Skeletal model used in Boden mailshot

[boobashka]

Has anyone else noticed the model in the recent Boden mailshot? She looks unhealthily thin. I thought we were moving away from 'heroin chic,' but it seems to be creeping back into mainstream marketing. It feels irresponsible for a brand like Boden to promote such a frail aesthetic as 'aspirational.'

I'm a lanky sod myself and if I posted about, say, Snag and their 'unhealthy' models, I would be torn to shreds and quite rightly so. Publicly commenting on other people's bodies is downright rude. I'm sure your parents brought you up better than that.

Agree.

If I had to guess, she’s a size 8 and just tall.

According to the blurb she is 5 foot 9 and wear either a 6 or an 8, depending on the garment she’s modelling, so she’s likely an eight as you say.

im an eight to ten, more eight, and today I’m wearing size 6 me and em trousers as they are large made, however in some clothes I need a ten.

based on that and how much muscle mass she has, I’d say she’s a healthy weight but the lower end of bmi, maybe 19 at its lowest.

Using a WLI is not enough on its own for most people to lose any significant amount of weight. You still have to eat better. That is effort. And the weight doesn’t magically disappear. It comes off over time. That is time,
so it takes time and effort. My statement isn’t weak, it’s just factually accurate.

She looks extremely thin to me but i also think that might be because of bad editing. Like someone said her torso looks stretched. However Whether she really is underweight or not isnt the point. Of course there are plenty of women who naturally look quite thin and are perfectly healthy but personally I dont want to go back to a place where all models have to look like this and being this thin is aspirational.

She is tall, beautiful and most importantly elegant. She’s doing her job well. Can’t see the problem.

I didn’t know there was a blurb ☺️.

I thought so because I’m an 8 as well but closer to 5 foot 6. I look similar to the model when I wear heels.

I’m an athletic build and long limbed. How do you find me and em trousers despite them being large made?

We are talking about different things. Time every day and physical effort. I think you know what I am saying.

God I love them, I just size down, two sizes down if it’s elasricated waist. The cut and quality is always outstanding.

just got these in the sale, they are gorgeous on. I’ve several pairs now, from tailored to track, quite a few bought on vinted. They are long though im about half an inch or so taller than you, and they are full length on me, ie to below top of shoe.

www.meandem.com/fluid-velour-track-pant-evening-blue

Oh! Me and Em is an actual brand. With the reference to large made and sizing down I thought it was a mix up of em and ess.

She looks very, very thin - even when wearing horizontal stripes so you are not being unreasonable OP

Thank you. 🙂

I have heard of the brand but can’t recall if I saw a brick and mortar store. Their trousers look nice from what I’ve seen online so far.

Not unreasonable to call a woman skeletal just because you’ve cast a glance in her direction and deem her ‘very very thin’? What a horrible word to think appropriate.

I’d bet my last packet of crisps that model is normal BMI. She’s tall, so I would guess she’s at the lower end but lower end normal is normal.

Even if she is very very thin as you say, it’s not acceptable to call her skeletal in the same way it wouldn’t be acceptable to use derogatory words about a woman who might just be dipping into the overweight band of BMI, which let’s face it is loads of people.

No, no. People are calling this model skeletal because they’re just concerned for her well-being and something about anorexia… obviously

I’m wondering if she seems skeletal to some because the average dress size of a woman in the UK is now a 16, double the size of the model.

Less than a decade ago the average size of a woman in the UK was a 12.

As pps pointed out, the perception has changed and I doubt the model would have been considered by some to be unhealthy when average dress size was 12.

It’s a race to the bottom…

I definitely think this is part of it. People aren't really used to seeing very slim people as much anymore. It's nearly 2/3 of adults in the UK that are overweight or obese currently. When you consider that only a third are a healthy weight, it'll be an even smaller number that is towards the lower end of a healthy BMI.

At 5ft 9 and 133lb, my BMI is nearly 20, I look slim but nobody would think I look underweight. I could get down to 8st 12 and still be a healthy BMI!

To use the MN term, as a society we've definitely 'lost sight' of a healthy weight, so it's no wonder people see a slim woman and think she's underweight.

By the same token, when we see people walking around who are literally obese, they often don't register as being especially overweight. Because it's the norm.

It's really interesting, when you look back at older photos of generations gone by it's common that the majority appear very slim, and it's rare to see someone obese. If there is someone overweight, it's usually just one person. I remember my class in primary school, there was one child that stood out as 'the fat child' (horrible words, but you know what i mean) and they were the anomaly. Now looking around at school pick up and drop off, there are more overweight children than I can count. It's heartbreaking.

As a society we’ve normalised obesity. It’s become acceptable to be obese.

In other societies eg Japan there is a lot more stigma attached to being overweight so people try much harder to remain slim. Companies even weigh their employees regularly and have to pay a fine for any that are overweight!

And yes, it’s heartbreaking to see even primary aged children becoming overweight….!

I must ask, when that stigma leads to MH conditions and eating disorders - will that be okay as people are slim?

That stigma you refer to could be potentially really damaging.

I might be overweight now, but if I hadn’t been forced into help for my ED as a young adult, I’d be skinny… and dead.

Maybe in Japan the overall health of the majority is prioritised over the health of a small minority.

I don’t know. I’m just musing.

Why would focusing on a healthy lifestyle and feeding your children healthy foods lead to mental health problems? Surely a healthy body = a healthy mind!

Not necessarily.

This isn’t to garner sympathy, it’s to give you context.

I was a chubby teenager. By the time I was 14, I was 14 stone, at 5ft2. The stigma you refer to manifests and becomes bullying and harassment in some cases, in the wrong hands.

I vividly remember walking down the street and a stranger shouted at me out of their car window. An adult.

Between that March and October of the same year, I lost 7 stone. I used to hide any food I was given, and if I couldn’t - throw it up. School reported to my mum that I hadn’t used my lunch card in months and had been observed not eating. I had CAMHs involvement, I was admitted to a children’s psych provision. I wasn’t signed off from services until I was 25.

To this day, when upset/heightened, I throw up. My appetite disappears when I’m stressed. If I try to diet, I become obsessed with the scales (I’m talking every hour if I can) and go back to old ED habits.

The impact of stigmatising people for their size is real, if not handled carefully. It can have lifelong effects, and can eventually lead to people taking their lives.

Call me idealistic - but it’s not worth it. If you had a chubby child, them starving themselves to death would not feel like a suitable outcome to you either.

Do they try harder due to stigma or is it because Japanese culture actively encourages and supports exercise and movement (stretching) including in their work culture making sure employees can and do move and aren’t constantly sedentary by having on-site gyms and movement break that our separate from meal breaks. It is also common there during work hours to nap.

They also eat smaller portions but many courses and eat more grains, vegetables, fruit, and fish and eat less meat than what is in a typical British diet.

I think they see it less as an individual issue but a community issue.

I can’t imagine what the response would be if a company said they had mandatory breaks for stretching and exercise and allowed naps without it being a tech company with stiff competition to work at.

Heck, seen threads here where comments have called it competitive under eating if a family of four shares a large fish and chips and a meal with plenty of veg but little meat isn’t really a meal.