From Lizzi Miller’s celebrated nude photoshoot in Glamour to the ascension of Crystal Renn on high-fashion catwalks, everyone is buzzing about size diversity. All of a sudden, pin thin is not the only acceptable silhouette in the fashion world.

So in our second-annual body issue, we explore variations on the weight theme.

• British designer Mark Fast has made waves again for employing plus-size models (including the aforementioned Crystal Renn) for the second time in his Fall 2010 Ready-to-Wear Collection, presented at London Fashion Week on February 20. But, as excited as we are about this development, there remains some room for improvement.
• We surely can’t be the only ones who miss Mad Men while the television drama is on hiatus, but to fill the aching hole left by empty space on the Tivo, Christina Hendricks appeared in a bustier on the cover of New York Magazine this month. We totally understand why everyone is gaga for her classic curves, but why all the controversy?
• If there’s one must-read article in this issue (we like to believe that includes all of them, but regardless), it’s Kara’s profile of the exceptionally insightful ballerina known as Melissa T. in our second Real Girl Ethics column. Ever wonder what it would be like to work in an industry that constantly pesters you to be thin? As Melissa shows, it requires self-confidence (as well as buns) of steel.
• Of course, if all these stories merely whet your appetite for more, check out Seam Ripper for a few more articles on the subject of body issues.
• And don’t forget: A few days remain to enter our Weleda hand cream giveaway. All you have to do is leave a comment on this very blog. So simple it’s criminal, right?

Italian Vogue’s groundbreaking “Black Issue” in 2008 took a giant leap forward in diversifying mainstream fashion magazines, but we can’t help but feel that a similarly-minded drive behind Vogue.it — the magazine’s newly relaunched website, complete with English translation — doesn’t have quite the same impact.

With tabs like Vogue Black and Vogue Curvy, the website strives to cover the full range of fashion newsmakers. But does highlighting such topics in their own sections instead set them apart? Wouldn’t including them in regular magazine content be more, you know, inclusive?

New York Magazine’s The Cut agrees:

We were reasonably amused perusing Italian Vogue’s new Internet collective, but why must curvy women, women of color, and burgeoning design talent be viewed in separate channels? Is it not possible to have a fashion magazine that embraces women of all sizes and colors who wear young and established labels? Italian Vogue seems to think not.

What do you think? Commendable on Vogue Italia’s part and nitpicky on ours?

We’ve been pretty clear that we think Mad Men’s mesmerizing Joan Holloway is the awesomest character on television (and not just for her fashion sense), but what we’ve come to realize in recent months is that she gets her moxie solely from Christina Hendricks, the actress who portrays her.

Her now-famous curves have had the whole Internet buzzing since she made the Golden Globes’ best-dressed lists, but to her it’s one big mystery:

“It kind of hurt my feelings at first,” she says. “Anytime someone talks about your figure constantly, you get nervous, you get really self-conscious. I was working my butt off on the show, and then all anyone was talking about was my body!” …

As for the body question, she’ll answer it when asked, but mostly it bores her. “It just leaves a bad taste in my mouth,” she says. “Back when I was modeling, if someone said ‘I’m fasting,’ I would say, ‘Can’t we talk about something else?’”

We say good for her for not engaging the debate. The media obsession is what it is, but more important than her bust or hips is the head on her shoulders.

As I mentioned yesterday, Valentine’s Day is an irksome holiday. So we’re repossessing it in fashion’s name this year. We say for the next week, make a conscious decision to wear only what you love.

To get you inspired, we’ve published our Love, Ethically issue for your reading pleasure:

• For the next seven days, decide you’re going to feel like a million bucks and make it happen. Here’s some pointers on how to make that happen.
• To remind you to dig deep in your accessories drawer during your week of fabulousness, we offer our second annual ethical jewelry guide — written with the bride-to-be in mind but really, everyone can use a little sparkle in their lives.
• Kara interviewed her friend Elizabeth D. for the inaugural Real Girl Ethics column, our newest feature where we profile a real person and what ethical style means to them. (Got someone in mind who would make a great subject? Email us here!)
• If you’re one of the people whose boyfriend pops the question this weekend, you’ll be sure to have wedding brain. Tracy DiNunzio from RecycledBride.com offers her insight into the enduring popularity (and ease!) of green weddings.
• On a more serious note, the recent controversy over Love magazine’s decision to publish eight supermodels’ measurements got us thinking: Shouldn’t we put more effort into building self-love, rather than holding ourselves up to impossible standards? Read our quasi-feminist manifesto here.
• And as always, we bring you Seam Ripper, our compilation of Behind the Seams blog articles on the subject of love if you’re in the mood for more reading.

