Fashioning fat : inside plus-size modeling /

Sociology professor Czerniawski goes undercover as a plus-size model in this exposé to find out the truth: is it empowering or exploitative to strut one's size-14 (and up) self in front of the fashion industry's cameras? The answer is as complicated and obscure as our relationship to food and our weight, since, as the author states, "Frankly, fat means different things to different people." Most of the women interviewed for the book aren't career models; they supplement their incomes by attending go-sees and open calls in the hopes that their measurements will add up to what the client desires. One model accidentally loses weight band, in doing so, loses her main account. She then drinks weight-gaining powders and shakes to return to the larger measurements listed on her agency's calling card. The book's personal asides and insider information are enlightening. Segments of semisalacious gossip, however, are hindered by the author's lengthy tangents commenting on "affective labor" undertaken by the various models in a "dominant heteronormative framework," while fashion itself serves as a "'cosmetic panopticon,' shaping norms and expectations of physical appearance across the spectrums of race, sexuality, and class." Though this is indeed the academic jargon of gender studies, it still weighs down what is otherwise a fascinating read. 17 b&w halftones. (Jan.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

As the standards of mainstream fashion modeling have grown slimmer, a corresponding market featuring plus-size models has developed, driven by the desire of certain designers and consumers to see fuller-figured women on runways and in catalogs. In studying this still-developing industry, Czerniawski (sociology, Temple Univ.) chose to go as in-depth as possible by working as a plus-size model herself for more than two years. The resulting volume hovers between a day-to-day exposé and a sociological analysis, detailing her working experiences and those of her modeling colleagues alongside academic analyses of social perceptions of size and weight, the standards of the fashion industry, and the fluidity of the term plus-size. Of particular interest is Czerniawski's exploration of the ways plus-size models are subject to the same commodification and rigorous control of their bodies and appearances-gaining or losing a few pounds has just as many consequences for a plus-size model as it would for her "straight-size" counterpart. Verdict The variety of topics Czerniawski touches on means that some interesting points are discussed only briefly, leaving the book feeling sparse in some areas. Overall, however, this is a thoughtful look at a complex area within the fashion marketplace, well worth reading for anyone with an interest in fashion, sociology, or women's studies.-Kathleen McCallister, Tulane Univ., New Orleans (c) Copyright 2015. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.