A Size Twelve Hits the Catwalk

Everybody in the fashion industry is taking notice that one of the biggest department stores in London, John Lewis, has chosen a size 12 model to show off their summer swimwear collections on the catwalk.

The model is Lauren Moller. She is 5'8" and her measurements don't seem like size 12 at a 26 inch waist and 37.5 inch hips, but Lewis claims she is a size 12. She has a body mass index (BMI) of 19.8. Although they don't state her weight this BMI and height calculation would mean she weighs 130 pounds.

Apparently the typical catwalk model is 5'9" and weighs 110 pounds. That's a dangerously unhealthy BMI of 16.

This is the first time I've heard of a 130 pound 5'8" woman wearing size 12. I don't know much about British sizes but I am 5'9" (with big bones at that) and am quite sure that if I weighed 130 pounds like Lauren Moller I would be easily slinking into size 8 or lower.