"Thanks!" to many of you, including Kelli (in this post) as well as suninseattle & Dara, who shared the following news.Model Crystal Renn can be seen in the pages of the latest March catalog from J.Crew. The following is from NY Mag's The Cut (click here to read in its entirety):
It is really nice to see Ms. Renn sporting swimsuits. (She is often times referred to as a "plus-size model", but I honestly don't get it. She looks so slender.) In any case, bravo to J.Crew for including her!Crystal Renn Models Swimsuits for J.Crew
By Charlotte Cowles
March 2, 2011
J.Crew, which occasionally strays from its stable of conventionally thin models to feature celebrities like Katie Holmes or Lauren Hutton, has a joyful-looking Crystal Renn modeling swimsuits in their latest catalogue.
She wears one-piece bathing suits in three pictures and bikini bottoms with a cover-up and a cardigan in the fourth. From what we can recall over years of ordering swimwear from J.Crew, this is the first time the catalogue has ever featured a non-straight-size model in its swim section. ...
What are your thoughts on Crystal Renn's appearance in the latest catalog? Do you think J.Crew should include more models like Ms. Renn or do you not really care who models the clothes?
She's not really considered a plus size model anymore. She recently lost a bunch of weight.
ReplyDeletehttp://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/size-model-crystal-renn-sheds-pounds-fuels-criticism/story?id=12867609
But I do agree it's nice to see someone who isn't skeletal, even if her new size (8) still doesn't represent most women.
Wow. I don't get it either, Alexis. If she is a plus-sized model, then I shudder to think where the fashion industry would classify me. How absurd and how damaging to young women.
ReplyDeleteShe was gorgeous as a size 12 - Many women would dream of having a luscious body like that!
ReplyDeleteJ Crew's models are always too unrealistically thin. I like this change.
goodness, if she's plus size, i'm obese.
ReplyDeleteJBird: I honestly don't see her as plus size so I was surprised to see on her Wiki page: "In 2011, Renn became the face of the ... spring/summer MR Denim Collection by Marina Rinaldi, a plus-size jeans collection." And I agree with you, it is nice to see someone like her. :)
ReplyDeleteClicquot : LOL! I thought the same thing! I would not make it in that industry, not at all! ;)
I agree with others, she definately doesn't look like a plus size to me. If she is in fact a sz 8, how the heck does that qualify as "plus"?? Who's standards are those?
ReplyDeleteShe does however look beautiful, healthy and has a gorgeous body! It' a refreshing change from the vacant looking models J Crew has been using lately.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI applaud that they are trying to use someone other than a size 0 or smaller(!). But I would like to see a range of sizes, including those who are in fact curvy in their pants and skirts. And why not let Crystall show off in an actual two piece, don't cover her up.
ReplyDeleteI'm not going to quibble over ten pounds here, twenty pounds there. I'm just happy to see her, glad she's wide awake and smiling, and I hope we see her in street clothes in her next JC shot!
ReplyDeleteBut I hope she doesn't model squared-off eyeglass frames...
ReplyDeleteI think Crystal Renn is absolutely gorgeous. I read an article about her weight loss recently and it said that she is the same size now that Paulina Porizkova was *back in the day* when she consistently modeled swimsuits. Back then they were considered healthy and thin...definitely not plus-sized.
ReplyDeleteFrom that article:
"Today’s “plus size” is apparently yesterday’s “supermodel size.” At the Glamour Woman of the Year conference last night during a panel discussion, Porizkova asked Renn—a model known for her transformation from anorexia to plus size and managing to stay in the modeling business—to stand up next to her so everyone could see that they are essentially the same size. Porizkova said she’s the same size now as when she was modeling and “known for doing bathing suits.”
As for the article on this post, it
states: "From what we can recall over years of ordering swimwear from J.Crew, this is the first time the catalogue has ever featured a non-straight-size model in its swim section. ...".
This is incorrect. J.Crew has featured models who are more *normal* sized in their swim section before. Remember when Mallory Snyder modeled for them back in the spring of 2008? She was toned, healthy looking and not stick thin. It is nice, however, to see J.Crew showcase a model that is normal-size again. I hope they continue to do so in the future, too.
Regarding the re-posted comment above: for some reason I had remembered a comparison to Elle McPherson but it was actually Paulina Porizkova.
ReplyDeleteI'm such a beast. I get very angry when anyone who isn't a total stick gets called 'larger' or whatever other term marketers or media come up with. Please! I knew I knew the name from somwehere, then I realized who she was.
