H&M CEO: Some of our models were 'too skinny'

H&M wants to make reality more mainstream.

The company’s chief executive said the Swedish-based brand strives to showcase a variety of body shapes in its advertising, but he admits it's been difficult to follow through.

“Some of the models we’ve had have been too skinny. That’s something we think a lot about and are working on,” Karl-Johan Persson said in an interview with Metro. “We want to show diversity in our advertising and not give people the impression that girls have to look a particular way.”

Last month, the label quietly released its beachwear collection featuring Jennie Runk, a curvier, “more buxom model” with more realistic body proportions, Persson noted. Current ads now feature Beyoncé, “who’s a bit curvier as well,” he said.

“We have a huge responsibility here. We’re a large company, many people see us, and we advertise a lot,” he said.

Persson noted there’s still room for improvement, acknowledging the need for more discipline to correct past “mistakes” in the retailer's choice of models.

“In some cases, there are models where we say, ‘H&M doesn’t work with such models.’ So we’re not blind to the issue,” he said. “But I have to be honest and say that some of our models have been too skinny. That’s not OK.”

An H&M spokeswoman said the company did not have any comments beyond what Persson told Metro. However, she did address media reports that the Swedish-based brand retouched photos of a bikini-clad Beyoncé to shrink some of her famous curves, angering the superstar in the process.

 

Current H&M swimwear ads now feature Beyoncé, “who’s a bit curvier," like some of the brand's other recent models, Persson said.

 

“Our purpose has always been to portray Beyoncé as the strong and beautiful woman she is,” the spokeswoman said. “It has been a good working process and a close cooperation. Both parties are happy with the pictures."

Model size has been trending recently after another retailer’s CEO was quoted as saying his brand refused to make clothing for large women because it didn’t want overweight women wearing their brand.

“In every school there are the cool and popular kids, and then there are the not-so-cool kids. Candidly, we go after the cool kids,” Abercrombie & Fitch CEO Mike Jeffries said in a 2006 interview with Salon that went viral after being highlighted earlier this month in a story by Business Insider.

“Are we exclusionary? Absolutely. Those companies that are in trouble are trying to target everybody: young, old, fat, skinny. But then you become totally vanilla. You don’t alienate anybody, but you don’t excite anybody, either.”

Persson didn’t address those comments directly but said the topic of using more realistic models gets raised constantly.

“We’ve talked a lot about it here at H&M. I say, healthy model, always! And everyone here feels the
same way.”

Article from www.today.com

Wendy Williams Shares Weight Loss Secrets & History of Eating Compulsion with Dr. Oz

Talk show host Wendy Williams is talking to the media about her healthy lifestyle change that has produced a 20-pound weight loss and a new outlook on life.
On a last week’s appearance on Dr. Oz, Williams, 49, shared her weight and height, espousing how her new healthy regimen allowed her accept herself, flaws and all:

“I weigh 175 pounds. I’m very accepting of my height and weight and where I am probably for the first time, steadily, in my life. I feel good,” said the former New York-based shock-jock. “It’s not a big deal. It might not be right for everybody, but I am perfect the way I am right now.”

Wendy has had a life long struggle with food. Developing a unhealthy relationship with food when she was younger, Wendy was a closet eater.

“I often wonder, if my parents hadn’t monitored my weight, would I have let it spin out of control or would I be okay?” Williams asked. “I would always sneak in the refrigerator and eat seconds. And underneath my bed, it was littered with Twinkie wrappers and Jolly Rancher wrappers.
“I would sneak-eat, because I was denied food, not because I was hungry, but because my mom and dad did the best they could in 1970 and ’71 and ’72. They didn’t know any better.”

Not shy in front of the camera or an audience, Wendy is shy about eating in front of people — she prefers to eat alone.

“My favorite food is the food I eat by myself,” says Williams. “Now I’ll tell you what I eat so it’s not really sneaking, but I’d rather eat it myself. Whether it’s drive-thru at Taco Bell, pick up one taco on my way to the grocery store.
“I love the grocery store. I would never have my groceries delivered. I would never have anybody grocery shop. Grocery shopping for me is an hour and a half and I’m the girl who takes the free cheese and I luxuriate over the chips and I open them up and I eat them.”
 

