I didn't think Ralph Lauren could sink any lower than digitally altering the photo of Flippa Hamilton and then denying it. Yes, they finally admitted they did it, but this is even worse. They fired Flippa for being too fat. Flippa told the NY Daily News that "They fired me because they said I was overweight and I couldn't fit in their clothes anymore."
For the record, Flippa is 5'10" and weighs 120 pounds. Umm, even in the model world that doesn't seem fat and in the real world that is nowhere close to fat.
Ralph Lauren doesn't even deny they fired her because she was fat. "Filippa is a beautiful and healthy woman but our relationship ended as a result of her inability to meet the obligations under her contract with us."
That is code speak for she was fat. This has got out of hand. I think all women are beautiful whether fat or skinny or curvy or what have you. The problem I have is that when you go on record as saying that someone who is as tall and skinny as Flippa and then call them fat, you are telling the world that unless you have the same measurements as Flippa you are too fat and that you are not perfect. Why does Ralph Lauren get to judge who is perfect and who is not or what size is perfect?
Flippa says, "I think they owe American women an apology, a big apology," she said. "I'm very proud of what I look like, and I think a role model should look healthy."
I agree.
The digitally altered photo is absolutely disgusting. Um, like we're partially blind and can't tell that's a total fake?
ReplyDeleteI urge everyone to pick up the latest copy of Glamour, which celebrates women of all shapes.
This is the saddest thing I have read in a long time.
ReplyDeleteI mean, Ralph Laurens actions. Not the part where we celebrate women of all sizes.
ReplyDeleteI'm not buying any more Ralph Lauren stuff!!! Oh, wait, I don't buy his stuff now anyway. Why? Um, NOTHING FITS!!!!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Enty, for taking a stand on this.
Love ya more!!! MWAH!!!!!
JUST AWFUL....
ReplyDeleteDamn 5'10 120 lbs is like super painfully thin. And then they called her fat.
ReplyDeleteMan that's messed up.
I must be a genetic mutant from another planet under their definition of thin or fat.
What I don't get is, the altered photo looks completely distorted, as if the poor girl had extreme scoliosis or something. The proportions don't even look human, more like a praying mantis.
ReplyDeleteThat old fart doesn't know anything anyway. His clothes are boring with a capital B
ReplyDeleteYeah, if you go by BMI (can you tell I have had weight issues?) 5'10" and 120 pounds puts her at a BMI of 17.2. This is actually underweight and not anywhere close to fat.
ReplyDeleteRalph Lauren sucks.
I agree with Filippa. The entire fashion industry owes women a big apology. They insult us at every turn because we don't live up to their flawed image of women. If we all got together and made a collective decision to stop buying their clothes, they'd quickly see things our way and make the appropriate changes. I'd love to see guys like old Ralph and Karl taken down a few pegs.
ReplyDeleteP.S. Enty please remove Lyndsay Blohans remarks. They are extremely graphic and offensive and I don't think they belong here.
sigh.
ReplyDeleteThe fans and regs here post such awesome comments that when Lindsey Blohan rolls over from Perez and write that above, it actually kind of shocks you for a sec.
Then you realize stupid people suck and move on.
One word: BOYCOTT.
ReplyDeleteFuckers.
I love fashion, but I hate the idea that they think everyone has to be stick skinny to be beautiful. I'm 5'3" and 110-115ish, and I bet these fuckers think I'm obese.
ReplyDeleteStanding ovation for Flippa for standing up for herself.
Everybody, everywhere, say it loud, say it clear: Fuck you, Ralph Lauren!
"Blohan" is our dear old troll, Les Suckno. He pops back in every now and then to see what kind of attention he can get. If everyone ignores him, he'll go away eventually.
ReplyDeleteWhy do designers use these Amazon tall models, anyway? They are no where near the average American woman.
ReplyDeleteAs a morbidly obese woman in the Ralph Lauren world, I'll spent my money elsewhere on designers who don't insult my size 10 ass.
ReplyDeleteif a woman who is 5'10" that weighs 120 lbs can't fit in their clothes, who are they selling them too?
ReplyDeleteI do think the whole thing is wrong, and that the picture looks ridiculous and makes me question what the hell the people responsible were thinking.
ReplyDeleteWhat I don't like is this very skinny model acting like a representative of "normal American women" or whatever. It wasn't nice what happened to her, but any other day she's a too skinny model who makes other women feel bad about themselves for not looking like her.
Petition, anyone?
ReplyDeleteChris, if you're morbidly obese, I am Jabba the Hutt. The only thing I've ever purchased in a Ralph Lauren store (outlet mall, of course) was a man's sweater (size huge) that came in the colors of my favorite sports team. He has no interest in the 'average' woman, and why should he? He'll find some anorexic waif to buy his overpriced shit.
ReplyDeleteOh, and is today a school holiday? Seems that's the only time our little friend pokes his pimply little head out of his junior man cave.
So, maybe the freaky ad was meant as some sort of poke at the model being "fat"?
ReplyDeleteThe sad fact is, boycotting and protesting this designer is not going to make a dent as far as women's body image is concerned. You would have to boycott 75% of all products and stop watching almost every tv show and movie. Oh yeah, and stop reading magazines because even if they don't feature ridiculously thin models, their advertisers do.
