How to be Thin – And How Thin is Too Thin?

How to be thin for the red carpet is no different from any of us lesser (?) mortals wanting to know how to be thin.  However, having been perusing my copy of UK In Style magazine yesterday evening, and spotting Kate Bosworth in Swarovski crystal encrusted Balmain for the Met Gala looking very beautiful but very thin and on to georgeous and womanly Jessica Chastain in Givenchy Haute Couture by Riccardo Tisci (curvy and sexy and looking like everyone’s dream woman) at the Cannes Film Festival the question has to be answered – how thin is too thin?

This has been covered of course over and over again by  designers and fashion writers expounding the virtues of ‘normal’ sized women, but we know for a fact (and having worked with designers and photographers for many years back) that models are more or less by definition tall and thin.  Yes there may be the odd moment when models are allowed to have a little flesh on their bones (H&M’s recent campaign – courtesy of Huffington Post) however when we get back to the reality of selling clothes online this is what you get – most of the time.  And absolutely no disrespect to H&M who have great clothes at great prices but this model to my mind is too thin.

How thin is too thin is not really a great question, as thin is too thin.  Slim is fine.  Curves on a toned body are wonderful (and if you look at H&M’s plus sized model she’s not only very tall but also toned) These red carpet dresses from Net-a-Porter.com are shown off on slim, yes, but womanly models.

Anyone who has discovered that they can eat healthy food in reasonable quantities and work out has worked out for themselves how to be thin/slim.  It really isn’t difficult.  But some celebrities and models set a seriously bad example.  They too have been sucked into the ‘you can’t be too thin’ way of thought.  Oh yes you can.

Setting the scene for glamour of any kind, red carpet or otherwise, and for women in the real world, should require curves, womanly arms and legs (not sticks) and a face that balances out a real body.  There’s so much pressure on girls and women to look like sticks and absolutely no good explanation as to why they should want to.  There’s bullying at school causing anorexia, there’s the pressure on models to be skinny causing the same.  Being too thin can be just as damaging to health as obesity, if in different ways. "The fact is the UK is obsessed with overweight and obesity - yet it is now accepted that underweight may pose a much greater risk to health."

Everyone should be aware of their weight, eat enough of the right foods and go to the gym regularly……..I’m saying this totally tongue in cheek but you know……it’s the right thing to do if you want to look great in anything from a red carpet gown to a pair of shorts on the beach.  And who doesn’t?……..