There's at least one woman on television who is perfectly content NOT being a size 0: celebrity chef Rachael Ray. While promoting her "Shelter Cats are Beautiful" project, the 45-year-old animal advocate came down hard on a popular clothing chain that has started offering a vanity size she says no one needs: 000.
Ray says she was working out in the gym when she learned J.Crew had changed the sizes of its popular preppy-inspired trousers, shirts, and dresses. And she didn't hold back when it came to telling us how she really feels about triple zero-sized clothing.
Ray called size 000 the "most silly, asinine" thing she'd ever heard and questioned "what human with any sort of reasoning skills" would even want to fit into a triple zero pair of pants. She went on to argue that there isn't a need for such a small size and that women who either starve themselves or overindulge are unable to make valid decisions because they aren't thinking clearly.
The retailer defended its choice to offer size 000 -- which is the equivalent of a size XXXS -- because, a spokeswoman for the company said, it is addressing a demand for smaller sizes that is coming from Asia. She insisted J.Crew is not practicing vanity sizing, which is when a retailer sizes its clothing down in order to fool women into thinking they sport a smaller size than they actually wear.
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I understand where Rachael is coming from -- sort of -- because, yes, vanity sizing has gotten out of control. But she's making the assumption that ALL women who fit into a 000 are anorexic or unhealthy. Not so. Just as there are millions of women who fit into a size 14 and who work out and eat well, there are also lots of women with size 23 waists and naturally petite frames who would drown in a size 0 dress.
There's no need to take such a harsh stance against women of any size -- 14 or 000.
What do you think of Rachael's comments about size 000 clothing?
Image via Rachael Ray/Instagram