In fashion, sample sizes for couture Oscar-worthy gowns typically run from a size 0 to a size 2. Given that the average size for women in the United States is a size 16, you can estimate how many actors, singers and other celebrities don’t fit into that minute size bracket. This unrealistic standard becomes especially troublesome for non-sample-size celebrities when it comes time to look for a dress for a big red carpet event like the Emmys, Oscars or a movie premiere.
Believe it or not, designers willing to dress non-sample-size women are few and far between, as evidenced by the frustration of stars like Ashley Graham, Melissa McCarthy and Danielle Brooks, who have all vented their anger at the sizeist nature of Hollywood and the fashion industry. Fortunately, with more and more curvy models appearing on runways and designers like Christian Siriano speaking out on the importance of body diversity, times are steadily changing. To speed up the process, celebrities are also calling out the blatant sizeism. Click through to the hear stories of 12 famous women who couldn’t get designers to dress them.
Originally posted on StyleCaster.
Ashley Graham
Though she’s one of the biggest names in modeling, Graham struggled to find a designer to dress her for the 2016 Met Gala, she revealed in an interview with The Cut. “I couldn’t get a designer to dress me,” she said. “You can’t just show up in jeans and a T-shirt.”
Graham also referenced her struggle with finding red carpet-suitable outfits in an interview with E! in 2016 in which she opened up about her hard time finding an Oscars dress. “Trying to find a dress for the Oscars — girls my size — I mean, it has been a whole job in itself. So I am happy tonight with my outfit,” she said.
Beyoncé
Though today’s designers would die if Beyoncé even complimented their clothes, there was a time in the early 2000s when the singer and her Destiny’s Child bandmates were passed over by labels because they weren’t the ideal sizes.
“When we were starting out in Destiny’s Child, high-end labels, they didn’t want to dress black, country, curvy girls,” the singer said in 2016. “And we couldn’t afford designer dresses and couture. My mother was rejected from every showroom in New York. But like my grandmother, she used her talent and her creativity to give her children their dreams.”
Bryce Dallas Howard
Howard is no stranger to buying her own red carpet gowns, including the store-bought dress she wore to the 2016 Golden Globes, after years of hearing no from designers. And even though she’s a size 6, the actor still has trouble finding designers willing to dress her.
“When you’re not ‘sample’ size, or when you don’t have a direct relationship with a designer, or if you don’t have a lot of notice, those types of size 6 dresses just aren’t that available that much,” she told People.
Christina Hendricks
Despite the critical acclaim for her performance on AMC’s Mad Men, Hendricks didn’t see the same attention from designers, who ignored her requests for loanable gowns.
“Not one designer in town will loan me a dress,” she told the Daily Record. “They only lend out a size 0 or 2. So I’m still struggling for someone to give me a darn dress.”
Danielle Brooks
For Brooks, the lack of options for non-sample-size women in Hollywood makes her feel less than. In an interview with People, the Orange Is the New Black actor addressed the issue and rallied herself up alongside other famous women who also see a problem with the sizeist standard.
“It makes you feel like you’re ‘less than’ when you only have four options and three of them are in black or blue. It’s really not fun,” Brooks said. “I am ready to say, ‘No, we are in the picture too.'”
Dascha Polanco
Polanco experienced the sizeism firsthand when she approached a designer who she was a fan of for a collaboration only to hear in response that the brand doesn’t carry her size for lendable gowns.
“I had a situation with a high-end brand the other day where I had personally invested so much money purchasing their items, and I love what they do, so I had my publicist reach out to their PR team,” she told Vogue. “Their response was, ‘Oh, you’re not the sizes we have, not right now, maybe in the future.'”
Khloé Kardashian
Kardashian noticed a shift in the fashion industry after she lost weight. Before the body transformation, the reality star found it hard on photo shoots when none of the clothing samples would fit her, according to an interview with Harper’s Bazaar.
“Even on shoots, I would never have options for clothing,” she said. “I was too much work for [stylists] or they had nothing in my size. I wasn’t even that crazy big!”
Leslie Jones
After she was unable to find a dress for the premiere of Ghostbusters in 2016, Jones put designers on blast on Twitter. “It’s so funny how there are no designers wanting to help me with a premiere dress for movie,” she tweeted. “Hmmm that will change and I remember everything.”
Immediately, her tweet was discovered by Christian Siriano, who designed her gown for the red carpet and has taken Jones on as his muse for other A-list events.
Melissa McCarthy
Unable to find a designer who would dress her for the Oscars, McCarthy took matters into her own hands and designed her own Emmys dress in 2011. The move eventually spurred the actor’s own body-inclusive clothing line.
“When I go shopping, most of the time I’m disappointed,” she told Redbook. “Two Oscars ago, I couldn’t find anybody to do a dress for me. I asked five or six designers — very high-level ones who make lots of dresses for people — and they all said no.”
Octavia Spencer
Despite being an Oscar winner, Spencer continues to struggle with finding designers willing to dress her because of her size and height.
I’m just a short, chubby girl,” she told People. “It’s hard for me to find a dress to wear to something like this! It’s a lot of pressure, I’ll tell ya. No designers are coming to me.”
Rachel Bloom
Unable to find a designer to lend her a dress for the 2017 Emmys, Bloom was forced to purchase a $3,500 Gucci gown with her own money. After the awards show, the actor took to Twitter to complain about the struggle.
“We didn’t ask Gucci to dress me b/c they loan to very few,” she tweeted. “That being said, pickings are still slim for non-sample size ladies.”
Aidy Bryant
The first time Bryant was dressed in a custom designer gown was at the 2016 Emmys, where Eloquii designed her ensemble. In an interview with People, the Saturday Night Live cast member opened up about how difficult it is for her to find red carpet-suitable outfits as a “plus-size” actor.
“I think it’s a different experience for plus-size women in film and television to get clothes for events,” she said. “It’s just not as welcoming for us to get cool clothes that are like equal in glamour, in style to what, I am going to say, ‘small size’ co-stars get to wear. So I’ve had experiences on photoshoots or wherever, where there just aren’t options for us.”
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