Should women stop wearing bikinis, miniskirts or ponytails after a certain age? A More Magazine survey found that most agree there’s an expiration date for certain looks for the average female.
Here were the results:
Bikinis: 47
Miniskirts: 35
Stilettos: 51
Knee-high boots: 47
Leggings: 45
Tight vest: 44
See-through blouse: 40
Long hair: 53
Ponytail: 51
Step aside, Robin Roberts — we have a new girl crush on “Good Morning America” contributor Becky Worley who confessed that when she sits at home, watching Victoria’s Secret commercials, she thinks, “Really? Really?” OMGee, us too!
Worley decided to give the brand’s new Miraculous (push-up) Bra a whirl. The adverts claim that the piece of lingerie will bump you up two cup sizes. And indeed it did: Becky went from a 36A to 36C in no time flat. She even joked while exiting the fitting room, “They came out before me,” meaning her “girls.”
Becky, can we please hang out later?
What do you think?
Want to see the proof? Check out how Good Morning America put the product to the test. CLICK BELOW!
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/04/19/victorias-secret-miraculous-bra_n_850877.html
Some people have skeletons in their closet. I have an enormous Barbie in mine.
She stands about six feet tall with a 39″ bust, 18″ waist, and 33″ hips. These are the supposed measurements of Barbie if she were a real person. I built her as a part of the first National Eating Disorder Awareness Week (NEDAW) at my high school, later introducing her to Hamilton College during its first NEDAW in 2011.
When I was a little girl, I played with my Barbie in her playhouse, sending her and Ken on dates that always ended with a goodnight kiss. I had fond times with my Barbie, and I admired her perfect blonde locks and slim figure. Barbie represented beauty, perfection and the ideal for young girls around the world. At least, as a seven-year-old, that is what she was to me.
In January 2007, I was looking for a way to make my peers realize the importance of eating disorders and body image issues. I was frustrated after quitting the cheerleading squad, frustrated with pressures to look and act a certain way and most of all frustrated with the eating disorder controlling my life. I wanted to do something that would turn others’ apathy into action. That evening, my neighbor and I found two long pieces of wood and started measuring. With a little math, nails and hammering, we built a stick figure that stood about six feet tall.
The chicken wire came next. Surrounding her wooden frame, we created a body that wasn’t much thicker than a stick figure, but had the womanly and unattainable curves and proportions that impressionable young girls idealize. We stuffed the chicken wire with newspaper and created a body that creepily leaned against the wall in my neighbor’s basement. She now needed some skin, so I brought her back to my apartment and employed the masterful art of papier maché.
Taking stacks of newspaper, glue and water, I skipped my high school semi-formal dance to give my girl some skin. Oddly, I started to feel my fondness for Barbie return, now not as a plaything but as a tool to reveal the negative body image that she promotes. As I papier machéd, I couldn’t forget Barbie’s impressive bust and blew up balloons over and over again to achieve a perfect 39″ measurement. Once her chest was secured, I spent hours dipping and smoothing the paper, and later mixed paints to replicate her seemingly perfect white skin tone. With a little hard work and a lot of time, a headless, footless and handless body soon stood in my apartment.
But it was then I became stumped. I couldn’t figure out how to recreate the recognizable face of the Barbie we all know and love. With NEDAW just around the corner, I was panicked. On my way to get office supplies, I drove by a Toys ‘R’ Us, and that’s when it hit me. Remember that Barbie with just shoulders and a head, meant for you to practice brushing her hair? I confidently walked into the toy store for the first time since I was a kid. I found the Barbie head, found a friend to assemble that head, and clothed Barbie for her first debut.
I dressed Barbie in my old clothes. The skirt she still has on today is a reminder of who I once was. That skirt, a size double zero, used to slip off my waist when I was struggling with anorexia. I put it on Barbie to serve as a reminder that the way Barbie looks, the way I once looked, is not healthy and is not “normal,” whatever normal might mean. My Barbie’s role is simple. She grabs the attention of apathetic onlookers and makes them think and talk about an issue that thrives in silence. In the last four years, Barbie has surpassed my expectations, attracting attention and sparking conversation among listeners and readers across the nation.
Once a year, at the end of February, Barbie comes out of the closet to meet my friends, strangers, and those apathetic onlookers. During NEDAW, she reminds people that eating disorders and body image issues are serious and prevalent. Holding an awareness week in high school or college is just one way to get students to discuss these important issues. However, constant discussion and education is key to dealing with and overcoming eating disorders.
