There is a thin line on the runway these days. Literally.

“You look REALLY thin,” Andy said, as she and Emily were arriving at the Runway Gala. I started a new diet,” Emily replied. “You see I don’t eat anything at all, and then just before I think I’m about to faint, I eat a cube of cheese.” This exchange of conversation comes from the well known, family friendly film and book “The devils wears prada”, and was what called for me to express my feelings on what seems to be the biggest trend of the noughties; Size 0.

As a natural born shopoholic, I have always been increasingly aware of the fact that my curvy shape limits the styles of clothing I can wear. We all long to fit perfectly into those tiny size 6 jeans without having to breathe in or crash diet for a week before hand, and with the media bombarding us with images of the size 0 craze; how is it surprising that Anorexia numbers are at an all time high.  Models today, are striding down the catwalk at the lowest possible weight, creating such misleading physical role models for women all around the world.

As a teenager, I myself had the misfortune of experiencing Anorexia first hand, and so my perspective on the size 0 debate may be somewhat stronger and more personal than that of my friend’s. People don’t seem to realise that it’s not easy to maintain such a low body weight. The months and months of endless starvation, lack of energy, concentration and excessive pain staking daily mental battles are not exactly as glamorous as the fashion world makes out. It seems that happy and healthy isn’t ‘in’ right now. The flat chest, the non-existent bottom, bad breath and brittle hair alongside yellowed skin; what is attractive about that? It certainly removed any feeling of femininity and confidence from my self-esteem at the time. When we see the likes of Alexander McQueen, Joji Yamamoto, Christian Dior and Marc Jacobs to name a few, sending models down the runway sporting this appearance, its hard not to feel compelled to create ideals based around them. Designers telling us the reasoning behind it being that the clothing hangs better on models of such a small frame, only pushes us further into believing this is the way we all should look.

Being an avid fashion consumer, I have realised that it is so easy to become immersed in ones own appearance and forget that age old saying “its what’s on the inside that counts”, but in the real world, I think that motto is actually all that matters. Happiness, love and good health are the 3 key components in life that shine through our personalities and make us attractive, make us admired. No two people are the same, and I truly believe that “having the strength to be Yourself, in a world that is constantly trying to make You something else, is the greatest accomplishment” – Ralph Waldo Emerson.