# Why are female fashion models generally tall and thin? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 16, 2004, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-female-fashion-models-generally-tall-and-thin/245384 "2004-05-16T05:16:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![TeaElle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8491ac/32.png) [@TeaElle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TeaElle)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2004, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-female-fashion-models-generally-tall-and-thin/245384/21 "2004-05-17T00:56:43Z")
> [@Lynne\_kilii](#): > > ooh. Now I’m in lust with Mia Tyler and it’s all your fault, **TeaElle**! Muwhahahahaha! > [@flutterby](#): > > Looking at them makes me feel good about myself. They have my body type and look awesome, makes me feel like I can too (and I do… when I put more effort into what ever’s clean grab and put on lol) Good! Not to say that it’s not possible, but I wonder how many women look at, say, Bridget Hall or even Tyra Banks and think similar thoughts. I wouldn’t think that it’s too many. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2004, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-female-fashion-models-generally-tall-and-thin/245384/22 "2004-05-17T01:14:54Z")
> [@litost](#): > > I’ve read that before the 60s, models were “normal” even a bit well-endowed. Marilyn Monroe, for example. Apparently, the skinny model became a fixture afterwards. > > Oh wait, I heard that from Bill Maher. I don’t know how true it is. Not at all. Models today certainly are taller and thinner than ever, but “mannequins” were always supposed to be coat hangers that the clothes would drape perfectly on. There never were big-breasted fashion models. > **[Dictionary.com Is The World’s Favorite Online Dictionary](https://www.dictionary.com/)** > > Dictionary.com is the world’s leading online source for English definitions, pronunciations, word origins, idioms, Word of the Day, and more. > [@](#): > > mannequin > > n 1: a woman who wears clothes to display fashions; “she was too fat to be a mannequin” ---
**Author:** ![Call\_me\_Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/90ced4/32.png) [@Call\_me\_Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Call_me_Frank)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2004, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-female-fashion-models-generally-tall-and-thin/245384/23 "2004-05-17T04:47:04Z")
I figured it had something to do with the way the clothing hung on their bodies… but, I didn’t know if the reason was because near-emaciated models were cheaper to feed, lol! ---
**Author:** ![My\_Darn\_Snake\_Legs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f14d63/32.png) [@My\_Darn\_Snake\_Legs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/My_Darn_Snake_Legs)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2004, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-female-fashion-models-generally-tall-and-thin/245384/24 "2004-05-17T04:49:29Z")
> [@TeaElle](#): > > Clarification/Amplification: With the exception of underwear models who tend to have **fake** boobs. It’s a very rare woman with a body fat percentage that low who could naturally sustain breasts that large. Let’s not over generalize. One of my best friends dates a Victoria’s Secret model and she is all real. She looks amazing. That being said: it may be a rare woman who looks that way, but it also a rare woman who happens to be an underwear model. I would imagine that a natural woman would get preferance over a fake one in an industry that is built on scrutiny. Of course, I can’t add a cite for the precentage. If someone can I would love to see it 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![Lissla\_Lissar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8491ac/32.png) [@Lissla\_Lissar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lissla_Lissar)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2004, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-female-fashion-models-generally-tall-and-thin/245384/25 "2004-05-17T13:39:47Z")
> [@](#): > > Models today certainly are taller and thinner than ever, but “mannequins” were always supposed to be coat hangers that the clothes would drape perfectly on. Well, it depends _when_ you’re talking about. Models from the Twenties were thin-ish but curvy. They look pretty solid for models, by modern standards. I have a feeling the very very thin model didn’t become normal until sometime in the Sixties. Certainly Poiret and Vionnet and (getting farther back) Worth used women who looked to be in the normal weight and height range. Also, modern clothes are designed to look best on those emaciated bodies. It’s kind of a catch22. A perfectly designed Fifties New Look Dior dress would look ridiculous on a modern fashion model. They’re not the right shape. ---
**Author:** ![vanilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/f19dbf/32.png) [@vanilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vanilla)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2004, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-female-fashion-models-generally-tall-and-thin/245384/26 "2004-05-17T13:49:14Z")
When I was a teen, I was about 5’10" and 110 lbs. I shoyuld have tried to become a model; had I known how much one makes, I would’ve. But that look was not popular in real life back then(many years ago). Everyone thought I looked lousy because of my thinness. Now, in the past year I have ballooned up to 150 lbs and think I look much better(normal!) But I was naturally thin, I would hate to have to diet to try to stay thin just for the money. ---
