Nope. Just, nope.
Rachel Bloom, the star of Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, may have given us the anthem Sexy Getting Ready Song but it turns out that getting ready for special events costs her a pretty penny. She revealed that when you’re not a size 0 or 2 in Hollywood, you wind up shelling out way more money for fancy red carpet events - and it all comes down to the fact that many fashion houses won’t dress you.
In an interview with WealthSimple, Rachel explained, ‘What also has become apparent when I have to get clothes for these events is that I have a normal body. A lot of fashion houses are reluctant to lend clothes that aren't in the sample sizes of 0 and 2, so it's getting harder and harder for me to find clothes without buying them. That's the whole problem with the fashion industry: My body size is literally normal and healthy, but when you put me next to a model, I look obese.’
Other fuller figured women in the industry have previously spoken out about the issue and more recently, plus-sized model Ashley Graham revealed that she actually had to skip the Met Gala last year because designers wouldn't dress her. This year however, she was able to attend and H&M stepped in with a jaw-dropping cream and crimson creation for her.
Rachel explained that she ends up having to shoulder the costs of her occasion outfits, which can reach up to USD$3000 for important events.
She said, ‘I have occasionally bought designer dresses and designer shoes. Your typical nice designer dresses, at least the kind of stuff that I wear for events, can range from $500 to $3,000, and you want to wear a different outfit for every event because it's a whole red carpet thing. It’s a lot of dresses. I guess it’s all part of the job. I guess if everything changes, I can always resell them.’
However the red carpet’s not just about the dress you’re wearing - things like hair and makeup come into it too. While she admits that the studio and network generally spot her beauty costs for big events, she will regularly have to shell out for a professional hair and makeup artists for the things they won’t cover and that costs as much as $800 a pop.
If we do the maths, that means Rachel could be paying as much as $3800 for a red carpet event. That’s over £2950 for ONE EVENT.
For actresses and models who do happen to be a size 0 or size 2, they mostly won’t have to bear that financial burden as designers can hand them something right off the runway. While maybe it all comes down to convenience and saves designers from having to craft something bespoke, it sends the message that women who aren't shaped like catwalk models aren't worthy of high fashion.
It's heartbreaking because these designers are the tastemakers of the world and shape the way we dress, as the trends they set trickle down into high street retailers and onto our television screens. We all know somebody - or maybe you even were that person - who hungrily combed magazines and the internet for new fashion week collections, aspiring to be as stylish as the people stomping the runway.
However, the world has moved on from a narrow view of beauty. Body positivity is sweeping the internet, with women and men of all sizes and shapes being celebrated daily, and for some reason certain fashion designers have yet to adapt to the times.
Is it so unreasonable to think that our red carpets and fashion designers should try to reflect the world we live in?
