Shape up, America!

The Daily Mail

Trinny Woodall and Susannah Constantine, the original What Not To Wear girls, have a new book out, The Body Shape Bible (currently available only in the UK). The premise is one we are familiar with: once you identify your body shape, you will be able to choose clothes that flatter you. BUT! Trinny and Susannah aren't sticking with the usual apple/pear shapes; they have come up with 12 descriptive names for various shapes, including the "brick" and the "lolly."

Today's Daily Mail includes an excerpt from the book, with photographs and brief recommendations. And while it's fun to see if you can find your body, you really should read all the comments, because, as one reader points out, "the really derisory comments about these women being fat comes from Americans." She's right, and I find that both unsurprising and very sad.

The American commenters are missing the point: bodies come in all shapes and sizes. Being curvy or hippy or a size 14 (or 18 or 22 or whatever) doesn't mean you don't deserve to look fantastic. When you have a body that doesn't fit easily into mainstream clothing sizes and shapes -- either because you are bigger or smaller in some area -- you will need to make a little extra effort to find what flatters. Lumping everyone larger than an Olsen twin together as "fat" is short sighted and simple minded and (dare I say) stupid.

Trinny and Susannah consistently urge their clients to push the envelope, to wear things that are daring and unconventional, regardless of size or lifestyle. And while I am compelled to say that yes, it's a wee bit impractical, I am also won over by their devotion to fashion, and their insistence that EVERY woman, regardless of size, has the ability to be edgy and chic.

Now if you will excuse me, I'm going to put on some killer shoes, because I feelthe urge to be fabulous.