I love high fashion photography. I can't afford the clothes, purses, or jewelry--nor could I justify buying them if I actually had the money. However, I LOVE the artistic style of the photographs, and have a great deal of respect for creative genius of the photographers and designers themselves. To me, high fashion and high fashion photography are art. In the Dines and Humez reading for today, Diane Crane writes: "Fashion has generally been conceived as a form of hegemonic oppression, exerting an obligation to conform that weighs heavily on the female population (Wolf 1991).... fashion photographers generate enormous dissatisfaction among women because they create unrealistic expectations that most women are unable to meet." I hate it that this is the "side effect" of one of my favorite forms of art. The photos below are an example: I love the colors, the lighting, the setting, the mix of rough and fine materials, the balance and use of space, etc. From an artistic standpoint, they're incredible photos. But let's be honest: I don't wear shirts down to my belly button with my breast showing, and I'm my body is does not look like hers.

But why do the models have to be SO skinny? Why can't they display these clothes on women with bodies who have proportions like the averaged size woman? I was watching an interview on TV a few months ago with a designer (I can't remember who it was!). Her answer to this question was that high fashion clothes are art--not necessarily meant to be worn. For her, the simple fact is that they look better on frames, not real-life, curvy bodies. This answer was sufficient for me because I look at it as art, not something to compare myself to. I know I will never look like the size 0 model posing in those incredible garments, and that doesn't kill my self-esteem.

For some girls though, it does. My younger sister had to stop looking at magazines and fashion advertisements for awhile because it got to her: she felt like she was over weight, not pretty, and had no "style." High fashion is such a controversial topic because of the effects it has on a lot of girls today. In the reading, one focus group found that younger participants thought it was natural to compare themselves to the models; "They were inclined to identify with the models and seemed disappointed when they were unable to do so" (Dines and Humez). My opinion is that we as women need to look at where we find our identity and what things we are trying to relate to. If it's not positive and constructive, then why are we trying to identify with it? I would like to see more advertisements with the clothes that are meant to be worn on regular women modeled by average sized women. This might help the complex many young women are facing today.