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Abstract
Although a mainstay of popular fashion discourse, the notion of “figure flattery” is an enduringly neglected concept in the fashion literature. In seeking to partially fill this gap, this article engages in a close examination of the slenderizing design discourses of the “stoutwear” industry—the historical precursor to today’s “plus-size” fashions—in order to flesh out a working theory of figure flattery. Drawing upon a close reading of extant advertisements and design commentary published in the popular fashion press and industry trade journals dating to between the years 1915 and 1930, or the peak of stoutwear production, this article aims to show how stoutwear was not merely made to fit the stout body, but to also help the wearer to fit in, socially and aesthetically. Through this analysis, this article situates fashion as a productive site in which fashions for the stout woman were not only created, but in which the stout body was itself constructed.
Notes
Acknowledgements
Given that this article stems from my doctoral dissertation, I am grateful to the many scholars who provided feedback on my drafts throughout the course of my Ph.D. Among them, I owe particular thanks to my supervisors, Caroline Evans, Hazel Clark and Andrea Kollnitz, as well as my many seminar opponents, including Christopher Breward, Joanne Entwistle, Beverly Skeggs, Patrik Steorn and Reina Lewis.
Notes
1 The word “fat” is not used throughout this article in a pejorative sense. Rather, in keeping with the conventions set forth within the academic field of fat studies, fat is being employed as a neutral descriptor.
2 The current trend for body positivity in fashion and fashion imagery can be traced back to approximately 2010 when V Magazine featured actress Gabourey Sidibe on its cover for its much lauded “Size” issue—one of the first high fashion magazines to feature a fat woman on its cover and within its editorial content. A number of mainstream women’s and fashion magazines would follow suit in the years and months to follow.
3 The ideas and materials presented in this article stem from my recently-completed Ph.D. dissertation, “Stoutwear and the Discourses of Disorder: Constructing the Fat, Female Body in American Fashion in the Age of Standardization, 1915–1930,” and specifically those presented in chapters three and five of the manuscript.
4 In 1915, this would have included women whose bust measurements exceeded forty-two inches and whose waists were in excess of thirty inches.
5 The publication would change its name to Women’s Wear Daily in 1927, beginning with its January 3, 1927 edition.
6 Multiple accounts suggest that the change in Lena’s name was the result of a clerical error made while opening a checking account in the United States. See Angela Taylor, “A Store That’s a Haven if You’re Pregnant, Tall or Plumpish,” The New York Times (April 20, 1970), 65; Joseph J. Fucini and Suzy Fucini, Entrepreneurs: The Men and Women behind Famous Brands and How They made It (Boston: G.K. Hall & Co., 1985), 119; and Tom Mahoney, The Great Merchants: America’s Foremost Retail Institutions and the People Who Made Them Great (New York: Harper & Row, 1966).
Additional information
Notes on contributors
Lauren Downing Peters
Lauren Downing Peters is an Assistant Professor of Fashion Studies at Columbia College Chicago. She holds a Ph.D. in fashion studies from the Centre for Fashion Studies at Stockholm University and is the editor-in-chief of The Fashion Studies Journal. [email protected]