another idle thought

[rm]

Is our culture's excessive obsession with weight a partial product of the casualization of clothing?

I realize that wealthy societies as a rule tend to favour thinness and poor ones heaviness, because those things are markers of affluence (i.e., time to work out and be "healthy" or proof you have enough to eat and are therefore "healthy"), but as I was look at all the bad fashion choices in Union Square today, I realized almost everyone looked like shit because their clothes had no damn structure and excessive thinness can at least fake that structure or "require" less of it, than a larger softer body. That said, people are not made of perfect curves, straight lines and ideal angles at any weight, and I say this as a woman who can bring death with her elbows. I'm not convinced that better tailoring and accurate sizing can solve problems, but I sort of think the lack of both has caused a bunch of them.

Comments

[marzipan-pig.livejournal.com]

I've noted that 'thin' women tend to think everything looks good on them and can sometimes end up wearing stuff that really is more flattering to heavier or curvier women, and then heavier women try to wear stuff that looks better on thinner women.

I think people should wear what they like, and of course we've all worn dumb stuff b/c it's in style, but having a sense of what is flattering and what looks good on you goes a long way. I also think people should have a little more fun with their clothes than a lot of us do, and I try to widen my comfort zone some. Other times I buy one more gray quarter-length sleeve boat necked top, or another black tshirt, and know I'll always have something to go with it.