Friday, February 6, 2009

Baby. Got. Back.


If you haven't been watching Mad Men, you might be unaware of a monumental trend shift bubbling just beneath the hardened rind of what is and what isn't cool.
Joan Holloway, (actress Christina Hendricks) is office manager at 50’s Manhattan ad agency Sterling Cooper – she’s witty, sly and determined but her impact is broader than that. Much broader.

Ms. Holloway’s got a body type that hasn’t been highlighted as ‘hot’ on television since before I was born. If you’re black or Latino, with incredible genes and have a large, round, bottom, your shape will have been applauded as ‘bootylicious’ for some years now. Lucky you, because the same has not been true for the average Irish white girl. In fact, if you’re pale and fair haired and large of rear, it’s probably something you’ve been painstakingly trying to hide and disguise since someone kindly pointed it out in secondary school. Well the good news is this; ass is back, bitches and it’s bigger than ever.

We're going Master P on this motherfucker, I like big butts and I cannot lie.
The difference between this and most of the other body trends that trickle into our consciousness on a daily basis is that this time, the shots are being called by real women, not a bunch of culture and carb-starved “fashion” designers pumping out size sixes with a ‘Large’ label for a chance to suck face with Carine Roitfeld.
The whole Gok Wan ‘dress for your shape’ thing is starting to make sense. It becomes a whole lot clearer once you see Holloway swing her ample booty, zipped up tight in a scarlet shift dress, up and down the Sterling Cooper office floor.
If you’ve got it, flaunt it, or at least dress it. Pack it into a pencil skirt, squeeze it into a structured dress and shake what yo’ momma gave ya.

To quote unemployed former girl band All Saints... it’s a booty call.

Behold (from left):
The Veronica Lake Dress, €89, Modcloth.com
Enamel Flower cuff, €18, Dorothy Perkins
High-waisted Pencil Skirt, €50, Next

9 comments:

Mary T said...

You've got to love Gok, although he really got on my tits with that crappy Miss Naked Beauty programme.

I thing big, curvy bums look great although unfortunately I haven't got one. ASOS.com have started selling knickers with pads in them for the less well endowed. I honestly considered buying some, but would feel simply ridiculous. Maybe I should eat more pies and get on the tredmill.

Anonymous said...

This is a grrrrrreat post.

Christine said...

MASSIVE girl crush on Redhead McSexy. Her clothes on Mad Men are always amazing, especially the red fitted dresses.

Anonymous said...

applebottoms!

Annmarie said...

omg! i love her! i've been putting her on my best dressed list in the examiner every chance i get. she is the definition of hot - caliente hot. you could rest a martini on those curves. how do twiglet size zero stars compare? they don't. this woman rules! x

The Sexy Pedestrian said...

Mary- The pies and treadmill diet sounds like a dream come true.

Tuesday Kid - Glad to hear it!

Annmarie- I know, it's great to see her there, wiggling her bootay all over your pages!

miss milki said...

oh yeah I remember that exact moment - I was about 12 or 13 and one of my 'friends' decide to tell me that it was really funny that I was tiny but had a huge bum - then call all the other girls over to see what they thought. Ouch! I'm still a bit paranoid but I've 'filled out' a bit since then and currently my roundy tummy is of more concern than my roundy bum!

Absolutely love Mad Men - its a brilliant show and the costumes are beautiful.

Lottie said...

My momma gave me l.o.a.d.s so Joan is my new role model - and I think I have a girl crush on her. She's super super hot. I am so delighted that American TV is starting to realise that bigger can be sexy.

Men Men is a great show too. Just started season two last week.

The Sexy Pedestrian said...

It's about time they started using more actresses with more attainable body shapes. Not just to make part of their audience feel better either, but to make the characters more realistic. Rear is here, baby!