Stylish with Substance

Mixing so many wonderful lovelies of the girl world. Softness, florals, pink, & a crafty look/feel with knits.

When I was writing about the sizing "scandal" I see over Lara Stone's sensationalized popularity - I couldn't help but calm down viewing this shot of Stone in Chanel. (In our W Magazine / Lara Stone gallery.)

There's also more on the softer side in another of Stone's differences. Forget a size six amongst a 00 world, Lara's natural blondness is showcasing other alternative beauty aspects. It's not that she has no eyebrows, but like a few other women, she has very pale hair, even there. Now these girls have their own model mirror, which is always beautiful.

We may laugh and poke at other famous people ditching their brows on purpose - but Lara is just natural - even in her near-skintone eyebrows. So girls who grew up anxious over this different feature of their own, there may be a separate calm for them amongst the buzz.

For capelet purchasing info, contact Chanel.

Photo Source: Cyana Trend Land

Lara Stone is busty (left, for Prada) but in the 2nd photo
more stick than full figured with jutting hip bones.

I'm about to depart a bit from my usual "Ella" demure professionalism today in this rant. (Warning: it bad language will show up further down the page.) Still somehow when I'm sick with upset, surprisingly, eloquence conquers more through lyrical prose. So you'll now receive oddly & seemingly-schemed poetic flow with the partial drawback of - well, a hissy fit? At least you can not see the temper tantrum I feel inside me wanting to break out. But it is not masterminded; it is a gift (in my opinion, as I like my style). Perhaps I am blessed in my strangeness, but I digress too much.

I'm weary, bleary, hungry and rife with personal strife currently. It'll be OK soon, don't worry - life happens. OK I'm still a lady, yes, I didn't cuss. But later on, I know the bitch me will surface - and Ella even refers to that as a chienne or female dog instead of the B word! (Oh my.) But it is a part of me. I won't deny it as a woman it is in me. Hear me roar. And that's not anti-feminist. (Men can be worse - or just plain bitches themselves. Maybe that's un-PC. Maybe it's human.)

On to the "story"... So model and it-girl hype ... I never follow it. You might know that. I don't care if you care not for it. But of course I do try to keep up with a lot of fashion article reading whenever I can. I'm not mad when bloggers follow business-as-usual whereas it's my nemesis - so the source of this news does not matter. Oh it does as a link source, of course, I happily oblige - I mean just that I mean no offense. Who does not chatter - amongst the trendy writers - of trends, news, current... That's fine, as "fine" is defined.

But back on topic, this happens to mean, yes-I've heard buzz of Lara Stone and her status in the modeling world. Whatever.

But her very popularity (or is it sheer f...abbing presence on top catwalks?) is marked as exceptional to the modeling biz. Why? Because she's a size 4. Yes, 4, or 6 on bloated days. But models are "supposed to be" a 0 or 2. So she's heralded as "curvier" or worse "fuller figured".

View our Gallery from W Magazine's August issue declaring Stone Fashion's IT Girl. Our Ttitle: Beauty or the Beast?

The real thing, true visual difference, between Lara and her runway colleagues (not all models, mostly just runway) is that her breasts are 2 1/2 sizes more grown than her nearly A peers. Her bust is reportedly a C cup.

Quel shock! Alert the press! She's got it gets juicy from here...

I just read about Picture Me, a new documentary exposing the secret darknesses of the modeling and photography world. A lowlight of the film's revelations,

"'We had to go in one by one. The photographer said he wanted to see me without my shirt on. Then he told me that it was still hard to imagine me for the story so could I take my trousers off. I was standing there in a pair of Mickey Mouse knickers and a sports bra. I didn't even have breasts yet. 'We might need to see you without your bra,' he told me. It was like he was a shark circling me, walking around and around, looking me up and down without saying anything. I did what he told me to. I was just eager to be liked and get the job. I didn't know any better.'"

I knew I had to help spread the news of reported abuse, but I'm saddened by the lack of what was said in The Gaurdian article (you must read) - the fact that I must say it because of this lack, and it's something so obvious to me, to mothers, to you - most likely. And most heinous.

