}

Some experts cite the renewed pressure men are under to fit into slim clothes. American Apparel has a line of denim pants with a maximum waist size at 33 inches, though the average waist size for an American man in 2006 was 39.7 inches. In addition Rootsteinâ€s mannequins have gradually shrunk in waist size over the years, beginning at 33 inches in 1967, down to 31 inches in 1983 and 28 inches in 1994.{New York Magazine}

“The body is on display more in menâ€s clothing today,” Radford University psychologist Dr. Tracy Cohn says. “The cuts arenâ€t as blousy and there is not as much fabric. Clothes cling to the body. The cuts are called close-fit or tailor-cut. And they taper into the body.”

Rapaport says it is not just jeans but everything in menswear that is skinnier these days including slim suits and skinny ties.

“Now itâ€s all skinny skinny skinny, whether you are or not,” he says, adding that the new generation is not smaller, they are just wearing clothes that are, moving away from the baggy, below-the-butt sagging pants that New York politicians abhor.

“Typically in fashion the pendulum swings,” Rapaport says. “If everyoneâ€s wearing big baggy jeans, then the cool kids want to be wearing skinny tight jeans. Once everyone does something, the elite want to do the opposite.”

If you are a man uninterested in whittling down to 14-year-old boy proportions to fit into these clothes, Rapaport sees no need to be concerned. He admits most women probably do not like to see a man in something that super skinny. He also advises men to look at this trend as an extreme by which to be inspired – rather than which to aspire to – to wear clothes that simply fit better and are more tailored than what we are used to seeing men wear.

It’s interesting that this trend emerges just as attention is finally being focused on the inclusion of curvier women in modeling and a movement away from the scrawny female runway look. That being said, we definitely agree with Rapaport. Women do not necessarily want to see super skinny men in super tight clothing, but clothes that fit well are a huge step up from baggy, sagging looks that do nothing to flatter a man’s body.