Despite her bizarre appearance, Barbie provides something that many advocacy efforts lack. She reminds of something we once loved, while showing us the absurdity of our obsession with perfection.
More “Get Real, Barbie” statistics:*
• There are two Barbie dolls sold every second in the world.
• The target market for Barbie doll sales is young girls ages 3-12 years of age.
• A girl usually has her first Barbie by age 3, and collects a total of seven dolls during her childhood.
• Over a billion dollars worth of Barbie dolls and accessories were sold in 1993, making this doll big business and one of the top 10 toys sold.
• If Barbie were an actual women, she would be 5’9″ tall, have a 39″ bust, an 18″ waist, 33″ hips and a size 3 shoe.
• Barbie calls this a “full figure” and likes her weight at 110 lbs.
• At 5’9″ tall and weighing 110 lbs, Barbie would have a BMI of 16.24 and fit the weight criteria for anorexia. She likely would not menstruate.
• If Barbie was a real woman, she’d have to walk on all fours due to her proportions.
• Slumber Party Barbie was introduced in 1965 and came with a bathroom scale permanently set at 110 lbs with a book entitled “How to Lose Weight” with directions inside stating simply “Don’t eat.”
For more information, call the South Shore Eating Disorders Collaborative at 508-230-1732 or visit the National Eating Disorders Association at http://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org.
* Source: Body Wars, Margo Maine, Ph.D., Gurze Books, 2000.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/galia-slayen/the-scary-reality-of-a-re_b_845239.html
Great blog I just came across. Good reading!!!
http://traciesterntheblog.wordpress.com/2011/03/31/love-doesnt-have-a-size/
We don’t all love a tall, skinny man. We don’t all love Hulk Hogan. So why as women do we think that all men love Barbie?
In our society there are many, many sites offering advice on how to dress. Advice on how to style your hair, do your makeup and follow the new, hot trends in todays fashion magazines.
So now that you have it, what do you do with it. For many women, their biggest concern isn’t what to wear, but how to find something that fits. Not only fits, but flatters. Why do we have this obsession with what we look like? Do we create it ourselves or is it created in society and we adopt it under sheer pressure or influence?
Well let’s break this down. If you have children do they put a limit on how much they love you depending on what size pants you are wearing today? Men aren’t as concerned with size as women are but they are concerned with ambition and attitude. When you meet someone new, do you ask them what size they are before you decide whether to friend them or not? You think that sounds ridiculous but in reality, that is exactly how many of us think people see us. They make their decisions solely based on what we look like. While part of that is true a first impression is made within the first 3 seconds of someone being in your presence.
The vast majority of those who matter in our lives do not base their decisions of love on what our dress size is. They base their decision on loving us based on the person we are. The legacy if you will that we are choosing to leave behind. My kids for example love me because I hug them. I play with them. I cook for them, and I make them a priority in my life. They also love me because I include them in my life, the one I have outside of them.
Notice I said ‘MY LIFE’ in that last sentence. It’s always been important to me that I maintain my own identity. I have had the privilege of living a life that has mandated that has allowed that to happen. For some women, it is much harder to maintain their own identity. It’s very easy to lose ourselves in our partners or our children. But what about you? When you met your husband or partner how would you have described yourself? Are you still that person? Do you still possess the same qualities they fell in love with or have you become an altered version of that person almost unrecognizable? This has nothing to do with weight or size, this has everything to do with attitude and ambition. This theory goes for friendships too. Were you once a really positive person who has now become jaded and negative? Sunshine brings more people out then rain.
Over the years it has been my job to convince consumers that no matter what I wear, I love it and I look absolutely fantastic in it. Whether I believe it or not. Being a model is being an actress with no lines. Our emotion is shared through our eyes, face and body language. When you look at a picture it’s what that picture is saying to you that will draw you in or make you look away. My friends joke with me that I would look good in a potato sack. And with no ego involved I would, only because it is what I’ve been trained to do. It’s what I’ve been doing for 17 years, and trust me when I say, in the beginning, what I modeled wasn’t too far from that potato sack theory.
Today, my life has become more focused on my shape rather then my size. My husband doesn’t care if I’m a 12 today and a 14 tomorrow. Nor did he care when I was a 16/18 after our 1st son was born. My husband is man enough to love me no matter what size I am because he loves my shape.