ReplyDeleteLaw. If that's plus-size, I must be double plus! Or triple! She looks fantastic, I wish I looked half that good in my swimsuit.
Still, let's not forget the Crew's penchant for Photoshop. I only believe so much of what I see.
She is beautiful!
ReplyDeleteguess I will be heading over to the big 'N tall shop or the "husky" department.
I also noticed Madewell used the current "it firl" Arizona Muse in a recent web blast.
oops "it GIRL"
ReplyDeleteI agree that even when she was at her larger size 12, it is a travesty that she's referred to as a "plus size" model. But she's also a really big advocate for the elimination of the term "plus size," and was formerly a straight-size model with an eating disorder who weighed under 100 pounds at that height. I think she's a really promising representative for a possible change in the fashion industry. It's just not going to happen all at once. Women like Renn and Marquita Pring doing runway and big print campaigns is a huge step in the right direction, though. Maybe girls in the next generation will have more sizes to look at in fashion, and these gorgeous women won't be relegated to Lane Bryant catalogs.
ReplyDeleteI absolutely adore Crystal Renn (she's one of my girl crushes!) and find her such a breath of fresh air in the catalog. I would LOVE to see her model some actual clothing in a future catalog!
ReplyDeleteYeah, I think she used to be a plus size model. She looked great then and she looks great now. I am so happy to see something other than a size 0 in J.Crew catalogs.
ReplyDeleteI also think it is absurd that anything larger than a 6 is considered plus size in the modeling world. That is really messed up.
I gotta pipe in here about Crystal Renn being the same size as Paulina Porzikova during Porzikova's heyday in swimsuit modeling. This cover, Paulina Porzikova July 1988 Cosmo Cover, messed me up well into my twenties (I was 17 when this issue was out.). Look at that waist, and ribs! Maybe, just maybe Crystal and Paulina's thighs are the same size, but that is about it. Also, in the J.crew catalog, you can see how they shadowed in or darkened, alot of her "heavier" areas.
ReplyDeleteI just flipped through my J.Crew catalog today and saw her photos. Seriously, she makes me want to buy every swimsuit she's wearing! She's absolutely stunning.
ReplyDeleteI never heard of Crystal Renn before today. I googled her and she is really beautiful. If JCrew uses her again, hopefully they will feature her in items other than one piece swimsuits and a sweatshirt.
ReplyDeleteI was going to say she looks slim and fit, not skinny but slim -which I actually like better
ReplyDeleteAs a teenager reading Vogue, I always loved the fashion, but never related to many of the women/girls featured in the magazine. In one of their "shape" issues, I came across a spread of a plus-size model I'd never heard of. It was Crystal Renn (when she was a 12/14) and I still love that they had her rock a white (white! a color I never thought I could wear) retro swimsuit, looking like a reinterpretation of Marilyn (http://www.londongroove.co.uk/Crystal-renn-fashion-model.jpg).
ReplyDeleteAt her old or new weight, I think she is beautiful, and should be featured in so many more American publications - I'm glad to see J.Crew using her, but I'm hoping to see more of her in other types of outfits.
Kudos to the Krew. I honestly don't find their usual models attractive-- they look too thin to me. Also, if she is considered plus size, then I definitely am, and I'm a size 4..
ReplyDeleteAt least she looks happy and healthy. We all should strive to look happy and healthy! :)
ReplyDeleteI agree that it's nice to see women of all sizes model clothing but easy on the comments about the 'skeletal' and 'vacant'! Women come in all shapes and sizes and don't always choose to be so skinny, or curvy. I'm probably just as sensitive to the 'skinny' comments as a beautiful curvy woman is to 'fat' comments since it's something beyond our control, in some cases. For instance, besides my unusually fast metabolism I also have pancreas disease which doesn't allow me to eat any fat, and low amounts of sugar and proteins - so naturally, I can't gain weight. Bottom line - if you're going to be sensitive about how one body type is viewed/judged, then be sensitive to all - support eachother.
ReplyDeleteIRL, I knew exactly what pic that would be before I even opened the link! I remember that too.
ReplyDeleteFortunately, for all her faults, my mom did do something right -- I was a teen in the era of the 'big supermodels,' and my mom drilled into the my head (and my sisters' heads): "You would look like that too if you had the money to pay all those people that it takes to make them look like that!"
PP, I think the comments aren't even so much around the thinness of most of JC's models, but the fact that there is usually not a range of bodies shown. The 'one pant 9 women' feature (or whatever it was) is something I'd like to see more of.
And I agree w/the poster who said we'd like to see Crystal in a bikini and not covered up next time!
