A paragon of pleasing plumpness!

My friend Maureen in Western Australia said this about me a few years ago.  I thought it was delightful.   Maureen, being a curvaceous woman herself, was always looking for words that described herself and her friends in a happy and complimentary way.

That got me thinking about brides.  Not that I intend getting married (not at the moment anyway), but when I leaf through bridal magazines - it doesn't matter whether they're Australian or from overseas, you never see a model who is larger than a size 6 or 8.   Why?

Girls of all ages and all sizes get married and want to look their loveliest.  And why shouldn't they?   But when it comes to someone who is size 18 (US size 14) or 20 or more, they're not supposed to feel they deserve beautiful bridal wear.  Who says so?   Well the media for sure, and the fashion industry as well.  When we have dress designers who are "feted" here and internationally because of their "incredible talents", and who won't even deign to design everyday/evening wear let alone bridal wear for anyone bigger than size 14, then something's wrong.

I don't know how tall Queen Victoria was, but she surely was a buxom, plump little thing.   Dressmakers in the Victorian and Edwardian eras made incredible garments and they made them for slim, svelte and plump and curvaceous women.  Why can't our modern day dressmakers do the same?

Their argument?  We've heard it all before - it takes more fabric to make a garment for a larger person.   La de dah.   We know that.   But it takes more than fabric to design and make a beautiful garment.  It takes talent on the part of the dress maker.   This is where we're let down so often - a dressmaker is not necessarily a good seamstress/dressmaker.  For there has to be "engineering" knowhow;  there has to be imagination;  there has to be experience and there has to be an ability to see the whole picture.