Curvy Kate: Star In A Bra

Body image. Self-confidence. Self-worth. We’ve all heard these phrases, and we’ve all seen the skeletal models on the front of magazines. People can have such unhealthy attitudes towards their bodies, and such ridiculous ideas of what is “normal”. It’s not just girls that suffer from low self-esteem, boys and girls, men and women alike struggle with how they see themselves, and a surprisingly large proportion of them suffer with mental illnesses such as anorexia. It’s a topic that means a lot to me, which is why I’m writing this article. I’m not going to bombard you with statistics, and tell you all about anorexia and bulimia because quite frankly, I don’t understand any of it. The mindset, the obsession, the desperation; none of it makes any sense to me. This article focuses on an amazing brand, with an amazing idea.

Curvy Kate is a brand of lingerie for women. Like many other lingerie companies, it recognises that their target market does not comprise of size 6 women. Women of all shapes and sizes need lingerie, and Curvy Kate realise that women of all sizes want to feel sexy. So they provide the undies that fit and flatter everyone, from sizes D to K. However, as we all know, you can’t sell something without advertising it, and you can’t advertise clothes without models. So Curvy Kate has come up with a competition to promote self-confidence, and itself all at the same time. Over 1000 D+ women entered the competition, and there are now just ten Bra Stars left, all fighting to be the next Curvy Kate: Star in a Bra. This girl will win a modelling contract with Curvy Kate for the next year, model in their catalogue, and model in runway shows. This is such a fantastic idea, real women will be modelling the clothes that normal people want to buy. Considering that the average model is 23% lighter than the average woman, this is a brilliant way to show women what their clothes would actually look like on a normal person, by getting normal people to model them.

It’s not just good advertising though, Curvy Kate is promoting a healthy and confident attitude towards curves and size. “I was always very insecure about my big boobs growing up. I want other girls to realise that curves are sexy and size six is not the norm!” – Current finalist, Rachael Holmes.

There’s so much pressure to look amazing – society is obsessed with body image; some embrace their curves, whilst others battle furiously to suppress them. On the one hand, things such as Zumba, pole-dancing and kickboxing have become common ways to exercise and have fun, which I agree is healthy. On the other hand, we’ve got crash diets, plastic surgery and all sorts of unnatural ways to try and get that size six figure. Why should we want to look like that? Why should we want to look like anyone but ourselves? There’s no point aspiring to a particular figure just because society says it’s beautiful. We should determine for ourselves what is beautiful. If people want to feel healthier, and feel better in themselves, fine. Fair enough. But nobody needs to take such drastic measures to do that.

For those of you who are happy with yourselves, you are incredible. Self-confidence is something we all need, and I thank everyone who believes in themselves. For those of you who aren’t, look up to those who do, the Curvy Kate models for example. One of the ten finalists will be the Curvy Kate model for the next year, and it’s up to the public to decide who it will be. So get on the website, and pick your favourite. Pick the girl who you think looks happiest with herself, and exudes the most confidence. All these girls have taken a brave step, modelling in their knickers for the whole world to see. And I think they’re beautiful.

To cast your vote click here.

(Voting closes on Tuesday!)