My Hips Have Entered Their Representation Era
I have never felt so seen by a fashion designer.
Marc Jacobs has seen the predicament of midlife, post-menopausal women and risen to the occasion.
The photos of the current line of clothing also prompted a fit of laughter that nearly killed me, so there’s that. I wonder how often the EMTs get called to respond to midlife women who border on cardiac arrest in fits of laughter. Forget what it does to the bladder. Gasping and wheezing are much more dangerous.
With that, I issue a content warning for the following screenshots, which are from the Bergdorf Goodman website (Marc Jacobs runway collection) and the Marc Jacobs website.
Browse at your own health risk. You have been warned.
All photo credits go to the photographer who somehow kept a straight face and held a camera steady long enough to capture the runway models.
For decades, fashion has acted like women’s bodies have no curves and are unaffected by shifting hormones after thirty. So when Marc Jacobs debuted outfits that look like they were designed for women with curves?
Suddenly, I’m so proud of my muffin top. And my new menopause belly is just so fashionable! I have the hips for these too.
I’ll admit that when I first saw the outfits, I did think of the Barbie clothes I tried to make by hand when I was eleven. (No disparagement to the seamstress.) I questioned if this might be a cruel joke on curvy women made up by someone with too much time and access to ChatGPT. But I was able to confirm they are real, and not AI images. See? There was a real runway show:
Alas, I don’t have the budget for this collection, which the designer titled Beauty. Unfortunately, $4050 might be 100X (more like 200X) what I can afford for one outfit. But I have the body for this, no padding needed. And I have sweaters and such in my closet. I might also make them a bit more practical. Less scratchy and more like comfy fleece.
This redefines my Gen-X body. I am definitely not going to suck in my stomach or strategically place a grandchild on my lap for the Christmas photos.
Indeed, I have never felt so seen.
Oh my word. 😆😆😆😆😆
My eyes wanted to read runaways rather than runways! Too bad they didn't have women who really are shaped like us as models (of course, the whole point is to exaggerate the style, so I guess having their regular models made that more noticeable). In a world where being an overachiever gets bonus points, it's nice to know we excel at something. A gold medal for realness. Thanks for the grins today! (And I had fun imagining your belly laugh requiring a 9-1-1 call. I laugh often when I watch 9-1-1 and the operator says "9-1-1, what's your emergency?" followed by the caller stating some ridiculous malady!)