ReplyDeleteShe had me until she called herself a role model.
ReplyDeleteRolling my eyes...
I really don't care about models.
I think people have bigger issues if they look up to models.
You really have to like yourself as a person. No one can make you like yourself.
Yeah, I also thought about sendig them lots of letters and also a copy to NY Daily News.
ReplyDeleteRalph Lauren won't be happy until all women look as weak and powerless as little boys ... or just like little boys would probably suffice ...
ReplyDeleteIt's the new Dachau Chic look, I guess.
It is upsetting, but not the first time a fashion designer has shown general hatred for women. Point in case; Karl Lagerfeldts recent comments about overweight moms who sit on the couch and eat chips and how "nobody wants to see curvy women".
ReplyDeleteAnd it remains a mystery how that picture even made it into the ad. I hope they fired the retoucher too.
wth is wrong w/ ralph lauren?! it's like he's trying to bring the crackhead-waif-kate moss of the 90s-look back.
ReplyDeletelosers.
besides, RL is BORRRING.
Back in the dark ages when I was in high school, I was 5'8" and 117 pounds. They had me in the school counselor's office asking if I was anorexic.
ReplyDeleteNow I'm MUCH larger than that, and the fashion standards drive me insane. It's like I'm not worthy to be on this earth because I'm not in the single digits of sizes.
And despite all the press, I think it's gotten WAY worse. As far as Glamour, I'd be more ready to jump on their bandwagon if they featured women of all sizes EVERY MONTH, not just a token time to say "look how great we are!" Meanwhile their ads still show unrealistic ideals.
Okay, rant over.
Harriet, I feel you on Karl L. He's also made outrageous claims that Heidi Klum is fat. Bitch, please.
ReplyDeleteThese people in the fashion world are so diluted. And I love me some fierce fashion.
Oh, and whoever said petitions won't help, you're right. But that doesn't mean there's nothing we can do.
ReplyDeleteThe following may be a bit long -it's a quote from the amazing Margaret Cho (anyone who knows me knows that she is my idol). Read it.
"I have self-esteem, which is pretty amazing, because if you are a woman, or a person of colour, if you are gay or lesbian or bisexual or transgendered, if you are a person of size, of intelligence, of integrity- then you are a
minority in this world, and it’ll be really hard to find messages of self-love or support anywhere.
"For women and gay men especially, it’s all about how you have to look a certain way or else… you’re worthless. You know when you look in the mirror and think, "Oh, I’m so fat. I’m so old. I’m so ugly."? That is not your authentic
self speaking. That is billions upon billions of dollars of
advertising-magazines, movies, billboards- all geared to make you feel shitty about yourselves so that you’ll take your hard-earned money and spend it at the
mall on some turn-around cream that doesn’t turn around shit.
"When you don’t have self-esteem, you will hesitate before you do anything. You will hesitate to go for the job you really want. You will hesitate to ask for a raise. You will hesitate to defend yourself when you’re discriminated against because of your race, your sexuality, your size, your gender. You will hesitate to report a rape. You will hesitate to vote. You will hesitate to dream. For
us, self esteem is truly an act of revolution.
...And our revolution is long overdue."
(From "The Notorious C.H.O")
I think male designers all hate women.
ReplyDeleteHarriet -hear, hear!
ReplyDeleteWell, duh, any time a woman's thighs are clearly bigger than her arms, she's WAY too fat to model. What a pig.
ReplyDeleteOh, and I can't even see any of her bones except a hint of clavicle! Unacceptable.
ReplyDeleteMy friend works for RL and they issued a statement on their intranet denying the allegations and said that the image was 'mistakenly released and used in a department store in Japan and was not the approved image which ran in the U.S.'
ReplyDeletewow. I just did a bmi calculation for her and shes underweight. so sad. Ralph Lauren is directly responsible for the harmful message that causes eating disorders. As someone whose battle eating issues over the years this disgust me. I will not buy a product of theirs until they serious readjust their company morals.
ReplyDeleteShe looks more like 130 lbs but still, she's underweight. I'm glad I'm not Ralph Lauren's target customer.
ReplyDeleteI take it back. I wish I was a Ralph Lauren customer so that I could actively boycott them. Haha.
ReplyDeleteRemember that cameras (especially TV) are making people look fatter. So if somebody looks like normal, she/he is slim in real life, and if she/he looks slim that mean skinny in reality. So it's an extra pressure for models to loose weight.
ReplyDeleteRalph Lauren makes plus-size clothes too. That's hypocritical. I've never bought any b/c they are too boring, but they're out there in department stores.
ReplyDeletethese men hate women, bottom line. they don't make clothes for a woman's body. they make clothes for anorexic boys.
ReplyDeleteit's insulting.
Well it seems little Ralphie is living up to his REAL name.
ReplyDeleteHe is a (Lif)SHITZ.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteIn the model world, 120 pounds seems fat to me. She needs to lose 20 pounds, she's obviously not doing enough drugs.
