That's what girls are made of.
May 25 I've always been curious about the show "The Hills" but I haven't ever watched it. Recently, after reading about Heidi Montags surgery, I wanted to get a deeper glimpse into what made this girl reshape what was already beautiful.
I've heard a lot about the girls from the Hills via mutual friends, everything good! Genuine, nice girls without hidden agendas dealing with reality TV fame on a massive level in the ever so stereotyped Hollywood. Audrina, Kristen and Whitney have all worn our shirts on multiple occasions (thank you ladies!!) and we cast Allie Crandell (A jem of a girl) for our Spring 2010 campaign, shot by Emir Eralp.
All of these components made my feelings for the show, after I'd watched an episode, that much stronger. Maybe I need to watch the prior seasons to understand what MTV was really going for, but basing my opinion on this episode I gathered this message from the astoundingly popular series:
Look pretty, gossip, lay out, flirt, look pretty.
It's no wonder that Heidi has a warped perception of who she should be.
The girls on the show are all incredibly, physically beautiful. Looking good in every light at every camera angle is not normal. Most girls don't look half as pretty on camera as they do in real life!
It saddens me that MTV chose the easy suck-you-in route once again, telling all girls everywhere, "this is what you should talk about, this is what you should want to be" without showing (even once in an entire episode) what these girls ACTUALLY struggle with, what they are good at, or what they dream of, even "The girls next door" show about the Playboy mansion managed to do that!
It makes me sad that Heidis family appear on the show to discuss Heidis surgery, further condoning the need for limelight on their daughters sad, and massive insecurities (that she herself even admits to, saying, " I just wanted to be happier and couldn’t fix who I was being upset with how I looked on the outside."
These issues should be private, her mother should have the chance to tell her how much it hurts, to no longer be able to see herself or Heidis father in her childs face, and they should all be able to cry without all of the world watching. Not to mention the entire thing is cut up to death, leaving us to wonder what was actually said and what is totally out of place.
I hope those of you out there who criticize yourselves and your bodies, who look at thin girls all over the place in fashion, including here, who watch outlandishly pretty young ladies on television, who admire movie stars and supermodels and yearn to be like them can know: It is not what it looks like. Ever.
One of my very good friends is an amazing model, she is fantastic and beautiful and I'm sure you've seen her pictures before. I've watched customers wave her off saying" we want to see this garment on a normal girl" as if she weren't even a person. What you wouldn't see by looking at her in life or in those pictures is what she goes through with her health, how she is in and out of hospital because of an organ disease she cannot treat. How it is hard for her to eat specific things, however much she may want to.
Changing your looks will never change how you feel, it may take Heidi Montag a lifetime to realize this, and her appearance will be a constant reminder to herself that once upon a time she thought surgery could make her happy. If you are struggling with your own image, anorexia, body dismorphia, yearning for surgery, try to remember your skin, your body, it's only a shell, the insides are what make you beautiful. People will love you when they love you, they will not love you more for your breasts, skin or weight... they will never love you more for these things.
The Hills script may be fake, the story may be fake, Heidi's new breasts are definately fake, but the physically detrimental effect that peer pressure, insecurity and fame have had on Heidi Montag of the Hills, is the most real account of female self destruction I've ever seen on television.
Love you guys! Hope this wasn't too heavy! Just worry about my lovely ladies out there.
xx
Reader Comments (44)
THIS IS AWESOME!!!!!! You go girl :)!
vitamin--d.blogspot.com
Thanks so much for this - we need more people like you! Keep spreading the word (and the amazing clothes!)! xoxo shannnn
LOVE IT. YOU ARE AN INSPIRATION TO US ALL
this was so well said, i know girls everywhere would appreciate this more than anything, your a true inspiration <3
I just cried. i wish more girls understood this.. there is so much that is more important than the enormous superficialities we see in the media. i'm really glad the hills inspired you to write this because i too have a problem with stereotypes they've created. girls have enough problems.
