Last week I had the honor to help style and shoot with the ever so talented Julia D’Agostino for the Fred shop fall look book. It is always fun styling the outfits and of course working with Julia. Here I’m wearing from Fred’s a Tanya Taylor top and Agolde jeans.
Also this week is the beginning of New York City fashion week and Tanya Taylor was one of the 12 (yes only 12) to have plus size models (that is considered a 6 or 8) in her fashion show. I know fashion has a big impact on women’s perspective of what is “in” or “trendy” but giving us unrealistic standards of what is considered beautiful is just not right. It always makes me nervous raising a daughter to look at tall and insanely skinny women as role models.
With that being said, I don’t think at my time of birth, I was a size 0. I grew up in the 90s when Britney Spears’s body was the envy of every young girl but no amount of exercise or diet was going to make me blonde, petite, big boobed and sexy. I was tall, brunette, had hips, a butt and was flat chested. I couldn’t be more opposite than Britney Spears. Than J-Lo came on the scene and I will forever be grateful for her. She was the first singer/actress who made curves sexy again. She was proud of her body, her butt, her hips, she was darker and she didn’t have boobs either. As a young impressionable Italian girl, she made me embrace my body and love my booty!
I also must say that as an Italian, food and wine are love. I’m always going to eat the pasta, I’m always going to eat the pizza, I’m always going to drink the wine and I’m always going to eat lemon ricotta cookies because they are my favorite. Life is too short to not indulge in the good things in life and I never want to be laying on my deathbed one day and wish I ate the cake!
I also think that staying healthy and working out are very important too. I work VERY hard at staying thin because I do love to eat. I wasn’t blessed with a naturally skinny body or a fast metabolism but I was blessed with determination and I try and work out 5 days a week. I’m always trying to be a good role model for my daughter and show her a mother who loves herself and the body she was given.
So thank you Tanya Taylor for giving young girls a realistic idea of what normal and healthy looks like. Thank you for acknowledging that beautiful women come in all shapes and sizes. I will forever by your clothes and support you!