ReplyDeleteIn the real world, she's fine and should probably date me. Except, I don't know if I could date someone named Flippa. I'd be grinning all the time because I'd be trying to keep from making Flipper noises.
Good god, they did another one. Link Seriously, how can anyone think this makes an attractive picture?
ReplyDeleteBabs,
ReplyDeleteI was being sarcastic with my 'obese size 10 ass". I like being a 10. 8 is my thinest that I feel comfortable. Too bad Mr. Lauren can't appreciate my body like I can.
terri
(myhubby didn't log out)
She needs to gain at least 15-20 pounds before she has a normal BMI.
ReplyDeleteEveryone here is rightfully outraged, but is anyone really surprised? If you are not a walking clothes hanger, you are too fat too model. I hate that, but as long as the buying public is willing to drop $300 for a designer skirt, those ideals will remain. Support designers who design for real women!
Go Harriet!! Thanks for posting that.
ReplyDeleteI have severe body image issues as it is - this doesn't help. And I'm a size "6" and overweight right now too.
I completely agree that male designers HATE women. Well I hate them the mf'ers. : (
Harriet - I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the Margaret Cho quote!!
ReplyDeleteThis whole thing is so disturbing to me. Not only is she beautiful and perfectly thin, but it's just another nail in the coffin for those of us that aren't. If SHE'S not 'worthy', it must truly mean that I'm a fat, worthless piece of shit, and how dare I show myself in public??? Ya know?
It's hard to establish (or encourage) self esteem when you've basically been brainwashed into believing that the only thing that's considered beautiful is size "0" thin.
There's a British documentary called "Super Slim Me" which I highly recommend....a "regular" size gal (who is still way thinner than most of us, I'd reckon) attempts to diet her way down to an American size zero (British size four). Both funny and sad (she only did it for the doc, she didn't actually think she needed to lose any weight, btw). Another really good one is "Truth About Size Zero"...same premise, different host (both Brit tv presenters).
ReplyDeleteAvailable on youtube.
I agree the image is awful, and that the pressure on women is terrible...BUT...
ReplyDeleteFashion models are NOT "role" models. Sorry, but they are not. They are mannequins. Their job is to fill out clothing in such a way as to make the clothing look appealing for purchase. Model personality is important, but so is figure, to maximize sales, when you see the clothes.
No company is beholden to represent 100% reality or even relevance in their advertising. If they were, there'd be no commercials. And I think Ralph Lauren has a right to make those decisions and I am sure it's well covered in the contracts.
It's up to us to focus on the clothes and our own style as the goal, and not the girls propping them up as a personal aspiration for ourselves.
Just my opinion.
Oh and whoever photoshopped that image should be fired, twice. Gross.
ReplyDeleteAmerican views on weight and attractiveness are unbelievably fucked up thanks in part to people like Ralph Lauren, the media and our star validating culture. I mean .. to invoke the name of someone I really despise .. I could look as good as Demi Moore if I had her money to nip/tick and fill my sagging parts and could pay a trainer to work me like a pony 3-6 days a week. And shall I mention the personal chefs most of these folks have?? Ugh!
ReplyDeletePart of the reason I hate leaving my house is the fat- typo but I am keeping it - I am huge. [5'5" .. 246 last time I was at the doctors a few weeks ago] I am huge because I am on steroids to make sure I keep my kidney transplant which keeps me "healthy." But people don't know that .. they just see a big fat short house frau. I just can't deal with what people think of me or what I think they are thinking of me.
I really hate it because I used to be normal and cute - but due to the likes of Mr. Lauren and his scum bag cronies - at 5'5" and 125 lbs back in the good old days .. thought I was fat and a not at all attractive. As it turns out .. when looking back now at pictures .. I really was healthy looking and cute young lady.
Ugh .. : /
Who is Ralph Lauren to talk about how people look? His face looks like a catchers mitt!
ReplyDeleteRalph Lauren's designs are so ugly anyway. You can buy identical-looking things at any random department store. Now hopefully more people will stop shopping there.
ReplyDeleteNot that Uncle Karl has anything better to say about "regular" people.
I'm really proud of Filippa for liking her body.
I will never buy Ralph Lauren again. Mostly because I'm too fat. Although maybe next time I'm in New York I will binge on a huge lunch and then go pull the trigger in their lobby.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if they'd be angry for me puking in their office or impressed that someone is making an effort to not be so fat.
BOYCOTT RL!!!
ReplyDeleteI know mine will be the last comment, and probably not read by any of you, but I want to chime in.
ReplyDeleteI have Crohn's disease. I am 5'7" and weigh 118 pounds, as of today. I have to buy jeans at thrift stores because I cannot afford to buy new jeans every time I gain or lose a few pounds.
Currently, a size 2 is baggy. A size 2!!!! And I am 3 inches shorter than the model! If I were thin enough for RL, I know I would keel over and die! Jebus!
i don't know in what world Ralph Lauren live and i'm sure he thinks Courtney Love is a beautiful and healthy woman and Christian Bale looks good-healthy in "the machinist"
ReplyDeleteRalph Lauren sucks!!!and he needs glasses
I wonder if RL could fit into any of his clothes? If not, them he shouldn't be bitching about women being "fat".
ReplyDelete