Super skinny models for M&S?

[CheeseDreamz]

I am really struggling to shop online at the moment as it feels like many retailers are using super slinky and very tall models to show clothes that are usually aimed at a more average demographic and body type. M&S being the worst right now.

Before people accuse me of body shaming I am observing the predominant use of what is actually quite a rare human shape - not about whether it is attractive, or healthy or possible to achieve. 5ft 10+ and size zero with very long legs is not that common, especially over 25. I have my thoughts on this, but my question is more around the widom of doing this and the difficulty of shopping.

It's making it impossible to tell what a piece of clothing might look like if you have boobs or bum, even at a size 12. And in many cases the clothes don't even look that great. Also has the model wears size x information now gone on many sites?

Looking over a few sites it seems to be increasing in mens clothing too.

I know that representation of a variety of body types has been adopted (for years by some retailers) but it feel as if that is really waning now - weirdly it seems to be better in brands I would consider for younger people. There is some discussion in the media about "the return of hyper skinny" (though a quick google reveals there are articles on this going back to 2022), so it's a perennial thing. But really, who the hell do M&S think shops with them? It's so off-putting - all I see is that these clothes are not for me.

I’m obese myself but I’d rather see clothes advertised on slim models. I don’t think fat people look as good.

Surely there is a happy medium between slim and fat? I am slightly overweight (not enough for my GP to consider suggesting I lose weight) but certainly not obese and I don't think clothing on people my size looks bad. I've just been for a long walk and most of the women I saw on my way were not particularly slim. When everything is shown being worn by a young, slim, woman it doesn't really inspire me - and shock, horror, older and less slim women still want to buy clothes which look good on them, not on models.

But how do you know how clothes will look on you?
I look best in darted tops and dresses, otherwise my top half can just look big rather than that I have a bust. But on very slim models tops and dresses with darts look totally different on them, than it does on me. It mav as well be a different item of clothing.

Yes, that’s a fair point. I guess everything looks so gross on me so I’m not the target audience anyway.

Yes, good point.

Super tall and super slim are just more attractive. Should we just want hobits modelling clothes?

Unfortunately, that is the truth.

Super tall and super slim works well with some styles of clothes and not with others. A fifties style dress does not work on someone super slim and tall.

I have noticed there is a seeming aversion to paler, especially blonde or red haired models in general on clothing sites in the UK now. Perhaps paler skin is becoming less fashionable once again, it does send the message that if i don't tan I will look like crap in the clothes.

I too am slim and appreciate the size 8 standard for selfish reasons, but I do think M&S has some odd stuff going on, especially the shaved hair and cameral angles which elongate an already tall physique.
This picture struck me as perhaps a little odd, and certainly is not a typical slim shape, I'd say it is rather rare beyond the teens.

This is a contemporary belief. It isn't born out through history. People think that current fashions are somehow sacrosanct.

Whilst obesity was likely never favoured, excessive thinness probably wasn't either. Models of the 30's to 50's were slim but curved, which gave way to a more adolescent form in the 60's. The 20's preferred flatter busts and hiding the waist.

There is no actual standard of tall and thin. I think it is popular with shorter, fatter women because they hate themselves. Most people in this thread saying very tall and very thin models are most attractive are most likely overweight. It is a way of taunting the self.

I have always been on the thinner side, average height, and I prefer a more athletic, equestrian physique.

We all want what we don't have, hence the skinny/tall worship in a culture that is growing fatter.

Personally, I love hiking websites as the models look ready to tackle the elements! They are slim but toned, around 5'7" or thereabouts and I envy their strong thighs.

@MrsWhipstonSnippet You see that model has no obvious bust. So I have no idea if the top is simply cut for a woman without a bust. So I would not order it.

I think the photo angle and pose make her look like a schoolgirl. Nothing wrong with that, but it makes me think the model is super young, which might be skewing people's reactions if they are looking for clothes over 50.

If she is very young she will likely fill out a bit as she ages, naturally.

She does look like a teenage girl instead of an adult woman

probably better modelling clothes than shoes, what with the hairy feet and all...

I don’t really care if the models are thin or fat. I can probably work out if something will suit me based on having dressed myself for 20+ years now, if I can see the whole item!

What I do care about is when M&S - a perennial offender - offers up photos of the model contorting her body like she needs a wee, has been inspired to start an interpretive dance or has just tripped over a pothole on the pavement. I need to know what the outfit looks like when she’s just standing there.

I spend very little time lying on the ground hysterically laughing my head off, so photos of the models doing so is pretty pointless.

Thats been photo shopped really badly, her legs wouldnt come out at that angle at that height, theyve chopped off the top of her thigh

I've noticed a move back to shops using tall thin models the last year or so.

So true. DD gets shamed very often.
" Want a burger?". " Bet you never eat chips".
She is naturally very slim in her early 20s as I used to be pre-menopause, and was my mum. It's genetic, and not unhealthy in some ethnicities and age groups.

I agree with you OP!

At the end of the day, clothing companies want me to buy their clothes. I am curvy (not a euphemism for obese). It's a difficult shape to dress and I have limited time. I need to know if an item of clothing has any chance of fitting me.

I tend to buy from Lucy and Yak a fair bit partly because they always show the clothes on a range of models. I don't think it has done their business any harm to use models which PP would deem "unattractive" as they appear to have a huge, fiercely loyal fanbase on social media and they're opening new stores all the time.

Conversely I have avoided Cos as I had assumed the unusual silhouettes would only work on very straight shaped women. A lucky charity shop find has shown me that actually their trousers are quite amazingly tailored. They have missed out on years of my custom because they couldn't be bothered to hire diverse sized models.

What I do care about is when M&S - a perennial offender - offers up photos of the model contorting her body like she needs a wee, has been inspired to start an interpretive dance or has just tripped over a pothole on the pavement. I need to know what the outfit looks like when she’s just standing there.

True, this is the real issue.

A lot of female celebrities seem to do this now as well, contorting their bodies in photos, presumably to look slimmer. Strangely, men are still allowed to stand like rational human beings.

I think the M&S models do look abit too skinny. That kind of gangly, tall, superskinny look is fabulous for runways and posh designer fashion but the average women just isnt going to relate.

@ILikeMyBike I agree.

Id find it easier to have an idea if things will suit me if they showed it on a range of hourglass shaped/ pear shaped/ inverted triangle shaped/ athletic shaped/ etc models. The difference between a size 14 hourglass model wearing a14 and a size 8 hourglass model wearing and 8 in terms of fit, is much less than a size 14 hourglass model and a size 14 athletic build model

I dont see why showing it on every body type cant be achieveable in this day and age TBH.
Its not like the technology doesnt exist to just have totally convincing AI models! You dont even have to pay them!