IUC Fashion: Is Waiflike still in or is Voluptuous Taking Over?

It is a near impossible thing to discern whether or not Hollywood is leaning toward accepting the voluptuous starlet over the waifish luminary as the desirable – and therefore marketable – product.  No doubt, the catty public as always is of two minds.  Currently, women condemn Nicole Ritchie for her staunch commitment to staying so heroine-slim that she could safely balance on the tip of any hypodermic needle.  Whereas, back in the days where Paris Hilton didn’t need to find a ‘new BFF,’ Nicole was constantly criticized for having an ass that convinced the public that papa Lionel was a little bit more than half black.    

There is always a star that is heralded as being beautiful in spite of (even because of) her curves who inevitably falls victim to the latest dieting, exercise, or vomiting trends and becomes skinny.  Kate Winslet, Christine Ricci, Dana Plato (remember her?), Jessica Simpson, Kate Bosworth, Carrie Underwood, and LeAnn Rimes (to name only a few) have all been lauded for a little Hollywood-heft and then practically gilded for getting rid of it. 

 So the question of whether or not thin (and that means, ladies you better give Adrien Brody a run for his money when it comes to comparing hip size) is in, is a problematic one to answer.  It seems with all the ruched, billowing, and undulating clothing that is coming off the runway that bodacious broads are close becoming the new silhouettes of style.   But fashion dictates that if practicality is the thing impelling the consumer to don this pair of pants or that dress then all sex appeal is lost.  In other words, only skinny chicks can wear curvy ladies’ clothing because they have nothing to hide.   

Advice: real women, keep hanging onto the days of Marilyn Monroe, Betty Page and Botticelli, go to your closets, grab a form-fitting yet functional pair of slacks, put on your best Abercrombie sweater and call it a day.

(IUC Fashion Correspondent Erin Hershberg)