It’s Friday, it’s Fashion Week and tonight is Fashion Night Out. SOOOO excited.
I didn’t partake in the tomfoolery last year because I was on some godforsaken deadline or the other. Not that much has changed but this year, I’m hitting the streets regardless. I wanna party and socialize fabulously while the wealthy spend money, dammit!
Speaking of fashion, about that October 2010 Gabourey Sidibe Elle cover…. PAUSE.
While I’m thrilled for Gabourey personally, you know what… Them mean ass Elle editors KNOW that they’re DEAD ASS wrong for that bargain basement lace front and polyester green grandma dress tragedy. Especially when you compare her cover to the three other covers that they’re releasing simultaneously.
Like forreal? Why is Gabby wearing a cheesy dress from David Bridal’s mother-in-law section and dime store costume jewelry when them other hoes Amanda Seyfried and Lauren Conrad are half-naked in casual clothing???? With all the access a fashion mag like Elle has, they couldn’t find a flattering wrap dress or even ONE pair of skinny jeans and a cute top ANYWHERE in the world for this young woman??
And what School of the Visual Arts dropout photographer thought it was a good idea to zoom in all the way on the plus-size actress’s double chin and left boob but then give starving ass, admitted anorexic, Meagan Fox a full body shot?
*sucks the back of my teeth* Cut the crap.
No, Gabby may not be your conventional size 0 Hollywood beauty but she’s still a pretty girl. Had that obviously, culturally ignorant Elle Fashion Director hired the proper hair, make-up and styling team AND even more importantly given the ridiculous photographer intelligent direction; Gabby could have been wonderful.
Outward appearance aside, on a more serious level you wanna know why this cover really, really irks me?
Because behind the scenes, when Gabby’s cover doesn’t sell half as much compared to the other three covers, the powers-that-be who really make the final decisions based on numbers will say, “You see. Black women on covers don’t sell issues. Plus-size or skinny (’cause they do lump them all together), it’s simply a bad business decision to put a woman of color on our covers.”
And it’ll be another umpteenth million issues before readers will see another brown-skin, non-mixed, 110% Black woman on the cover of a major mainstream magazine. The End.
Lame.
I have to cosign this. I love the fact that Gabourey is on the cover but this photo & overall styling selection is horrible. They could've done so much better.
Personally knowing Gabby, I wasn't going to respond to any of the comments on her cover shoot. BUT, I really liked your comments so I chose to make a comment. *Sigh* I don't know where to begin…I agree with everything you said…Hopefully the people handling her will at least TRY to do better next time around. I've seen AMAZING pics of her…don't know what was going on at the
Aww, I'm so glad you understood and appreciated my comments. I had the pleasure of interviewing her for the Hollywood Essence package. She is such an amazing person. She deserved WAY better than this. Please give her my best regards.
I'm buying a copy of this magazine. I'm so MAD at the editors for this picture. It was definitely sabotage. Gabby is a pretty girl and she deserved better. There are stylists who could help to showcase her outside beauty so it matches her inner beauty. Such a mess, those editors!!!! We should all write letters to them and DEMAND that they do better!!! In fact, I know I am.
YES, YES, YES!!!!! I said the same damned thing!
Will do, Mitzi! Also, I just found out that she hates the pic as well. Sometimes there is nothing you can do about such things… :-/ *sigh*
Everything you said.
The cover is a cheap shot literally and figuratively. So, is there NOTHING we can do about such things?
I don't buy Elle and have never found a reason to read it. Soooo . . . they're weren't getting a new customer out of me ANYWAY. <br /><br />I do co-sign on your thoughts that they'll use that as an excuse to say "black women don't sell" on the cover of our magazines.<br /><br />FURTHERMORE, the fact that they printed 4 covers for one month (as in, we need 3 skinny