Hannah

I'll be the first to say that I'm not quite as enamoured of Christina Hendricks as others seem to be. The face is too narrow, the limbs too skinny. However, I will at least say that she wore an absolutely gorgeous dress at the Golden Globes tonight.



Interestingly, it's designed by "Project Runway" Season Four winner Christian Siriano, who, as Maureen mentioned a few months ago, has had some pro-curvy things to say. This dress definitely indicates that he understands what styles look best on full-figured women. The bustier part is especially attractive.



I would love to see this gown on a true plus-size model. It would look phenomenal.

Meredith

As everyone probably heard, there was a silly media flap about Christina and her beautiful dress after the awards. I think she looked absolutely gorgeous, the only actress who looked truly attractive at the event. But typically, much of the press disagreed.

This article from Salon.com gives a run-down of the nonsense, but it also introduces an idea that is interesting on its own merit, even though the writer is completely wrong-headed in trying to apply it to this situation:

http://www.salon.com/mwt/broadsheet..._hendricks_nyt/

It comes with a lovely picture of Christina at the event:



The part of the article that I have in mind is this. It references the fact that some journalists made comments about the supposed weight gain of certain skeletal actresses at the awards, like the Friends alumni.


In this, she's absolutely right. I've been lurking at the Judgment of Paris long enough to know that it is most definitely possible to use the words "big" and "round" as enthusiastic compliments, and to speak of weight gain as an improvement in appearance, an enhancement of beauty.

The trouble is that the Salon writer is completely mistaken in applying this idea to the scurrilous journalists whom she has in mind. In their case, writing about actresses becoming curvier IS a put-down. While I would love to see a press corps enthusing about actresses becoming fuller-figured, it's not going to happen in the current media climate.

The Salon writer also misidentifies the source of the public's frustration. It's not the comments about increased curves that offended people. It's that the actresses in question hadn't gained weight at all. They were just as anorexic looking as ever! To speak about them looking "round" was ridiculous and offensive. It's the same reaction that people feel when faux-plus models are called "plus size." It's an out-and-out lie. And that's what made people so upset. If the journalists had condemned the actresses for looking emaciated, there would have been no upset, because they would have been identifying the truth. To be claiming weight gain where there (sadly) was none at all -- that was the problem.

But at any rate, Christina looks truly beautiful in her gown at the Golden Globes -- the only actress who did. And I would love to see weight gain described positively in the media -- provided that there actually was any weight gain to begin with.

Meredith

As a follow-up to this story, People magazine has published an interesting article in which Christina's husband defends her lovely dress, and slams the writer who attacked her.

http://stylenews.peoplestylewatch.c...ss-topheadlines

As the article states:


Better still, though, is what Christina's husband notes about the reaction to the comment:


This is very true. If only more people would condemn the media whenever it makes such curve-hating statements, perhaps these writers and 'bloggers would think twice before spreading their thin-supremacist nonsense.

And it's nice to see People magazine taking Christina's side about the dress:


How anyone could have thought that an actress as slim as Hendricks looked too curvy in that or any dress is incomprehensible, and simply indicates the writer's own warped perceptions. In fact, Christina looked far more attractive in that gown than in most of her appearances. A beautiful dress on a beautiful figure -- indeed, a dress that would look even more alluring on a fuller-figured goddess.

Courtney

A someone who counts down the days to award season simply because I adore couture gowns, I must say that I was thrilled to see Christian Siriano's gown on the red carpet. He has such a wonderfully decadent aesthetic which is perfectly suited to decadent bodies.