Photo from: Miss Surrey 2008 is Plus-sized and Perfect
Sweet 16: Plus-size model Chloe Marshall reaches Miss England finals
By Katie Franklin and agenciesLast Updated: 1:55am GMT 22/03/2008
A 16-year-old girl has defied the super-thin modelling status quo by becoming the first size 16 model to be selected as a finalist for the Miss England competition.
Chloe Marshall, from Guildford, beat seven other slimmer girls to the title of Miss Surrey and will now compete in the national finals.
Chloe, a beauty therapy student, said she decided to become a model to give a confidence boost to other "curvy" girls.
"It's really exciting, I'm really, really happy. I'm lost for words, I started to cry and everything. I'm over the moon," she said.
"I wanted to go through to the Miss England finals to break through the stereotype that you have to be tall and skinny.
"I wanted to make a bit of a statement. When I studied the other entrants for the Miss Surrey competition I concluded that pretty as the contestants were, they were equally all uniformly blonde and Barbie doll like.
"I want to show girls out there that it is possible to be beautiful and not a standard sized zero.
"My mum is really happy and proud of me that I am doing something not just for myself but other people as well and my friends are really supportive, they can't stop going on about it."
advertisement
Miss Marshall, who is 5ft 10in tall and has a 38DD bustline, has been signed by Models Plus model agency.
Stevie Walters, of Models Plus, said Chloe had a "luscious" figure and a bright future ahead of her.
"Chloe is gorgeous-looking and we are sure she will be snapped up by fashion companies who want to project a realistic and achievable image to their customers," she said.
Chloe's success comes as the debate about the use of size zero models in the fashion industry continues.
The debate was sparked last year when a Uruguayan model, Luisel Ramos, 22, died of heart failure after starving herself.
In November, a 21-year-old Brazilian model, Ana Carolina Reston, died from anorexia.
The deaths prompted organisers of Madrid Fashion Week to ban underweight models, while Milan followed suit with a code of conduct to stop anorexic-looking models being used in shows.
The British Fashion Council, however, refused to ban size zero women from taking part in London Fashion Week.
Doctors and women's groups have expressed concern that the use of underweight models encourages anorexia in the industry and sends a dangerous signal to girls.
18 comments:
I loved this when I read about it the other day!
size 16 really doesn't seem THAT big to me. . . .
Beautiful, Miss Chloe! Beautiful.
Well, TTG! It's about freakin' time! And I agree with Jen; size 16 is far from huge.
REAL women are the most beautiful women!
I also think she is beautuful. I can't understand why a person would starve themself. It's the world we live in. Do people in poverty stricken countries starve themselve's purposely?
I wouldn't care if I was a plus size as long as I was in good health.
Yeah, she is beautiful.
I wish I was a size 16! That would be like tee-niney to me! lol
Did you see that cool book from Leonard Nimoy, yup, "beam me up Scotty", The Full Body Project, it's a book of female nude photography of plus size women. You GO, Dr.Spock!
I had a friend in high school who was anorexic. When she got pregnant and hit 8 months, she finally reached 100 lbs (at 5'7, 17 years old, and 8 months preg.!) she cried and cried saying she was a cow...it really was sad.
Jen: It's really not...but look at the girls behind her, all size 0s. I'll take a size 16 any day!
Boston: I agree. Just wish we could get women like her on our pageants...then I might watch!
Dana: Amen, girl!
Jay: Yeah.
Fortune: That's incredibly sad. You and me both are wishing for a 16...I'd be THRILLED!
16, I don't even remember that size anymore, but I can dream. Good for her!
I like big women...always have. Cheers to her!
Thanks you so much for coming by and commenting. I say good for her on making her mark which is against the grain of the size 0 rule. It is terrible that women are starving themselves to death in order to keep working as models.
Hey, what's up with the advertisement in the middle of your post?
I think she should be comended for standing up for the average sized woman. I'll be the first to admit that I'm attracted to thin volumtous women, but never at the cost of a risk to their health. When it gets to that point the beauty is gone.
Yay! I'm so sick of the world trying to convince women that weighing 2 lbs is attractive. I don't think overly skinny is attractive on men or women. And it's just not healthy to be 5'9 or above and weigh 100 lbs!
::applause::
but what is a "beauty therapist"??
Good on her, she's striking a blow for all us 'bigger' ladies. :)
Yay!!!!!! That's totally amazing for her!
hooray for her! this is a good thing. in highschool i was bulimic, obsessed with how i looked, and underweight (i'm 5'10, & i was 115 lbs at my lowest). Now, i have about 10 extra lbs on me, but i'm healthier and happier.
the less dachau thinness is celebrated in ad campaigns, competitions etc... the less young, impressionable girls will feel obligated to look like that.
She's totally gorgeous and I prefer her body type any old day.
She's totally gorgeous. A chick needs curves. The end.
Post a Comment