 

Article is from www.frugivoremagonline.com

Look of the Week

 

The look of the week will be a little different. I will put looks together but I will not be including places and prices. I like to find items from everywhere to give you outfit ideas and styles. The goal is to recreate these looks on your budget. I hope you enjoy!

It's not always about skinny leg jeans and heels. A nice pant and flats can give off the same fabulous look. Simply pieces paired with the right things can make you look gorgeous. These floral print pants with a solid top will keep the look clean and simply while being stylish. Choosing flats over heels will allow you to be more comfortable. How are you feel this look???

R&B Singer Kelly Price Talks Losing Weight and Gaining Confidence

Women of size are constantly battling fat stigmas from doctors, media and overarching society. Despite her success, soul crooner Kelly Price, has gained and lost weight in the public’s eye. In an interview with CocoaFab, Price tackled her weight loss struggles and the impact it’s had on her music career. Some of the highlights from the interview are featured below:

On her treatment in the music industry:

“I was always the fat girl. It was super extra hard because we didn’t have a whole lot [growing up], so I didn’t dress fly. I didn’t have any of that stuff happening. And then coming into this industry, I was known for being talented, but I was still the fat girl. And it wasn’t what people were looking for. There’s a lot that you hear, there’s a lot of cruelty out there. Some of it comes from the executive offices. It comes from other artists at times. It was a very difficult thing to overcome.”

On being the “jovial” girl:

“When I first came into this business, I had to, for the sake of being able to sell myself as an artist, always be happy and jovial and smiling. I was the happy nice girl. And I am a happy nice girl, but I have my moments too. But you kind of know that you can’t afford to have a bad moment because you’re also the fat girl and you’re going to give them another reason to talk about you. “

On gaining and losing weight:

“I’m a big girl that comes from a big family, with a very slow metabolism and if I don’t exercise I cannot [lose weight]. Even if I’m not doing bad eating wise, I can stay the same, but I can’t lose weight. I have to stay mobile and that’s good for me because I need to keep myself moving. It’s really hard keep on track while being on the road, but I can’t go very long without feeling it. My body will remind me, ‘You have to get up and do something.’ I am grateful for that. In that sense, I’ve retrained my body to miss it if I don’t exercise.”

On the importance of maintaining a healthy weight:

“To be able to use a God-given gift and to live from it and to really live well from it, I would be a fool to allow being undisciplined to cut my life short and so that’s really what it’s about. I fall off the wagon, but you know that wagon is still parked in the garage so I get back on it.”

On God, faith and overcoming stigma:

“I kind of had to come into my own and again it was the realization that I came from nothing, except for my foundation in faith and I’ve been given this great opportunity. And as far as I’m concerned, that happened because God let it happen. There was no person, whether they thought I was too fat, too black, too country, too ghetto, too New York, too thug, too whatever. Nobody ultimately had the say over whether or not I was going to make it. So again, it falls back to my foundation of faith. Sometimes I gotta look in the mirror say, ‘Hey, they’re still saying you’re too fat, but you’re here. They gotta take it or leave it.’ And in most cases, if they leave it, it’s all good because they don’t need to be in my space anyway.”

Article from www.clutchmagonline.com

Hot Summer Sandals

Monique Criticized for Losing Weight

Pictures and a video has been circulating of comedian Monique showing her loss and her story. I found Monique to look amazing and was sending a major congratulations to her. What I though wouldn't happen was how a lot of criticism and negative comments that was thrown her way. I couldn't believe that all the hard work she put in would be followed by many wishing she was bigger.

In the plus size community I have noticed that some bigger women find happiness and fun putting smaller women down. What happen to loving your body at any size or embracing your curves???? Have we all forgot that our mission is to make people feel better about and accept the body they have. I know some of her critics probably never even read or listened to her story and her reasons to loose weight. And you know what they say, "Those who assume makes an ass of themselves."

