Fashion

[faeriemoon]

I think that when trying to sell clothing, putting everyone's body shape in the best light produces the best results.

Examples:  "You can wear this even if you're a curvy girl."

                  " You can wear this even if you're heavy."

Which one will sell more clothes?

[apple1964]

You can be skinny and still be considered curvy. It means your waist is smaller then your hips.  

[Imaoldhippie]

When people became so sensitive that using adjectives to describe anyone is risky business.  People are insulted at the slightest provocation.

So society as decided to treat them with kid gloves.

[cherry]

I don't understand  what it gains me to call someone fat. It upsets some people, so I will not use it. there are other words to choose from , the same with words to describe people who are very thin..You can be accurate and still be kind...when in doubt don't.,In fact what even mention it ,to begin with?

[songbird]

Curvy sounds better then fat.  Thats it. I don't think there is any other reason.  The F word was replaced by curvy.  Another word politically correct. Even the original word for curvy was not fat.  I think around the early 2000 decade it started.  There was "revolt" about body image.  For a long time Hollywood valued very thin bodies.  Eventually it  became enough's enough.  Hollywood still has the thin body, but it changed and became Fit and thin.  (Where it is now) 

There is still a revolt.  Fat women saying they are just as healthy.  They had their own model Tess Holiday. (who weighed over 300 lbs) So that's how plus size came in to being.

[silkyk]

When I hear curvy I think of the model Taylor who shows up sometimes (should be more!) here on Q. Curvy and beautiful.

[Love to Run]

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@Foxxee wrote:

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@QueenDanceALot wrote:

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@Foxxee wrote:

Never associated the word curvy with plus size.  Marilyn Monroe was curvy.  

To me it always meant an hourglass figure...someone thin or average weight.  They have very small waists by comparison to their bust and hips.  

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@Foxxee 

And some people will still try to tell you that Marilyn Monroe would be a size 16 today.

When all of her clothes tell a very different story as do her measurements.  She's an example of a woman who wouldn't be wearing an off the rack size.

@QueenDanceALot 

I read somewhere she wore sizes 4 to 12 during her lifetime.  She was size 12 during the movie Some Like It Hot.  But, a size 12 then was smaller than a size 12 today.  

During that movie, to me, she did look heavier, but lucky her weight was gained in all the right places.

I have no idea if this is true, but she always looked thin to me.   

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It's absolutely true. Look at the vanity sizing.

[wagirl]

You kow, "plus size" kind of offends me too--like no one knows a size 0 from  a size 16------you get the size that you feel good in, that you like, that fits well. Numbers are just numbers----

[jonbon]

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@QueenDanceALot wrote:

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@ILTH wrote:

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@QueenDanceALot wrote:

Why can't sizes just be numbers? 

The euphemisms just sound silly and inaccurate.  As has already been pointed out, size 2 can be curvy, size 22 can be a rectangle.  

If you're not a perfect 2 or a perfect 22 (perfect being the same measurements as those in the corresponding sizing chart), you probably will need to have your clothing altered.   I think the reason that many retailers (including QVC) sell a lot of shapeless and "forgiving" clothing is so that it fits a wide variety of shapes within the same size.  2 size 10's can look very different and have very different needs in fit.

Personally, I don't think calling anyone "fat" or "skinny" is helpful.  And "average" is pretty meaningless.  Even if the current "average" sized American Woman is a 14.  The number still doesn't address the body shape (hourglass, pear, apple, rectangle).

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I see nothing wrong with those words. Use them without judgment and they're not charged. Average is a statistical norm. 
I'm talking about everyday usage. You don't describe someone you met as tall, green eyes, red hair, size 22. You say tall, green eyes, red hair, large big plus curvy fat (take your pick- you don't know someone's size. You choose a word that describes a generality.)

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I don't believe that many people use the words "fat" and "skinny" without judgment.

A read through some threads on these boards about women who fall into both categories show that there's lots of judgment associated with both.  

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Yes, the problem is, these words are, indeed, extremely "charged." If "fat" were simply a descriptor, it would be one thing, but I don't believe that's the case.

[wilma]

IMO curvy is not a synonym for a larger size. I am a curvy size 6. My waist is much smaller than my hips.

Most hosts are using curvy for the larger models. I guess they don’t know what else to say. They could just say the number size. I have heard Carolyn & Angel from QF correctly comment about the shape of models when selling clothing. They’ll say something like this model has a straight up & down figure while the other has more curves.