The Fashion Activist: Selling the dream

Designers, art directors, advertising people keep telling us they sell the dream! When you read a magazine or look at the annual Christmas catalogue from the local mall or similar, you see the dream! Or do you?

When I was little I loved looking through the Christmas catalogues from Magasin, Illum or similar stores. I thought the women(models) to be beautiful, the men masculine and good looking as well as the clothes inspiring.

Today when I looked through Illum, I was amazed, to see girls, teenage girls posing as women in lingerie. How the h... should I be inspired by those girls? I will never have my size 16 year old model like body! I believe one or two of these models most have been a little older but not more than start twenties.

Looking through the magazine, it came to me that I was not the target group for this store, neither my boyfriend as even the men looked younger than us and really fit! And the funny part regarding the male models was that even they were fit and muscular looking they pulled their stomach in! How ridiculous is that?

This makes me wonder, whether or not they are selling the dream? I would rather see women in my age looking great for their age rather than seeing a girl model posing as a grown woman/mother!

I remember that some yeas ago, the set up was more familiar. The models looked at least a little older and it looked more like a family catalogue featuring (fake) families, it looked just a little bit real! Maybe I remember it wrong? Maybe I was just younger and thinner?

Well, my dream would be looking at dreams that I know would/could or should come true for most people. So why not use "families" that look more real? Women both thin and plus sized, men with and without big muscles (not pulling your stomach in)? And people with different skin colours, we are after all a multicultural country! Is this too much to ask for?

And who should decide which dreams to sell? And how easy the dream can be obtained?