A Postcard from Austria

Posted by HSG on April 08, 2004 at 04:05:55:

It is always a joy to discover how size celebration is touching the lives of people around the world. Just the other day, we received the following inspiring e-mail message: Dear Heinrich, My name is Helga and I am a 24 year old Austrian girl. I live in a small city called Klagenfurt which is the capital of Carinthia. I've always been plussized and I was worrying about it for years. I felt bad about my body and I hated myself. My sister made things worse. She is ten years older than me - tall and very skinny. She always told me that I'm too fat, that my breasts are too big and that I would never get a boyfriend unless I lose weight. For a very long time I believed her and thought she was right. I began to starve. I lost a few pounds then I gained again and so on and so on. It was so until I saw something about plussize models in the television. I found them gorgeous! I wanted to know more about them, see more of their work. And so I searched the net and finally found your wonderful site!!! I've been a silent reader at your forum for a long time. The picture galleries and posts I saw and read encouraged me and helped me to accept myself - not only to accept - to love me and my body. And honestly I'm very proud to be as beautiful as Barbara Brickner, Kate Dillon, Mia Tyler, Liis Windischmann,.......... Thank you so much for this site and the great work you do!!!! Unfortunately in Austria plussize models are not very well known. We are kind of living behind the moon but I have the hope that things will change some day! I've found some pictures of Barbara Brickner. the link is: www.adler.de. I don't know if you already know them but I thought you might like them. So once again thanks for your great work!!!! Best wishes Helga How gratifying it must be for plus-size models to know that they are helping women everywhere achieve a more favourable image of themselves. A visit to the Adler ("Eagle") Web site reveals many images of Mrs. Brickner. The clothing is . . . a matter of individual taste, but Barbara is as lovely as ever. You can see her work in the Große Größen ("plus sizes") section, which is directly accessible from the page linked below. Fans may also wish to visit the Wäsche (lingerie) department, which includes this pretty and tasteful image: Apart from these examples of plus-size beauty, the Adler site also deserves a visit because of its unique Trachten collection. This is nothing less than a line of bona fide German and Austrian folk attire, on sale here from a major retailer. Surprising as it may seem to North American viewers, these items are not offered as costumes, nor does the fact that this apparel has been lampooned for decades in the "sophisticated" American media compel Adler to exhibit any self-consciousness is offering it to its customers. These items are simply offered as another style option for women in this part of the world. (And people considered the "peasant" vogue ambitious in its unapologetic historicism . . . ) It is reassuring to learn that even today, in 2004, in countries that are no less "modern" than our own, these traditional folk styles--which link generation to generation across the vast expanse of time, and through all the tribulations of the previous century--are still a part of a living tradition. But does the fact that this clothing is available from a mass-market retailer somehow lessen its validity as a cultural symbol? No more than the artistic integrity of a Beethoven symphony is diminished if it is heard through an MP3 player rather than in a concert hall. In both cases, contemporary means of production and communication enable people who may have lost touch with their cultural heritage to reestablish links with that heritage, and to incorporate the fruits of this legacy into their daily lives. (But who can deny that if there was ever a case when a clothing line should have been showcased on full-figured models rather than on contemporary waifs--this is it?) Direct link to the Adler lines