I want to help women to understand that their curves are a blessing regardless of how society portrays them. I have the average hourglass figure. Which my husband loves. He loves my waist, the curve of my ‘apple butt’ and yes here is a shocker, my boobs. Which I have more of now that I am a mother of 2. A gift from my boys as I say.
As an Hourglass, I am not too limited on what I wear because the shape of my body is proportioned. My shoulders are in line with my hips. An hourglass shape is one of 2 shapes that has an easier time of finding clothes. However, we still need to make sure that our assets are accentuated and our ‘flaws’ are camouflaged.
No matter what shape you are, we as women will always have body issues. Whether we are a size 2 or 20. Cellulite has no friends and saddle bags are still saddle bags no matter what body you find them on.
The other shape that can dress with less effort is a Rectangle. This is the body shape of most fashion models. Because of their lack of curves, they can wear just about anything, their biggest issue would be the need to create a waistline. This is an easy problem to address.
Where fashion starts to get tricky is with our beloved Pears and Apples. With Pears their weight is mostly distributed in their hips and thighs and therefore this limits what they can wear on the bottom. Their tops are usually much smaller in proportion with narrow shoulders, small bust and a very defined waistline. The key to dressing a pear is to find tops that add a bit of bulk up top and to wear pants and skirts that flatter a wider bottom. Stay away from tapered legs as this will only accentuate your hips by creating an upside down triangle. Darker bottoms and straight legs (fit to the widest part of your thigh) will also help to make this area appear smaller. By adding a shoulder pad (not 1980′s) to your jackets and shirts, this will widen your shoulders to help them be more in line with your hips.
With an Apple your weight is mostly distributed around your chest and middle with thin arms and legs. Many of you think that your chest and your legs are your best assets. The key to an apple is adding bulk to the bottom and minimizing the focus on the top half while allowing your boobs a little exposure (after all if you’ve got it flaunt it). By wearing skinny jeans or leggings on the bottom and a large top you are actually making your top appear bigger. You will also want to add a belt or wear jackets that create a waistline to bring you closer to that hourglass shape.
Life is not about a size, it’s about balance. Finding balance in your shape will revolutionize how you see yourself. As women we need to stop comparing ourselves to each other because the only ones who can compare themselves are 2 women who are the same shape and the same size, height/weight etc. Otherwise to compare a hourglass to a pear is like comparing apples to oranges…. 
It’s unfair and unrealistic.
I hope you all have an “Ah Hah” moment and start to enjoy being a woman again after reading this!
Earlier this week, I wrote about basing our self-worth on a number–your credit score, your weight or EVEN WORSE….the size of the clothing you wear.
CLICK BELOW TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE:
BUT look what I just read:
….Women’s sizes aren’t based on anything real. Your brother might have a 32-inch waist so he buys 32-inch jeans. But when you buy a size 12, what does that number have to do with your body? 12 feet? 12 inches? No. It might as well stand for 12 unicorns for all it has to do with reality.
One of the most exasperating things about clothes? Sizes.
You’ve probably noticed that men’s sizes are based on actual measurements. For example, when you (more…)
Ok, MOMS….you know I’m going to talk about EVERYTHING and ANYTHING. Right?
So here goes.
How many of you struggle with your bra? I’m being serious! I hate wearing one (I can’t get it off fast enough when I get home) and since this post lives under the category of the MOM of 7 SECRET DIARY I’m gonna let you in on my big secret……MY FAVORITE weekend BRAS!
Here’s the 411:
1. ultra, ultra comfy
2. no binding
3. close in the front–which I think is kinda sexy (in a weekend kind of way)
4. wash really well
5. never, ever ride up on the back
6. never, ever shows “bulge” on the back
Bottom Line from the MOM of 7—it’s worth every penny. Try just one and you will totally agree with me. Keep an eye on www.soma.com for a sale or buy one/get one half off.
CLICK BELOW for a more detailed 411 from Soma Intimates:
Ah, Victoria’s Secret — our absolute favorite place to find Photoshop fails. It amazes us what the lingerie brand’s retouchers manage to do to some of the hottest babes ever.
Today’s case: Marisa Miller modeling “The Sexiest Polo.” So sexy that she apparently lost her left arm in the sexy-sexiness of the cotton pique/spandex blend with puff sleeves.