What can I say: Valentine’s Day brings out the feminist in me. The holiday is irksome in so many ways, and so I was thrilled to find a kindred spirit in the blogger behind GlossedOver.com and her genius dismantling of InStyle magazine’s “Look Better Naked” issue.

The main feature recommends a variety of get-sexy-quick suggestions that are so over the top, you can’t help but laugh at the absurdity. (Nevermind the hypocrisy of juxtaposing “Love Your Shape!” with “Look Better Naked!” on the cover.)

According to InStyle editors, if you want to successfully seduce the man in your life, by Sunday you must: lose water weight through the mysterious workings of detoxifying salts; spend $850 on a lariat necklace that will make your back look sexier; paint your ceiling pink to cast your naked form in a more flattering, mood-enhancing light. Note that none of these things will make you feel sexy unless you’ve got the self-esteem to back it up.

But the blogger sums it up better than I can:

Of course, the article also covers the usual territory of depilation, exfoliation, and cosmetic trickery to hide anytraces of humanity blemishes and bruises. But unless you’re disrobing for a sculptor who’ll immortalize your every detail in marble, isn’t this overkill? There’s probably a 3,000-word essay here about treating women like objects and the deleterious effects of porn and how the media tries to define our sexuality, but I’ll just leave it at this:

If you’re naked and your partner dares frown at your white ceiling or a stray stretch mark, your relationship is way beyond InStyle’s help. Also, you’re probably dating my ex-boyfriend.

Love magazine made a name for itself this month by convincing eight of the world’s most famous supermodels to pose nude on its eight covers — along with their measurements.

Kate Moss's cover for the February 2010 issue of Love magazine. (Courtesy of TheLoveMagazine.co.uk)

Even more controversially, Kate Grand, the magazine’s editor, had this to say to Vogue U.K.: “For this issue of LOVE, we took eight women who are generally acknowledged as the most beautiful in the world, got them to show off their bodies – widely regarded as the most perfect in the world – and photographed them all in exactly the same position for the cover … We did this to show how much they differed physically from one another, which is why we also printed their measurements.”

So she’s saying the issue is about body diversity. But how much do they really differ?

For reference, the largest waist measurement in the bunch was 25 inches — barely filling out a U.S. size 2 in most brands. All of the models have the same toned abs, the same slim hips (all in the 34 to 35 inch range), the same commitment to bikini and underarm waxing.

There’s no denying that these eight women are beautiful, but they adhere closely to the conventional standards of beauty and grooming. Indeed, they’ve even participated in shaping it. Ms. Grand’s assertion that these bodies that are “widely regarded as the most perfect in the world” is a done deal, a self-fulfilling prophecy. As magazine consumers, we are being told what perfection is.

So the question is, Are such magazine covers exploitative? Probably not to the models themselves. A supermodel likely views her measurements like a college graduate views her GPA: merely as information that will help a future employer consider her application for work.

But in the murky world of body image in the media, we can’t help but wonder whether putting a model’s assets out there in mathematical terms could only serve to drive young women — who often aren’t yet secure in their bodies’ uniqueness — to comparison.

These standards run deep in the consciousnesses of young women. Clearly deeply affected by such declarations of what’s “perfect”, 23-year-old reality television star Heidi Montag recently underwent 10 cosmetic procedures in one day in pursuit of a total body makeover. Nothing was left in its original form, or even in the first draft: She had her first set of breast implants replaced with DDD “upgrades,” her nose recut to an even more narrow blade. Liposuction shaped her neck, waist, hips, and thighs; fat was transferred to her lips and cheeks. She even had her ears pinned back, an effect she now proudly describes as “sexy ears.”

Such a dramatic transformation landed her the cover of People magazine, which she used to try to sell copies of her new CD. But consumers didn’t bite; the album sold fewer than 1,000 imprints in the first week. Instead, the public was horrified.

Perhaps the most troubling aspect of a young woman surgically altering every part of her body in the pursuit of perfection is that it is so permanent. Ms. Montag’s tabloid exploits were a source of amusement for awhile, but now that she’s turned a dark corner and subjected herself to life-altering cosmetic procedures, the joke suddenly isn’t so funny. That she required emergency interventions to help her breathe post-op is further indicative of the degree vanity can undermine a person’s well-being.

Ultimately, what responsibility do magazines and television and society have to help vulnerable young women see themselves more clearly? Because it seems obvious the time has come to put less emphasis on the “perfection” label and more on cultivating self-acceptance. That would be the real Love magazine.

