HSG

For those of you who might not know. The Daily Mirror is a major daily newspaper in Britain--the equivalent of something like USA Today in America.

Please, try not to have a heart attack (although we certainly did) when you learn that . . . Charlotte Coyle was on the cover of today's issue (Wednesday, August 3rd, 2005):

The cover headline reads:

"I'm a size 18 and I love it"

And the story headline reads:

"Why I'm proud to be big and beautiful."

The phrase "dream come true" doesn't even approximate our delight in seeing this miracle in newsprint. And the word "beautiful" doesn't even begin to convey just how gorgeous Charlotte Coyle really is. There is an image of Charlotte with her story that vividly demonstrates that she possesses one of the most curvaceous figures of any plus-size model in the history of the industry.

More than anything else, you will wince at the punishment to which this divinely gorgeous model used to subject herself--all so utterly needlessly.

But you will also rejoice when you discover that she has finally learned to love her Classical figure, and that she plans to help show others just how gorgeous plus-size beauty really is.

No model could possibly make the point more persuasively than Charlotte--just by her appearance.

But don't spend a minute longer in breathless anticipation. Just read the story for yourselves, at the following link:

- "Why I'm proud to be big and beautiful"

MelanieW

Oh wow, this will sound so hokey, but I actually cried when I read that. It totally took me by surprise, but I burst into tears when I read about how Charlotte used to starve herself. It just doesnt seem possible that anybody that beautiful could feel so bad about herself. I mean, if she of all people can feel unattractive, what hope is there for any of us?

Thank god she finally realized how beautiful she is. I actually felt relieved when I read her quote:


"I'm a very different girl now. I'm happy with who I am and my body. I don't diet any more, instead I eat well"


I hope she never forgets what a goddess she is.

Did you notice how her problems started when she saw her mother dieting? Thats what a lot of articles Ive read here have been saying - dieting by parent leads to dieting by daughters, while on the other hand, when parents boost their daughters egos, they avoid those confidence problems.

I wish every parent would read her story and realize how vital it is never to set an example of dieting. The results can be horrible.

Charlotte sound like an amazing person with real depth. Shes obviously gone through all the highs and lows. It makes me hope even more that she succeeds. What an inspiring role model she could be.

Kaitlynn

Did you happen to notice the subtle contrast on that cover? There's Naomi Campbell on the left, in trouble again for having thrown another one of her notorious hissy fits. And there's Charlotte on the right, looking delighted with herself. Why would anyone ever want to be the sour-faced, starving-size model on the left, when they could be the comfortable, sexy-size model on the right?

It's a great article, but it's so tragic that society could ever have made Charlotte doubt herself so much. Dieting at eight? That is just heartbreaking. I wish she could have been spared all that pain. If only she'd realized how beautiful she was right away.

But maybe all her suffering will make her that much more determined to help other girls avoid her ordeal.

Even this article itself isn't free of all negativity. It refers to Charlotte's weight at one point as a "'whopping' 14st". For goodness sake, Charlotte is 5'11 tall! That's nothing, at that height.

And when the article says Charlotte "doesn't have a body every woman would envy," they're so wrong. You remember who else is exactly 5'11? That's right- Nicole Kidman. And she just admitted in an article yesterday that she "hates her lanky figure" and that she envies her daughter's curves. No wonder- just look at how luscious Charlotte looks at the same height, but with a very womanly silhouette. She has the more enviable figure by far.

She's a great model with an engaging personality, and an unforgettable look. I hope she goes far.

Emily

Since we've been discussing Lillian Russell here recently, I can't help but compare Charlotte's story with hers. Both extraordinary beauties, both with healthy appetites. But their circumstances couldn't have been more different. Lillian Russell could enjoy eating, and was even admired for it, while Charlotte thought she had to suppress this normal instict -- and look at all of the agony that this caused her.

If only our society still had the healthy ideal of beauty that prevailed in Lillian Russell's day, Charlotte would never have developed such a distorted view of herself. She would have been as rightly comfortable with herself as Lillian was, and would not have suffered so much.

The article says that Charlotte is now back in England, but I hope she will still be modeling for U.S. clients, as well as for U.K. retailers -- although the British industry probably needs her even more than we do. There hasn't been a headline-making full-figured model in England since Sophie Dahl. And Charlotte is just as pretty as Sophie ever was, and has an even more stunning figure.

M. Lopez

I also see a relationship between Charlotte's story and the profile of Shannon Marie that is linked somewhere on this site, as well as with Kate Dillon's experience in going from plus to minus, and then back to plus. I think the most gorgeous models of all often have such painful experiences because when they look in the mirror, they can't help but see how beautiful they are, but then, society tells them something different. It's like looking at the sky every day and seeing that it's blue, but then having everybody say it's green. It's hard not to start thinking, "Is there something wrong with me? What are they seeing?" And then they tragically try to change, when they actually looked lovely in the first place.

But I'm more interested in how Charlotte feels today. My favorite passages from the article are those in which Charlotte expresses freedom and confidence:


-"I told them I loved fashion, art, anything creative and glamour and that it was my dream job. All of it was true, the idea of wearing gorgeous dresses and flying around on assignment is my idea of the good life," she says.


-"My first time behind the camera was a revelation. I was totally myself, relaxed and utterly confident," she beams.


-"The agency loved the pictures and I was soon doing shoots all over the US, staying in five star hotels and being driven around in a limo. I was living my dream."


That's the message that I think "curvy vixens" should be giving, and living, today. We need models who feel like supermodels, act like supermodels, pose like supermodels, and most importantly, *look* like supermodels- but at a true plus size. Their confidence will inspire everyone else.

I find Charlotte's self-assurance very refreshing and invigorating.

HSG

Charlotte also shares another trait with the incomparable Shannon Marie: an Irish heritage. As we have mentioned before on this site, Irish girls are genetically predisposed to be timeless beauties.

The figure-fitting top that Charlotte sports in the black-and-white Mirror image, above, testifies to her current body-confidence. And that confidence is well deserved. Think of the many underweight celebrities who practically dislocate their spines trying to thrust out their nonexistent hips, whenever they are photographed for magazine covers--to make it seem as if they have even a semblance of a womanly shape. By contrast, a curvaceous goddess such as Charlotte can stand comfortably in front of the camera, and her figure will naturally form the womanly s-curve silhouette that is the very epitome of feminine allure.

It will be thrilling to watch how Charlotte's career progresses in Britain--where, as Melanie pointed out, the fashion industry is finally discovering that "curves are really exciting" (a fact that Charlotte's appearance so vividly confirms).

Another image from Charlotte's exhilarating Torrid series:

MonB

Wow I screamed with excitement when I was shopping with my mum in Romford, Essex, UK looking through the newspaper and magazine section when I saw Charlotte Coyle on the cover the mirror. It only cost me 35p and I have read it like 5 times word by word. I thought that Charlotte was Americian because she is 'bling fabulous!!' With her bright personaility and great smlie. I felt I was in that situation, trying to fit in at school. Charlotte gave me a boost of confidence that i never had with my body before.