**Author:** ![ouisey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/9fc29f/32.png) [@ouisey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ouisey)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2004, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-female-fashion-models-generally-tall-and-thin/245384/27 "2004-05-17T13:52:14Z")
It blows my mind that these women could look so good at such a weight. I’m almost 5’11", and I generally like my weight around 135 - 140. Even at 145, I’m all right, with some nice curves. But I hit 125 once and looked deathly ill all the time. I felt OK, but a lot of people constantly asked me if I was well. I mean, I could lay on my back and point out my organs at that time. And my neck looked all stringy. It wasn’t nice at all. Maybe that’s why they’re models and I’m not:) ---
**Author:** ![av8rmike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/edb3f5/32.png) [@av8rmike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/av8rmike)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2004, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-female-fashion-models-generally-tall-and-thin/245384/28 "2004-05-17T14:10:40Z")
One of my med-student friends hypothesized that some models have [Marfan Syndrome](http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/000418.htm), which results in people looking very tall and gangly. Personally, I think models are all supposed to be tall & thin because it’s easier to design clothes for that body type than any other. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2004, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-female-fashion-models-generally-tall-and-thin/245384/29 "2004-05-17T15:47:59Z")
> [@](#): > > I’ve read that before the 60s, models were “normal” even a bit well-endowed. Marilyn Monroe, for example. Apparently, the skinny model became a fixture afterwards. Marilyn Monroe was never a fashion model. In the 60’s, the aptly named Twiggy was considered the archtype for what a model should look like. It was in the 70’s that things started to go back to a relatively more realistic look with models like Cheryl Tiegs. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2004, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-female-fashion-models-generally-tall-and-thin/245384/30 "2004-05-17T17:49:38Z")
But Twiggy was very much an aberration, even in the 1960s when thinness was in. She was the first top model to be gain fame as a teenager, starting at about 16. And she never did the cat walk. (For one thing, she was too short, at 5’6".) She was strictly a photographer’s model, used mainly to show off miniskirts. Her fame was limited to a couple of years. She was different as the the 60s were different, a symbol of overthrowing the old fashion culture. And people generally hated her look, just like they hated the music and everything else she represented about Swingin’ London. I’d argue that the miniskirt was more important to the future of modeling than Twiggy, because ever after long, long, thin legs heightened the effect of the shortened hemlines. She was a pioneer, but like many pioneers she was quickly shunted aside. **ouisey** , if you want to see that most mannequin style models really don’t look good nude, rent Robert Altman’s [Prêt-à-Porter](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0110907/). There’s a parade of nude fashion models at the end that is anything but sexy. ---
**Author:** ![js\_africanus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/87869e/32.png) [@js\_africanus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/js_africanus)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2004, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-female-fashion-models-generally-tall-and-thin/245384/31 "2004-05-17T19:01:15Z")
> [@Exapno Mapcase](#): > > **ouisey** , if you want to see that most mannequin style models really don’t look good nude, rent Robert Altman’s [Prêt-à-Porter](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0110907/). There’s a parade of nude fashion models at the end that is anything but sexy. Not sexy? Try übersexy. Of course, not having access to runway models sans television or photos, I can’t comment on whether the camera takes them from too thin to wonderful; however, I can say that through the camera they tend to be very beautuful indeed. Assuming that we’re talking about the same nude fashion show, I was suprised at how _good_ they looked. Obviously, some runway models are too thin for my taste. But the times that I’ve seen shows like _Fashion Trance_ on Style, the models tend to be extremely sexy. I definately find someone like Mariacarla to be much sexier than, say, a Marilyn Monroe. ---
**Author:** ![chula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a4c791/32.png) [@chula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chula)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2004, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-female-fashion-models-generally-tall-and-thin/245384/32 "2004-05-17T23:09:00Z")
> [@ouisey](#): > > It blows my mind that these women could look so good at such a weight. I’m almost 5’11", and I generally like my weight around 135 - 140. Even at 145, I’m all right, with some nice curves. > > But I hit 125 once and looked deathly ill all the time. I felt OK, but a lot of people constantly asked me if I was well. I mean, I could lay on my back and point out my organs at that time. And my neck looked all stringy. It wasn’t nice at all. Maybe that’s why they’re models and I’m not:) I’m 5’11" and my preferred weight is 140-145. My usual weight is 145-150, and people call me “skinny.” I would look terrible if I lost more than 10 pounds, and I’d have to lose around 30 to model! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-female-fashion-models-generally-tall-and-thin/245384.md?page=1)