Monique explained that at her weight she was told of medical conditions she had. Monique wants to be alive to see her children and future grandchildren grow up. So she started a weight loss journey. I am all about embracing your size and I encourage us all to live a healthy lifestyle. It is very important to do what you have to be to be healthy. If that means you have to loose weight to live than I am all for it. Who are we to criticize her for losing weight to control her health conditions.

Many wrote how she was a hypocrite for talking about skinny women and then becoming one. I understand she had a lot of jokes about skinny women, BUT her decision was in no way to be skinny. If you look at Monique, she still has some curves and will probably never be "skinny", but aren't we the hypocrites when we preach loving your body and then hate someone for losing weight. Being a larger women does not give you the right to talk about smaller women. It shows signs that you are not completely happy with your body. When you love your body at your size, you wont feel a need to talk about other women's body.

Lets get real ladies. Monique lost weight.....YES. Her comedy acts surrounded around her talking about skinny women....YES. BUT she lost weight to LIVE not to be skinny. Overweight people do develop health conditions because of there weight....ALL THE TIME. Those criticizing Monique need to take a good look at themselves instead of talking about her. Love YOUR Body Ladies and congratulations should be the only thing sent Monique's way.

Black Girls Don't Have Eating Disorders??????

“Curvy. Thick. Brick house. Bootylicious. Voluptuous. Phat. These are some of the words commonly used to describe black women’s bodies, but rarely do we hear about black folks’ complicated relationship with food.”

These are the words of Clutch’s talented editor Britini Danielle, who posted a video from the thought-provoking Black Folks Don’t … series. This particular episode tackles the taboo issue of black folks and eating disorders.

Self-medicating with food is definitely an issue in all communities, especially in a society that subsidizes all the cheap, tasty salt-fat-sugar combinations, but — and there is a large “but” (no pun intended) — we are hearing the same discourse concerning eating disorders that perpetuates the myth of the weak woman that falls victim to a ever-encroaching white standard of beauty. (In the piece, apparently, the term “African-American” was an euphemism for black girls, as not one man admitted or was featured as suffering or recovering from an eating disorder.)

As we continue to exclude the myriad of differences and experiences in each eating disorder case for a more easily digested model, the roots of the problem will stay simplistic — “oh, I hung out with white people too much,” or my favorite, “we eat too much soul food.” This allows our cultural dialogue to be reactive instead of proactive.

No one broaches the subject of black psychology from a non-scientific or scholarly standpoint. Most black folks who will watch this type of video have already heard or read about W.E.B. DuBois’ groundbreaking theory of double consciousness, but when are we going to ask if our minds are inherently programmed for destructive, suicidal behavior? For heaven’s sake, we live under the constant, imminent threat of nuclear war: this proves without a shadow of a doubt humans are intrinsically psychotic on some level.

Additionally, as long as black folks dismiss that the importation of cheap, legal consumerist ideologies in the form of fast-food diners and bargain-based material depots bludgeons the fabric of black culture and communities, regardless of class or rural area or cityscape, we will continue to witness the disappearance of effective methods to stop the institutional assaults on our collective body.

Well, enough of my rant. Take a look at the video.


Black Folk Don't: Have Eating Disorders from NBPC on Vimeo.


Do You Agree?????


Article and Video courtesy of www.frugivoremag.com

Abercrombie & Fitch CEO Mike Jeffries: "Fat Chicks Will Never Be in The In Crowd"

I came across an article about why the CEO of Abercrombie & Fitch doesn't want to provide clothing sizes X-Large and XX-Large for women and girls. At first I though it would be about what most clothing designers say about their size preferences but after reading the entire article I was disgusted.

Here are a few quotes from the article:

"According to this popular teen clothing retailer, fat chicks will just never be a part of the “in” crowd."

“He doesn’t want larger people shopping in his store, he wants thin and beautiful people,” Lewis said. “He doesn’t want his core customers to see people who aren’t as hot as them wearing his clothing. People who wear his clothing should feel like they’re one of the ‘cool kids.’”

