Going to Waif? : Thinner-Than-Thin Bods May Be ‘In,’ but L.A. Women Plan to Keep Their Muscles
The wispy hairdo. The painted on eyelashes. The baby-doll makeup. The pre-pubescent body.
The image pioneered by Twiggy in the mid-’60s is back.
“Everyone--photographers, magazines--wants that ‘gamin’ kind of look now,” says Peter McClafferty, an Elite Model Management agent in Los Angeles. “I don’t know how long it will last, but the androgynous, long, wispy, waify look is hot.”
Covers of Mademoiselle, Elle, Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar display lanky, thinner-than-thin women with doe eyes and hair pressed flat. Model-of-the-moment Kristin McMenamy is tough, imposing, angular and androgynous--and her face seems to be everywhere. Even Vendela, the Swedish model on the cover of Sports Illustrated’s swimsuit edition, is decidedly less curvy than her recent predecessors: She is 5-foot-8 and weighs a mere 105.
But in Los Angeles, land of lifetime gym memberships, juice bars and implants, women may be reluctant to exchange their hard-earned hard bodies for the waif physique.
“I don’t think the Twiggy look will make it here,” says Rick Rummell, fitness manager for Sports Club L.A. “I see women doing a lot of cross-training, getting physically fit. For a while, women wanted to look really buff like (actress) Linda Hamilton. That’s not in anymore, but I don’t see a lot of ultra-thin, frail women. It’s not healthy.”
Karen Voight, owner of Voight Fitness and Dance center, says that although thinness has long been a priority of Los Angeles women, “skinny” is more of an East Coast phenomenon. Women, she says, are unwilling to give up their meals or muscles to achieve the look flaunted by models.
“A big chest is still popular here, though people want to be slim in their hips and legs,” she says. People “put in years to have a good shape, they’re not going to let go of it.”
Melinda Keating, a 23-year-old aerobics instructor, says she loves the “new” retro look, but says it’s important to be fit. At 5-foot-2 and 117 pounds, the well-muscled Keating says she would never think of becoming twiggish.
A typical outfit for Keating, who considers herself a fairly conservative dresser, includes black platform shoes and bell-bottoms worn with an ivory bodysuit and long black vest.
“I like to be current, but nothing too flashy,” says Keating, who also works part time at Valerie’s Hair and Makeup Salon in Beverly Hills. “And I definitely want to stay healthy and in shape.”
Sean McCollum Binder has also returned to a ‘60s and ‘70s style of dress. The 40-year-old legal secretary, who is 5 feet, 10 inches tall and weighs 135 pounds, says she would never starve herself.
“Being waify is not healthy,” says Binder, whose daily uniform might include black lace-up platform boots, bell-bottom jeans and a poor-boy sweater.
“I do whatever feels right,” she says. “It’s a cool look, but it doesn’t remind me of the ‘70s; it’s a look of its own.”
Until the mid-’60s, the epitome of femininity was the 36-24-36 proportions of Marilyn Monroe and Jane Russell. But models like Twiggy and Penelope Tree broke the barriers of formality and decorum, with not only their boyish figures but also their bright, wild clothes, makeup and anything-goes attitude. They fit the anti-Establishment mood.
Observers say today’s look is not the same kind of sign of the times. The 1993 revival is simply a fashion statement.
“Then it was a feeling of rebellion,” Binder says. “It was associated with being a hippie. Now it’s just a trend.”
Gabe Doppelt, editor-in-chief of Mademoiselle magazine, agrees that “the look,” like the times, has changed since London’s Carnaby Street was the epicenter of world fashion. This time around, she says, it’s more down to earth.
“(Today’s) models have more real expressions than the fake cattle-prodded grins of the late ‘80s,” she says. “The ‘90s are cheap and cheerful, much more sincere and honest.”
Doppelt says L.A. women might pick up the new attitude and clothing but not the body.
And, of course, many see the return of Twiggy-looking models as just another cycle, one that will soon be replaced. With what?
“Totally female, an hourglass figure,” says Martin Fung, an instructor at the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandise. “Not a Barbie Doll, but a balance between the exaggerated Rubenesque and Twiggy bodies.”