(NOTE from MOM of 7: I had no idea when I wrote my article, today, about weight/size etc. that THIS would pop up. Sadly, I’m sure the graphic artist FORGOT to replace this beautiful girl’s left arm after he slimmed down her sides and removed any tiny bit of “fat roll” on around her side. So very sad!!)
Last week, a good friend of mine admitted something us women NEVER like to share……HER WEIGHT. Yeah, I’m talking about that dreaded number on the scale. 
Thankfully, we were laughing about it. Thankfully SHE was laughing about it because here’s a women in her late 40’s who has somehow learned NOT to define her self-worth by her credit score, the size of her pants or the number on the scale. And the fact that she’s “matured” to this level is pretty darn cool.
But it makes me sit back and think….why are SO many of us obsessed and measuring our worth based on a NUMBER? It’s a sickness. I’m serious!
Every month, I get an email alert to check my credit score. For months, I would log-in and obsess over the score raising or lowering by 1 point, 3 points, 11 points.
Every day I walk into the bathroom I share with my slim, 6foot 7 husband, and stare at the scale HE brought into this marriage two years ago. Love you Stephen. Hate the scale. I refuse to step on the scale and I watch and laugh inside as he sometimes steps on it in the morning and then again at night. (Like he has ANYTHING to worry about)
These days I seem to be obsessed with the size of pants I wear. See, I secretly want to be my height but look like my sisters who (I’m guessing) wear a size 8 or 10….maybe a 12 on a bad day. Me? I’m generally sporting a “slim” (bahahaha) 14 or 16. And I get really DOWN on myself if I walk into a store, find the perfect pair of black pants and the pants don’t fit even though they are “my size.”
Why can’t I be happy with the body God gave to me?
Why do I continually judge my self-worth on a NUMBER?
I’m guessing, if you’re a woman, you are also judging yourself by some number that you’ve decided is perfect. Problem is, you will spend the rest of your life trying to achieve this number.
WHAT IS YOUR POINT?
Stop!
YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL! I don’t care what size you are—-YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL!
Want to be even prettier? Work on your heart a little more.
Working to achieve a certain NUMBER (that I promise only YOU have deemed perfect) is a waste of time.
If you believe in God, and I really hope you do, you’ll know that God doesn’t judge us by a number. He sees us as perfect, even when we aren’t.
And I’m guessing that the day you die, on your tombstone THEY WILL NOT LIST YOUR WEIGHT, THE SIZE OF YOUR PANTS OR YOUR CREDIT SCORE.
Do yourself a favor. Stop the sickness. Every morning when that cruel number works its way back into your brain make a decision NOT to listen to it. Stop the cruel cycle of judging yourself by a number. You are beautiful and perfect JUST THE WAY YOU ARE!
A FABULOUS article I found that I wanted to share. Maybe you’ll see a little bit of yourself in what plus-size model, Tracie Stern describes.
(MOM of 7/Martha’s personal note: I gotta laugh, and I’m sure some of you can relate…I feel like as soon as I figured out how to be a great Mom to 3 kids, I had to figure out how to be a good-enough Mom to 7. And honestly, I still struggle, every day trying to figure out my “role” as a Step-Mom. Maybe by the time I’m 70 years old I will have mastered “that” role. LOL)
Identity Crisis: Who Are You Now That You Have Kids?
I had spent the last ten years of my life traveling the world as a model and only having me to worry about. I knew exactly what to do the minute I was confirmed for the job. Whether it involved international travel, multiple days of work, foreign languages, or just a quick drive down the road. Whatever my agencies threw my way I KNEW I could handle it.
So when I found out I was pregnant with my now six-year old son, I was so excited. I was engaged to my husband when we found out about Ramsee. It was such an exciting moment. Over the next several months, my life took a turn for the unknown. (more…)
I know you’ve seen the hit reality drama series on BRAVO called “Real Housewives.”
And now…drum roll please, BRAVO will soon introduce us to a new crop of women donning hair extensions, fake boobs, face-lifts and plumped up lips. But they aren’t women from Virginia Beach….a bit further south…. Miami.
So I have to ask, why??? Why hasn’t BRAVO Network considered branching out to Virginia Beach?
I’m totally, 100% serious. Why hasn’t BRAVO ever thought about filming in Virginia Beach?
Think about it…..
Virginia Beach = beautiful houses on the beach
Virginia Beach = beautiful people on boats
Virginia Beach = a great nightlife
Virginia Beach = plastic surgery (First Colonial Road here I come!) (more…)
MOM of 7 