“In every school there are the cool and popular kids, and then there are the not-so-cool kids,” he told the site. “Candidly, we go after the cool kids. We go after the attractive all-American kid with a great attitude and a lot of friends. A lot of people don’t belong [in our clothes], and they can’t belong. Are we exclusionary? Absolutely. Those companies that are in trouble are trying to target everybody: young, old, fat, skinny. But then you become totally vanilla. You don’t alienate anybody, but you don’t excite anybody, either,” he told Salon.

I can't event begin to speak how I truly feel because I can't believe he would make these statements out loud. I know everyone is entitled to their own opinion but to be a public figure for a company that markets to mainly teenagers, you have to be careful what you say. It only further trigger those with body image issues to go further into having a negative body image.

What ever happen to uplifting those so they can be happy with who they are???? Is it really a crime to promote size acceptance????

Looking at the pictures of Mike Jeffries I can only think that he is living the life he wish he did when he was a teen. He may have his own body image issues that he has not worked through and seek happiness from making other feel the way he does.

Although I have never shopped in Abercrombie & Fitch (they definitely wouldn't have my size), I hope those who can shop there will take action and stand up to the ignorant comments made by the CEO. The stigma placed on plus size people is horrible. We are not horrible people and we deserve to be respected the same way as some one who is much smaller.

The ignorance of one should never be your definition, use moments like these to become stronger. Your pants size does not define your worth and always remember that. Only those who are unhappy with themselves want to hurt others. Love yourself always!!!!!!

My Article for Syracuse Woman Magazine

I am featured in this months issue of Syracuse Woman Magazine. Check out my article.....

I have been preparing myself for this presentation for two weeks. The day has arrived for me to stand in front of my colleagues and I become extremely nervous. I am not nervous because I have to give a presentation, I am nervous because I have no idea what they will think of me based on my appearance. All I can think about is the fact that I am the only plus size woman in the room.

Will I be perceived with disapproval or disgust? Will anyone compare me to my colleague on the right who is attractive enough to be in Vogue? I have no idea, but right as I stand up I have to laugh at myself. I have no reason to think less of myself than any other woman in the room. I am not plus size, I am Size Fabulous! And at that very moment, I know the way I present myself through the way I dress speaks for itself and commands their attention. I will be respected and my presentation will be a success.

Being a full-figured woman, I understand the daily struggles we have to achieve our goals. One of the most important factors is how you present yourself. I have found that your clothing choices have a major impact on your mood, your confidence and your self-esteem. My company, Size Fabulous, teaches plus size women how to dress with confidence. We equip women with the knowledge and tools to dress without limitations.

The first rule of thumb is to focus on items that will look appropriate and flattering for your specific body type. Although you may find a fabulous item you would like to wear, it may not provide the perfect silhouette. For example, if you’re a rectangular shape, you should look for items that have or will give you the illusion of a cinched waist. If you have an hourglass figure, almost anything will look good on you. You have the perfect balance so don’t be afraid to reach for that pencil skirt you have your eye on!

The second rule is to feel comfortable in your clothes. Remember the 3 C’s: Curvy, Comfortable, and Confident. If you have never worn a skirt, it’s OK, the more comfortable you get, the more confident you will become. Always keep variety in your closet. Who wants to wear pants every day? I know I don’t. Items that are a “must have” for your closet are different styles of pants (straight leg, boot-cut and skinny leg), a variety of skirts (varying in length), a variety of tops (blouses, sweaters, peplum, long- and short-sleeve), and a variety of dresses (also varying in length).

The last rule, which I enjoy the most, is to have options of different colors, patterns and prints. Nothing gets me more excited than going through a rack of clothes with nothing in black. Although black should be included in your wardrobe, wearing bright colors and bold prints not only looks fabulous but it can also be a confidence booster and put you in a better mood. Don’t shy away from exploring and wearing prints and colors you haven’t worn before.