Until reading it on this blog, I never even noticed that the swimsuit model was any "bigger" than the usual models. BUT, I totally noticed every suit that she modelled -- love them and want them all.
ReplyDeleteMaybe they were so appealling to me because I could actually picture myself (an athletic-build size 6) looking decent in them?
I had to look up "straight size" because I was initially interpreting it as meaning the woman fits into regular misses clothing. But the term really applies only to modeling, a straight size model is one who fits into the usual model-sized clothes, anyone bigger is non-straight-size. In model terms, "plus size" can begin at size 8! So it's possible Renn is still considered plus size despite having lost a lot of weight.
ReplyDeleteI for one am happy to see thighs on a J Crew model. And I think Renn represents the original J Crew aesthetic of fit and healthy, even athletic. Of course that kind of body doesn't work very well for the slouchy look so pervasive today.
I have no idea who Crystal Renn is but I would probably only know the names of a handful of models, those who have appeared in what is loosely called the "news".
ReplyDeleteI looked through the online catalog as soon as it was available and frankly, I never even noticed the different-sized model. I usually don't pay much attention to who is modelling the clothes and I'm not sure I understand all the fuss. Like any field there are certain criteria in modelling that translate to more success than others. Anyone here buying what she has modelled or are we just happy to see her in it?
Probably will get roasted for my comment but I'm curious.
I'm stuck on 'straight size.' So the rest of the world is crooked? Or you're just crooked if you're trying to model and you're not straight size? Just more mumbo jumbo put out there to get heads twisted. Bleaaach.
ReplyDeleteAs far as Crystal Renn, I didn't categorize her in my mind as big or small. I noticed that she looked healthy and I thought that a good thing. The JC models look like they're about to fall over from a low BMI. Crystal looks like she's actually going to swim in that suit.
I didn't know who she was when I flipped through the catalog until someone here mentioned who she was. I don't see her as a "plus" size model but it's good to see someone healthy and happy looking.
ReplyDeleteShe is not plus-sized but she's a plus-sized model, i.e., she models plus-sized clothes. Hey, I'm a 12/14, even I don't want to see the clothes I'm buying modeled by a size 12/14 model. :) It's all marketing, playing on human emotions, desires, fears, etc.
ReplyDeleteI don't know if it was like this before and I just didn't notice it, or if it's new ... on the Talbots web site in the plus-sized section they show clothes on models that appear to be size 12 or so. But not for all garments, some still have the pictures using the regular models. It's SO interesting to see them side by side! For example, I'm looking at the dresses, on the 5th row from the top is the Ponte knit boatneck dress on a plus model, and right next to it is the Chiffon shirtdress on a regular model (who looks like Stephanie Seymour on my monitor). The regular model looks absolutely anorexic and unhealthy next to the plus model, and yet on her own (block the plus model from your view) she looks OK. We are SO brainwashed!! It's all conditioning, repetitive images of size 0 models for years and years will have that effect. I really like Talbots plus models, I need to pay them a compliment.
ReplyDeletetamara: Nordstrom has been showing plus-sized models on their website in the Women's section for a while now. If you look at any of the categories the regular misses size and plus-size models are all shown side by side.
ReplyDeleteFFM, I have noticed that Nordstrom has the plus models, and Bloomingdales has them too. But what I don't like about those two merchants is that they don't seem to take as much care to make the plus models look as good as the regular models. One time I saw a Bloomies plus model in a pair of tan cropped pants that were too tight, and making things worse were the white granny sandals she had on! I wish I could find that picture, I looked and it's gone. Talbots has done a good job of making their plus models look fabulous. I don't care if they have a row of clothespins up their backs, the regular models do too anyway. :)
ReplyDeleteIt goes deeper than just body size. I know models are "supposed" to be the cream of the crop, looks-wise. But trying to live up to their appearance (natural beauty + airbrushing) is just as harmful to my self esteem as trying to live up to their thinness.
ReplyDeleteI think what bugs me is that there is this selective brainwashing going on. Models are typically very tall, very thin, and very pretty. Everyone accepts that height is pretty much an unchangeable characteristic, so nobody thinks that just because models are tall then all women should be tall. But when it comes to weight and beauty, there's the mistaken view that these things can and, worse, should be changed. And even worse, any woman who isn't changing these things is lazy and undeserving. It's really quite insane. However, I don't deny a merchant or designer the right to use an attractive model to sell their clothes. Hey, I tidy up my condo before people come over, what they see is not how I usually live. :)
ReplyDelete