Why Ralph Lauren Photoshopped That Model So Skinny... It Thought She Was Fat... At 120 lbs
from the how-nice dept
We recently wrote about Ralph Lauren's DMCA notices about bad Photoshopping, making a model impossibly (and sickly) skinny. While the company apologized for the bad photoshopping, it never apologized for the bogus DMCA takedowns. And, now the other shoe has dropped. The model in the picture has spoken up and noted that she lost her job with Ralph Lauren, because they felt she wasn't skinny enough, despite being 5'10" and 120lbs. So, rather than showing her as is, apparently the company decided to digitally alter her and then try to find someone who actually is closer to the impossible image they put in their ad.Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.
Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.
While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.
–The Techdirt Team
Filed Under: models, skinny
Companies: ralph lauren
Reader Comments
Subscribe: RSS
View by: Time | Thread
Someone who is 5 foot 10 and 120 pounds is lean, no double about it.
Perhaps you would want to run a real image of her, as opposed to this horrible photoshop?
http://freenet-homepage.de/bradvei1/scans/scans-2/bradvei-Filippa-Hamilton-MAXIMsept4. jpg
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
However, I wonder if Ralph Lauren's motto is:
"it's impossible to be good enough for us" or so.
5'10 and 120lbs is pretty much as close to the border of anorexic as exists for that height in a woman.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
.......Bwah?
I went to the link, and I have to ask what in the sweet hell you are talking about. That woman is GORGEOUS and if you think THAT is a pot belly....come to the midwest, where we have plenty of men and women (many of them still attractive people) who have actual pot bellies....
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re:
http://www.radaronline.com/sites/default/files/photos/image_20091014/RalphLaurenPhillipa. jpg
This gives you a better idea, I would say she isn't quite the same shape as she was even a year ago. There is a picture circulating around that shows her in a brown evening gown and a notable curve to the front of it.
Remember, fashion houses like their models to stay in size (whatever their default size is) and straying from that is usually a termination of contract by terms.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
I really hope you just forgot your sarcasm tags.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
If that's some sort of problem, (I'm not saying it is, only "if") then photoshop that and only that out. I see no reason to photoshop everything about her out so that she looks unhealthy and malnourished.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
So says the one who actually 'shoped the image.
You're an idiot if you truly believe your own words.
I have seen other photos of her (untouched) and she's more than suitable for pushing an exaggerated form to young girls who truly do have a pot belly, forcing their self-confidence over their looks even further into darkness.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: #1 Anonymous Coward
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
The PS image is just plain silly looking. Something that someone would do using some web based java "fun photo distorter" as a joke.
I'm hoping they fired their marketing "artist" and everyone on the approval chain. It's poor workmanship that never should have been published.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
She is not sickly skinny, like RL obviously want their models, but she is in no way fat either.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
2. I don't see her "pot belly"
3. if she has a pot belly at 120 pounds, maybe she'd just drunk a glass of water, I mean think about it, having dropped 15 pounds myself, it's amazing how "fat" I perceive myself when I'm eaten or drunk, as opposed to when I'm very hungry. There's nowhere for that stuff to hide
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
2. I don't see her "pot belly"
3. if she has a pot belly at 120 pounds, maybe she'd just drunk a glass of water, I mean think about it, having dropped 15 pounds myself, it's amazing how "fat" I perceive myself when I'm eaten or drunk, as opposed to when I'm very hungry. There's nowhere for that stuff to hide
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
OMG MY EYES!!!
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re:
Apparently Ralph Lauren would like those gone as well. No digestive track = no calorie absorption = no more 'too-fat' 120 lb. model! Probably no pulse too, but they'll just Photoshop out the corpse-blue skin color.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
I have one thing to say to that ...cheapeyeglasses.com
Get some and look again
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Fat?!
If the answer is 'no,' then you should probably shut up.
If the answer is 'yes,' then you should probably shut up.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
I look for something that looks decent on somebody like Drew Carey.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Put women that are normal and look like women we know in the ads. After all, real men don't go to department stores to watch women put on clothes. Hell, most of us have problems deciding between your black or red dress. Yes, Honey, you look great in both.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re:
Yet no one seems to be able to figure out the correlation.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
BMI
* Underweight =
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Bring on the fatties!
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
That's what men are for...
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Really?
My gfs and I always say that a guy that loves girls with little boy bodies has a tinii penii.
As for real pot bellies (and yes, I have one. I had two children so it's kinda hard to lose that) I was very self-conscious. But my boyfriend loves to play with that particular part of my anatomy. I was the one that had to get over my hang-ups about it.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
At first I was like
This makes me sick. Real women have curves.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Look at Rebecca Romijn on "Eastwick" - she recently had twins and is carrying her post-partum weight and she sure doesn't look like she did as Mystique, though remember the X-Men movies were made 4-10 years ago.
For someone who has 3 kids of her own, I don't get why Angelina Jolie is so skinny now. Both in "Wanted" and set shots from "Salt", she looks too scrawny to kick ass. She needs to get back to her "Tomb Ho" and "Mrs. & Mrs. Smith" weight where she looked luscious and unlikely to snap her arms while beating the crap out of someone.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
I don't see anything wrong with this...
RL needs to give off the perception that their clothes will make people look skinny. Makes sense to me. I saw her on the new news, and she wasn't fat but she wasn't skinny either. Just regular.
