she shouldnt be supporting overweight people like herself. Topshop stocking up to a size 16 is just right. A girl who is 6ft tall wearing a size 16 is just about right. A girl who is 5ft2 wearing size 16 is not right. And Beth certainly is a 5ft 2 or less wearing a bigger size than size 16 which is very very very wrong. That is not healthy at all.

Posted by: cordelia | March 13, 2007 5:57 PM

Thanks for your insightful thoughts, Cordelia. Seems I'm "not right" in your eyes at 5ft 2ins and size 16-18. I'm actually healthy and happy, fyi.

To the point, Topshop actually only stock a limited range of size 16s, they are always the first to sell out (check the website) and quite often items are only available in sizes 8-14. Quite a limited range.

Beth isn't someone who would gain anything from being linked to Topshop. She is a style icon, no question, but she should align herself with a plus size chain or do her own range. Fashion should be for women of all sizes, not just slim ones!

Posted by: Joyce | March 13, 2007 9:33 PM

you cannot state that larger sizes are very very very wrong because the people who wear them are unhealthy, there are many people who are of a larger size but are much more healthy than slimmer people. health is not all about the size of your waist. plus id hardly class Kate Moss as a 'healthy' person but they dont seem to have a problem with her designing a range.

Posted by: monkey | March 13, 2007 10:59 PM

I don't understand why it's fine to lambast skinny models for supposedly representing a size zero trend, but if someone criticizes someone who is eveidently seriously overweight, people are outraged and accuse them of being narrow minded and prejudiced. As someone has said on this issue before, both extremes are unhealthy, and we shouldn't be trying to glamourise or promote either of them.
The western world is undeniably suffering an epidemic of obesity (which in itself has produced this fetishization of extreme skinniness as the impossible pinnacle of the beauty ideal) but we need to talk responsiblity for this, both the media that produces these images, and more importantly, we the consumers and inidividuals who shape the social landscape, rather than wimping out behind a blanket of political correctness. We need to learn to take charge of our bodies again. I know that sounds terribly bullying and dictatorial, but I don't want to live in a country where in a few years' time, only a freakish minority will actually be a healthy size and weight.

Posted by: maya | March 14, 2007 12:12 AM

I completely agree with Maya- very well said.

Posted by: Kate | March 14, 2007 12:45 AM

Well written, Maya.

Posted by: Ada | March 14, 2007 2:38 AM

I personally don't think there is anything wrong with larger sized women, they are very beautiful and some of them are very healthy . A mean come on people if you are a size zero then your healthy and gorgeous but the minute a larger lady comes into the picture you get told your unhealthy and looked upon as being a freak because of your size, its disgraceful. I am a size 14 and have some problems buying things from top shop and other stores and i think they should have a larger sized range. Women especially are put under alot of pressure to look good and feel good to but how can they feel good when they cant even buy fashionable clothes. I respect beth so much for sticking up for larger women, and just hope it makes some kinda of impact towards the way people think.

Well done beth

Posted by: Lisa | April 1, 2007 6:40 PM

I think thats its really hard to be an overweight person in our society. And its one thing to say "The western world is undeniably suffering an epidemic of obesity (which in itself has produced this fetishization of extreme skinniness as the impossible pinnacle of the beauty ideal)" but really, what do you expect when there is very very little support for overweight people out there. Obese people shouldnt be penalised for the fact they are an unhealthy size, they should be helped to get fit and healthy.

I'm a obese teenager, and it kind of sucks, when I cant where any of the clothes my mates can because I am so big. Just because some one is big, doesnt mean they shouldnt be able to feel cool and sexy in their clothes. But if some one offered to help me get fit, I would jump at the chance. There isn't a lot of help out there for overweight people and maybe if we could tackle that issue first, then you wouldnt need size 0 as an "ideal size" and you wouldnt have a growing problem with obesity in the western world.