<3
Sooo true!!!!
it what's on the inside that counts.
lovely words :)
i love what you've written but it's so distracting reading with all the words capitalised like that
You post gave me goosebumps. i have been sucked into watching the hills i always loved what appeared to be a glamourous life style but in the last series
i have seen women who are lonely not completely sure who they are. i think it would be awful to have cameras in every part of your daily life and made to feel to always look beautiful.
Heidi's surgury is very scary that someone so young and naturally gorgeous would feel she would need so much done to change her natural appearance and that no one was there to stop her.
Personally i think she has ruined her beautiful face but i hope that girls out there learn from her mistakes and like you said dont seek to change themselevs on the outside to feel better on the inside.
P.s I love wildfox!! :)
You are such a smart girl and great rolemodel for us younger !! xxx
I couldn't agree more, I think the pressure on women these days is terrifying and that models should be mixed up with more regular women's shapes. The way we are heading as a society: full of greed, envy, consumerism, fear, etc is just not good for our souls. It's up to us as consumers to try to turn this around, but how can we when we are constantly told how we should be / feel / look / think. No wonder there are more eating disorders now than there ever have been. If we could all have one ideal (good health) then there would be less emphasis on individual bodies and more on appreciating your own.
I totally agree with all of the things you're saying (although I've never seen The Hills) but I can't help but feel that it is contrary to the images you use for wildfox and the images you post on this blog. I imagine it's hard to not conform to the industry's idea of what is beautiful but surely in your position, as someone who can influence this perception, you could feature models in your work who represent the full spectrum of women and their bodies? This is not a criticism - I love this blog and the images you post and produce - it just confuses me that so many people in fashion say that skinny doesn't equal beautiful, but skinny is all I ever see... And yes, I wish I was three sizes smaller! :D
"Changing your looks will never change how you feel, it may take Heidi Montag a lifetime to realize this, and her appearance will be a constant reminder to herself that once upon a time she thought surgery could make her happy. If you are struggling with your own image, anorexia, body dismorphia, yearning for surgery, try to remember your skin, your body, it's only a shell, the insides are what make you beautiful. People will love you when they love you, they will not love you more for your breasts, skin or weight... they will never love you more for these things."
this is so true
and i forgot it
thank you
our bodyimage is so fake and its so hard to actually realize it
i know so many girl who are fighting with their body image,and i've been trough eating orders aswell
it took a long time until i realize that people will not love me more when i look like i corpse
i don't want my children to grow up with this pressure and i really hope something will change
well,yes i love skinny models and i can not imagine fashion shows etc without them
but for my children i wish that there are other goals in life then being famous beautiful and rich
You say this and i agree completely, but Wildfox couture perpetuates the exact same thing all your models are extremely thin, all the pictures you post on your blog are of people who are
extremely thin. Some people are naturally this way and thats fine too, but a little variety never hurt anyone, and since you are in a position to demonstrate change, and because you feel strongly about the subject. i think it would be a wonderful idea for Wildfox to put there money where there mouth is and show the fashion world that 120 pounds and up can be fashionable too!!
I am so glad you all have similar feelings about Heidi! I'm glad a lot of you appreciate this. I am just a normal girl and working day to day trying to make my dreams come true! In response to those of you who would like Wildfox to make a statement by using heavier women, this is a fair argument I hear sometimes on this blog and respond to. Although this blog post is not addressing girls wanting to be skinny like models, it is about girls thinking ALL about looks and nothing else, I do see the importance of portraying an image and it's influence on girls. While I do have some power to display fashionable images of heavier girls, I do no have he power to change the industry so that agencies start signing heavier girls for us to use. All of my favorite photographers, favorite fashion websites and favorite brands use girls from agencies, and while SOME agencies do have a "plus" size section, most of their girls are very thin, or very big, or just not good models. It is hard to ignore beauties such as Abbey Lee Kershaw, Kate Moss, and Sasha Pivovorava, especially when they model so well and have the best photographers taking their pictures. The ones to watch and models.com do not post pictures of new comers with normal body standards because their simply aren't any being recruited.
Fashion is an image and it will always be an "ideal" sort of woman. It is the ideal woman in us that we have to learn to love, then fashion and the image of perfection can be seen as what it is: an industry. Only then can you enjoy it without insecurity and love it without envy. I hope that this helps explain some of your questions!
