SKINNY JEANS!!!

Fashion trends come and go and many return again and again. In the last few years, we have seen the reentry of skinny jeans (aka “skinnies”). Slim fitting pants first made their appearance in the 1950’s, worn by popular media and music icons such as Marilyn Monroe, Elvis Presley and Sandra Dee, but they have been popular nearly every decade since.

Skinny jeans flatter the figure by hugging virtually every part of the body without constricting it. Most clothing lines and popular stores carry skinny-style jeans and they are marketed to both genders.

The connection made between clothing styles, peer pressure and disordered eating is not a new concept. Many males and females begin practicing eating disorder behaviors triggered by peer pressure. Restricting food intake and fasting is a dangerous behavior practiced to drop weight quickly. Though a person may plan to restrict just until they fit into a pair of jeans, this practice can have significant effects on health and be a spring board for an eating disorder.

But how productive and healthy is it to label a style of clothing “skinny”? What does this focus on body type say about us as a society? Ultra-thin models and mannequins portray unrealistic and unhealthy goals for consumers. Skinny jeans do not cause eating disorders, but many individuals with anorexia and bulimia say that their focus on fashion, body size and peer pressure contribute greatly to their struggle.