Posted by: Meg | April 2, 2007 10:05 PM

Well Meg i totally agree with you on that one, People dont want to help others who are overweight there quite
happy to help those who have eating disorders, a mean again if someone came to me and said we are going to help you loss weight i would be more than happy, but they don't, they are happy to take young children who are overweight away from there parents, i don't know if any of you read that in the newspaper but thats what they are going to do, and it makes me so mad that they wont help overweight people. All they can say is that its costing the government millions because of this. And i do understand that sometimes its hard to go out with friends who are much thinner than you because you cannot buy any of the things in the shops because they aren't made to fit larger women. Its appalling. We now live in a world were size zero is a fashion statement and then overweight people are made to feel bad because they aren't the same as everyone else. Shopping boutiques should change the way they make the clothing so larger framed women can buy from there stores and then it would stop all the close personally digs at how we look, also it would make us feel more like humans.
But meg i do know this, Evans is a very good store to buy from, all there clothes are fashionable and they do all size starting from a 16-32 and i just love the place

Check there website out and see what you think
www.evans.co.uk
Hope this helps in some way
Amazing store there, very fashionable and all the clothes fit perfect, fav shop

Lisa

Posted by: lisa | April 3, 2007 3:31 PM

Cheers Lisa. I checked out the site and it does have some nice stuff, that I could see myself in. Still its hard to be limited to certain shops just because I'm big. Still, I dont care... I'd rather be big and happy then stick thin and having to watch what I eat 24/7.

Oh and plus, I can always make my own clothes that no one else have, fit me and flatter me, because I do a lot of textiles in school. There are ways to get around being a big person shopping in our society; but the point is we shouldnt have to.

Meg.

Posted by: Meg | April 12, 2007 4:02 PM

Again meg i totally agree with you no girl should have to do that, but like you said you are happy, and im happy with my size to. Curvy women are actual more attractive than size zero models. A mean some of the stores where i live do bigger sizes but the only problem there is they say its a 14 but in actual fact its not, its only a size 12 or at least thats what i think anyway. But yeah a do totally agree with you, its not fair that other girls get to wear fashionable clothing and we don't, i also agree with every girl thats posted on here, there all right !

Lisa

Posted by: Anonymous | April 16, 2007 4:01 PM

Beth is a Style Icon and Topshop know it. They could make serious amounts of money if they were to do a range with her. It would be the first cutting edge range that bigger women could actually fit into. someone should make a range that has every size. On the UK high street theyre are currently only 2 shops that sell clothes for bigger women Evans (slow to pick up on trends, often drab dowdy frumpy) and New Look (cheap looking ugly) have a very small range if you havent found anything you could bare to wear to your mates wedding, to a club, on a date youre royally fucked.
Hurry up Topshop b4 i do it.

Honey
www.myspace.com/honeywilliams

Posted by: Anonymous | May 21, 2007 12:41 PM

"Normal body". THAT is clearly not a normal body. She's overweight, clearly obese. That is not 'normal'.

Posted by: gem | July 1, 2007 2:41 PM

I don't necessarily find fat or skinny attractive. What I love about Beth Ditto is that she is going against 'the norm'. She is a feminist who is trying to show other girls that it is ok to be yourself. Everyday, girls all over the world feel ugly because they are not perfect. But, Beth Ditto is showing that imperfection is equally beautiful if not more beautiful. We have to get over our anxieties and start accepting who we are and what we have to offer - not what we look like. It is so shallow and sad to judge people on their looks. I think she is amazing, talented and interesting - a million times more than boring Victoria Beckham, Sienna Miller or Paris Hilton or some other 'conformist'. I think girls need to start taking note.

Posted by: Lucy | July 17, 2007 7:40 PM

I love Top Shop but I'm a size 14-16 and their range of 14 and 16 clothes is very limited both in stores and on the website which is a tragedy. Why don't you want our money, Top Shop? You know more 16s will sell...

But my main question is to the people of this board who are saying Beth is overweight and obese, thus Top Shop shouldn't dress her. In your perfect world where everyone manages to maintain their size at perfect 8-12, your thinking seems to imply bigger women should be punished in some way for not being 'right'. Perhaps you would have us wear burlap sacks to walk around town?

I notice Top Shop's racks are always full of size 6 (very few of which seem to get purchased in Yorkshire) and there can be very few women who eat healthily and are a size 6. What is the issue here? Is it that you think Top Shop should be encouraging healthy lifestyles (in which case, bin the size 6) or is it a type of shallow, sad fear-induced prejudice towards women who struggle to control their weight? (Ew! The fat lady! Gross!)

Posted by: Katharyne | October 9, 2007 2:56 PM