Possibly never have I uttered or written these words in earnest:

Think of the children!

Even in this article about the exposé, and in words by the filmmaker and model, herself - there is a harsh sickening detail left out. It's not the worst part that it is omitted in these sources trying to help a *new* or to-be cause, but it is perhaps the sickest part of these facts: these are not women, not just girls, not just teenagers. They are children. Looked at sexually, molested, by pedophiles - who could argue? But those words are not mentioned. Not just nothing about pedophilia - which no one can deny any criminality when a 14 year old child does not even have breasts yet, there is no blurry woman-like view there - model body or no. Not even that this is not mentioned, but neither is the word, "child". Not once. Not. a. once. If you have the Google Toolbar, with the article open in your browser/tab and type "child" into the search bar, but then click on it in the "find" feature - you do hear that *not found* alert.

This may sound odd, but it was chilling for me, in that moment, to hear that bumpy Windows noise.

I may only be a dreamer now but if I am ever a big designer, I wouldn't ever let an ad (or any) photoshoot go on without my presence, now that I know of this. I feel like many would jadedly think one would flake on any idealic promise when facing business reality, but I know you readers are normal and good like I am. And wouldn't you do the same? Care the same? I know it. Like the star who is still down-to-earth, we have to believe we remain human even if absorbed into the successes and pull-pressures of an industry so firm in its tradition, even the bad (especially?). Trends change, but capitolism remains, sleeze is our animal. Many, though never enough on the inside, vow to change dress size norms or less-average-size chic-levels or prevalence, but when faced with true crimes, against children or not, we've gotta believe we would do our part to fight.

For most of us, all we can do is vow not to let our daughters, or any child of anyone we know, start or even dream of modeling - or at least teach and try to prevent with those familes we cannot control. Not only is this the best fight most of us have, but we should all do at least this.

Photo: Teenaged model from YenMag.net

There was technically a high-profile, and large in a sense, fashion event near my home area just this Saturday. The fashion was swimwear, although technically strictly bikinis.

Cosmopolitan Magazine held their Bikini Bash 2009 on Miami FL's South Beach, which was the largest bikini photoshoot ever regarding the number of models. But the models were just about anyone willing to show up and show off in a bikini. I would not be one, of course, because I don't have the fitting body. Would a girl with actual meat on her bones even be truly welcome? This doesn't seem to me to have been a self-esteem event.

photo from 2008's photoshoot event

Actually, it seems more like utilizing free workers to exploit and then promote as a "sexy" event, even though these are private citizen women. Who would want this? A few, and that's just fine, but what about those who participated unknowning they'd be advertising for Cosmo using sex? They're called "fun fearless women" but what do skinny chicks have to fear? I don't see larger women, and is it fair to call us afraid if we don't attend?

Regarding the exploitation of their figures, here's a quote from cosmobikinipics.com,

"To get a high-quality version of your hotness to share with friends on your Facebook or MySpace page (and make them jealous they missed it!), just click on the thumbnail of your pic."

That seems a little on the tarty "disqualify-from-American-Idol" side, but mostly I don't like Cosmo using these girls like that.

Not only is it swimsuits, but it had to be bikinis, and it was on South Beach, yeah the only beach with its own diet. It seems the mag's now trying to promote skinniness.

For full disclosure's sake, this has little to do with the fact that it didn't seem to be an open invite to participate in a fun event like say as a journalist (moi) but only as a model, or just well, pieces of meat. Ella don't play that, and even if I could, it would seem so wrong.

All that matters to me is that my boyfriend loves me exactly as I am, wearing anything or nothing, with no cameras or Internet/magazine props ... and I get to eat ice cream.

If you have interest in this event or seeing pics; you can visit the link above or cosmopolitan.com and if you're interested in reading the issue featuring the shoot, it's in August's edition.

I just learned on the Today show from Tyson Beckford of Make Me a Supermodel that male models are typically between the heights of 5'10" (average) and 6'2. Any taller and there's trouble fitting in men's apparel.

Petite, 4'11"1/4 Ella says, "no fair!"