Please continue to discuss this issue here! I would like to hear more about your opinions on the topic at hand, but think it is great to talk about the fashion industry ideals also!
If you would like to do some research on up and coming models who are a good representation of models with a "healthy" body type, or if you know of any you love now, please send me links! I am very open and curious! Meanwhile I hope you can see that Wildfox is only trying to bring a sense of humor to fashion and make big baggy T shirts that every girl can feel good about herself in, even when they don't look like a model, they can feel like a very beautiful girl.
KIm
i'm so glad you posted this. it's devastating to see Heidi like this. I was an addict of the show, the first two seasons, and i can say heidi was so much healthier mentally and physically years ago. I can't even look at her now. She does look good but it is 100% true that MTV and the spotlight, peer pressure and the urge to be perfect stole her. : ( i hope everyone learns to love themselves before they do something detrimental like Heidi. Just keep it fab. Eat healthy for the most part, have fun in the sun, sweat a little and keep your mind working!
wow great text!
i don't watch much of the hills either, but it's been impossible to avoid the coverage of Heidi Montag's drastic surgery. thank you for writing about this in such an honest and refreshing way, it's always a pleasure to look at your blog but now you've shown that you can address serious issues as well as fun and beautiful things - your talent and character are overwhelming and lovely! thanks again.
Kim, I have been a fan of yours for (i'm guessing) a year, and this by far is my favorite post.
I am only 16 and I have been considering about having a surgery when I'm older because of my sick obsession of being pretty. But after reading this, I realized that look isn't really everything.
Thank you so much for posting this, you are wonderful.
P.S I love you and your posts, keep posting girl
thank you for these words!
Thank you for addressing the issue. Love the Wildfox girls! xoxox
"Fashion is an image and it will always be an "ideal" sort of woman. It is the ideal woman in us that we have to learn to love, then fashion and the image of perfection can be seen as what it is: an industry. Only then can you enjoy it without insecurity and love it without envy."
this is the most naive and shallow thing i have ever, ever read in my entire life, and barely qualifies as a coherent thought. it ignores the fact that the 'ideal' woman is a sexist and oppressive and unrealistic image pushed on and sold to women to take advantage of them as consumers, that you can't separate a thing from the sexist history and context it's entrenched in, and also minimizes the exclusion and damage that the 'industry' does to women who don't naturally fit 'the ideal' which is MOST WOMEN ON EARTH.
I also found it wrong to showcase the private family moment on tv. I guess they just care about ratings. I also think that all of these girls would look just as beautiful without makeup as they do on air. I hope they share that a little bit more with us. Beauty isn't on the outside if you don't feel it in the inside......
xx
"Fashion is an image and it will always be an "ideal" sort of woman. It is the ideal woman in us that we have to learn to love, then fashion and the image of perfection can be seen as what it is: an industry. Only then can you enjoy it without insecurity and love it without envy."
Out of context this may read differently. I am only trying to state what fashion IS and always has been. All products sold to us are made to entice us, fashion, soda, computers, cars etc. It is marketing, which wont ever change. What does change is the "ideal" which is different in every era. I am not calling it right or wrong, only pointing out it is there. I am not refering to the current ideal or the past ideal, only the fact that a "model" is what is a reflection of society that advertising or fashion believe will sell the most products. The purpose of this comment was not to offend or upset, only to show that no matter what the "ideal" be in advertising, it doesn't matter and you shouldn't judge yourself next to it, rather see it for what it is... marketing... and learn to love yourself not shape yourself to be like the images we are fed. The ideals do need to change in a lot of cases, but I am not making that argument, I am making another one about loving yourself regardless.
Sorry if it upset you hun, I will try to be more clear in the future.
:)
beautifully written! thank you so much for posting this, I don't think enough people talk about the most subtle, yet dangerous issues present in shows like the hills, and all over the media as well. thanks again, you go girl!
Wow, this really got to me. Thanks for the beautiful words reminding us all of what we should never forget for a second!