It is all about dressing with confidence. Regardless of your size, be it zero or Size Fabulous, never limit your options. When you dress with confidence not only will you look good, but you will speak, walk and present yourself with confidence. You’ve heard of the term “dress for success,” right? Whether your look is edgy, classic, chic, vintage or casual, let your confidence overflow and success will be knocking at your doorstep!

View the entire magazine online at http://issuu.com/syracusewomanmag/docs/swm_may2013issue/1

New York City bike-share program bans riders who weigh more than 260 pounds

Can obese cyclists sign up for the city’s new bike-share program? Fat chance!

It is “prohibited” for any rider who weighs more than 260 pounds to sign up for the soon-to-launch initiative — prompting backlash from riders who say the fat-shaming rule is enough to make them fly off the handle.

Everyone who signs up for the program has to agree to a contract, which states users “must not exceed maximum weight limit (260 pounds)” because the bikes can’t hold that much heft.

Would-be riders called the rule unfair, saying the 40-pound cruisers are plenty sturdy.

HANDLE-BARRED: Riders like this man are prohibited from the bike-share program.

 

“That’s bogus. 260 pounds isn’t going to break the bike,” said Juleissy Lantigua, 19. “To me, that’s discrimination. And I’m not easily offended!”
Others claimed the rule makes no sense — especially at the height of the city’s obesity problem.

“If you’re 260 pounds or 300 pounds and want to ride a bike, you should be allowed to. You’re making a choice to live healthier and to lose weight,” said Jhoskaira Ferman, a 20-year-old student from Pelham Bay, Bronx.

Several bike-shop owners agreed that the weight limit was bogus.

Bike-share users who make the cutoff weight can sign up for $95 per year or $25 per week. The program will begin this month.

But Department of Transportation policy director Jon Orcutt said the city won’t strictly enforce the weight limit.

“I think people will be self-selecting, practical and safe,” he said.

He added the provision was inked for legal reasons at the manufacturer’s recommendation.
Bike-share programs run by the same contractor — the Portland, Ore.-based Alta Bicycle Share — launched in Boston with the same weight restriction. London’s program also has the restriction.
The contract also says that anyone using bike share may unknowingly have their image used in “promotional, advertising [and] publicity” materials for Alta.
________________________________________________

When will people learn that fat shaming will not make people loose weight. This is utterly ridiculous. I am around that weight and I ride a bike just fine like many other larger individuals. How humiliating and embarrassing to be excluded from joining a bike program (that is a source of exercise) because of your weight. I hope this gets enough backlash that it changes its policy or shut the program down.

Article courtesy of www.nypost.com

Khloe Kardashian: ‘I’m Not Kim or Kourtney’

Khloe Kardashian admits that being compared with her famous sisters Kim and Kourtney has taken an emotional toll on her.
“I’ve always known that I’m not Kim and I’m not Kourtney — I’ve always been O.K. with that,” she told the UK edition of Cosmopolitan, while admitting, “I probably thought I was prettier before I entered the spotlight because being compared to somebody else every day does sort of beat up your spirit and soul.”

But the comparisons — and critiques — have made her a more confident woman.

“It’s made me stronger. I’ve gained another level of confidence,” the 28-year-old “Keeping Up with the Kardashians” star told the June issue.

Kardashian talks about the public hits she took after her dad died and she piled on the pounds.
“I was quickly criticized for not being a cookie-cutter sister like Kourtney and Kim. I lost about 30lbs [in 2009] before I did ‘Kourtney And Khloé Take Miami.’ I was feeling so good about myself and I was still so critiqued. I thought, ‘Oh, my gosh, if I’m not good enough now…’ And that’s when something clicked in my brain: I have to do whatever is good for me… I feel that I’m healthier [now], but I don’t think I’m prettier thinner.”

Kardashian has recently slimmed down again but says she’ll never be stick-thin.

“I don’t expect to be a size 2 nor do I want to be. I’m 5-foot-10-inches, and I like being curvy, but I also like being toned.”

Article courtesy of www.abcnews.go.com