The mentality here in socal is that women need to be skinny and fashionable. Whenever I visit the midwest or east coast, I am appalled at how ugly people are. The women wear no makeup, are 50 lbs overweight, and have no sense of fashion. Seriously, I'd say that MAYBE 1 in 10,000 are even remotely attractive. You just would have to understand the culture out here in order to judge the rationale behind RL's decision.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: I don't see anything wrong with this...
"The mentality here in socal is that women need to be skinny and fashionable."
That doesn't make it right. Besides, "skinny" doesn't have to mean "bag of bones". There's a large gap between a woman with natural curves and one who's overweight by any rational measure.
"You just would have to understand the culture out here in order to judge the rationale behind RL's decision."
We understand it, and understand that it's shallow, pathetic and damaging. But understanding it doesn't mean we have to think it's acceptable.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: I don't see anything wrong with this...
"I count my 117 lb 5'8" gf's calories all the time because even a gain in 5 lb's would cause me to think she's fat."
You're the idiot that caused the overreaching and equally idiotic "Women's movement" (quotes? because they don't really represent ALL women's interests, only those that agree with their idiotic point of view).
"I personally hate curves because I [am a closet pedophile]"
FTFY
"The mentality here in socal is that women need to be skinny and fashionable."
Reason number 48,344 that SoCal needs to be nuked off the planet...
"Whenever I visit the midwest or east coast, I am appalled at how ugly people are."
Okay, are you for real? Please walk through downtown Chicago any day of the week (particularly in the summer) and tell me that the women in my fair city aren't GORGEOUS. St. Louis? Same. Twin Cities? Same. Cleveland? Same. All are the same, with the possible exception of Milwaukee, where the average in looks dips a bit :)
"The women wear no makeup"
Not
"are 50 lbs overweight"
Not
"and have no sense of fashion"
Yeah, you're an idiot. Name the single most popular female icon in America when it comes to current fashion trends and then tell me where she's from. The correct answer is Michelle Obama and Chicago, tard.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: I don't see anything wrong with this...
LOL yea Michelle Obama is the trend setter for young women, riiiigghhtt. You may have a different opinion of beauty and what overweight is. It's fine, you are used to it because that's all you know. Come to Laguna Beach or Newport and tell me your women are hotter. You may think 160 is an average weight for a woman. To me, that is grotesquely overweight. It's all good man, enjoy your extra cushion, but know that Hollywood sets the fashion, not your loser states. I was born in Chicago btw and when I visit my family there and in Wisconsin I'm disgusted by the people I see. So many fat women, God! Oh and St. Louis, the second worst city in the country instead of it's old standing of being the worst! Good job citing that as a place with reputably good looking people. Don't be jealous because all you got are butchy fat women.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: I don't see anything wrong with this...
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: I don't see anything wrong with this...
I hope your girlfriend dumps you (as in garbage) immediately. Either way, it sounds like you're going to die alone, because all the women your age will be "disgusting" and the 20 year olds won't give you a second look. Sounds fitting.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: I don't see anything wrong with this...
Helmet's response was unfortunately incomplete. Every single sentence in your original post was either factually inaccurate or completely batshit insane. I would really love to think that you're trolling, because your posts are so chauvinistic and show an appreciation of everything superficial about "girl(s)" that I don't want to believe they are spoken by a real person.
Your attitude toward women would have been charmingly obnoxious in the 50's, and you clearly have no idea what BMI is or is even supposed to mean. Your us/them attitudes, be it state to state or gender to gender, are quite disturbing. Have you ever considered professional help? Your posts are too frightening to be real and too consistent to be a troll.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: Re: I don't see anything wrong with this...
Ding. You hit that nail right on the head.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: I don\'t see anything wrong with this...
P.S. Words of wisdom for the guys: Pick curvey over scurvy.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: Re: I don\\\'t see anything wrong with this...
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: I don't see anything wrong with this...
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: I don't see anything wrong with this...
If 5 pounds is going to be the difference between you wanting her or not wanting her, there is also something very wrong with YOU.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: I don't see anything wrong with this...
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: I don't see anything wrong with this...
"I dont want her to embarrass me".
Women aren't made of solid gold, they get old and wrinkly like normal humans. Maybe you need to find a Real Doll suitable for your tastes.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: I don't see anything wrong with this...
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
If someone said "You're fired because you're too fat"...
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Shoot the Victim
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Socal
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
What's sexy about narrow-hipped-tiny-tit-no-butt-flatbellies??
Seriously, the people who design these clothes are more attracted to waifish butt boys than real women. Thus are the standards of what a "high-fashion model" should look like derived.
Not that there's anything wrong with THAT*.
*-waste of money and time and the destruction of self-respect for millions of girls and women aside...
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Pez Dispenser
Why not just put the clothes on hangers and photograph them? All he wants is a walking hanger anyway. Something that won't mess up the lines of the clothing with annoying things like curves in the body.
Sheesh.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Oops, they did it again...
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
haha
I don't have kids, and wow, I can't imagine trying to raise them in this twisted, immoral world.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
On the photograph where she wears the black top that would be showing her pot-belly: it's a stupid design. Even 12 year old girls can look a bit pregnant wearing that type of top (although I still can't see the pot-belly there, since there's fabric falling over her belly, so it's virtually impossible to determine its form). And even then, possible reasons for a woman's belly sticking out a bit:
- bad posture
- she drunk a lot of water
- she's having her period
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
she
[ link to this | view in chronology ]