Going in the opposite direction of V Magazine’s “Size Issue,” which featured all plus-size models, the U.K.’s Love magazine has published nude photographs of eight of the world’s top supermodels — complete with their bust, waist, and hip measurements.

Love’s editor tells Vogue it’s all about showing diversity in beauty:

“For this issue of LOVE, we took eight women who are generally acknowledged as the most beautiful in the world, got them to show off their bodies – widely regarded as the most perfect in the world – and photographed them all in exactly the same position for the cover,” LOVE’s editor-in-chief Katie Grand told VOGUE.COM. “We did this to show how much they differed physically from one another, which is why we also printed their measurements.”

“The point is that ‘perfection’ is not fixed, timeless or transcendent,” Grand – who put Beth Ditto on the cover of the first ever issue ofLOVE – explained. “It varies, as the measurements of our cover girls show.”

The photos are provocative to be sure, but with nary a plus model or unconventional beauty among them, we’re not sure that the point about “perfection” in flux is well made. Is the difference between a model with a 23 inch waist and a 24 inch waist so great that we don’t recognize the same-old when we see it? And isn’t reducing these women to mere numbers a little dehumanizing?

(via The Cut)

The U.K. Telegraph took issue with V Magazine’s “Size Issue” this month, questioning whether the theme was merely “a publicity stunt”:

It includes a photo shoot with heavier, semi-clad models proud to flaunt their curves. The debate over plus-size models enflamed last year when Mark Fast, the fashion designer, decided to use size 14 models at London Fashion Week. At the same time, the popularity of Crystal Renn, the size 14 model, suggested that curvier models were becoming more acceptable.

Do you think the fashion world should use more plus-size models? Is it a welcome tangent to the size-zero debate? Or perhaps you think this photo shoot is just a publicity stunt? Which would you rather look at?

The headline and last question reveal a bit of journalistic bias on the part of the Telegraph, in our opinion. Curvier beauty ideals aren’t contrived — it’s simply not true that thinness has been universally prized throughout human evolution. Including plus-size models in magazines is about accurately representing the fact that plenty of women of size also want to dress fashionably and fashion rags are now beginning to respond in kind to that desire.

For more about the ethics regarding plus-size modeling, check out this post about Mark Fast and another about blogger backlash over Glamour’s similarly minded plus-size fashion spread.

If there’s one New Year’s resolution we are determined not to break, it’s to explore more ways to go zero waste in fashion. A few fashion and beauty brands are already ahead of the curve, as we explore in E.S. Issue 28: Zero Waste.

Here’s what you’ll find in the new issue (complete with a front page makeover — check it out!):

• Arguably the designer with the most foresight, ambition, and success in the Zero Waste movement is British fashion prodigy Mark Liu. EthicalStyle.com had the good fortune to sit down with him recently to discuss how he eliminates fabric waste in his designs and what his plans are for the future of the movement.
• Cult-favorite cosmetics brand MAC is probably known best for its Viva Glam program that benefits the MAC AIDS Fund, and second-best for “Back to MAC”: bring in six empty makeup containers for recycling and take home a free lipstick. Read here for our take on why this program is being replicated throughout the beauty industry.
• If you adhere to the “waste not, want not” philosophy, antiquing is likely a passion of yours. We review antiques markets in a variety of cities across the world.
• From patchwork quilting in Pennsylvania to deconstructing saris in India, fabric reuse is not just a way to recycle — it’s a practice in tradition. Madison explores the rich history of fabric reconstitution.
• Kara, our DIY Doyenne, returns with a fabric-reconstitution project of her own:how to turn old tees into a quilt full of memories.
• And as always, if you are looking for further reading on waste, revisit our heaviest hitters in the Seam Ripper section for a sampling of blog posts we’ve written on the topic.

Just a quick note to wish all our readers a Merry Christmas (or Happy Belated Hanukkah, Joyous Festivus, etc.). We’re so grateful for all of you and we have reason to believe 2010 will be the most eco-conscious year in memory.

We’re going to take a break from blogging tomorrow, but if you want some light reading this weekend (or just need to get away from family and festivities for a moment), we recommend browsing our Winter Wonderland issue.

It’s jam packed with timely advice for green beauty routines, DIY scarf ideas, festive frocks for New Year’s and beyond, the best eco-presents your Boxing Day green can buy, and how to style a vintage brooch in an eye-catching way.

And don’t forget, spring fashion week is just around the corner in February. To remind us of what we have to look forward to, Project Runway designer Johnny Sakalis treated us to a sneak peek at what he has planned for Fall/Winter 2010. Think Zelda Fitzgerald meets Posh Spice — très chic indeed.

Enjoy the long weekend, and we’ll see you all on Monday!