For a long time, billboards, magazines, commercials and retail websites favoured light-skinned and slim women as their talents, and everyone was okay with it.
However, a collective call for more representation for different skin tones and body shapes and sizes has turned the tide and most companies and brands these days are putting in more of effort to be inclusive.
That’s not to say that everything is fine and dandy now. Occasionally, brands still couldn’t care less about being inclusive.
For example, giant Chinese fashion retailer Shein that is currently being bashed for their atrocious photos of models wearing their one of their plus-size products.
Imagine this – you want to buy some tights for a plus-sized figure. You go to the brand’s website to check how the tights would fit on somebody plus-sized. Perhaps you expect to see different plus-sized models trying on the tights in different sizes, but it’s okay if it’s just one model trying out one size of the product.
What might not be okay though, is the horror of seeing the brand shove a water bottle into the tights and placing it next to the model’s hips to demonstrate how much the tights can stretch.
“What the f**k is this? Y’all couldn’t find a plus-sized model?!” asked one netizen in disbelief as she criticised the brand for using a water bottle instead of an actual plus-sized model.
Netizens share similar product listings
After the tweet went viral, many shared similar product listings they’ve encountered.
It seems like another preferred way of displaying plus-size tights’ ability to stretch is by having models pull the tights up to their chest and putting both arms in it.
“This is 100% how I wear tights. I pull them up to my armpits and shove my arms in like I’m pretending to be a bat. Very very good marketing,” said one netizen sarcastically.
There were also many who made jokes about the original photo of the water bottle in the tights.
Are more plus-size models needed or is it better to show the tights’ stretch like this?
Also read: Tiktoker Claims There’s ‘Help Me’ Labels on SHEIN Clothes, Brand Says It’s FAKE News
