Gap's 'Anorexic' Mannequins Are An International Thing (PHOTOS, POLL)

The style interwebs seemed pretty stressed out on Thursday over a photograph of Gap's "Death Camp Chic" mannequins spotted at the chain's London outpost. Curious, as always, we decided to take a trip down to our local store to see if the size was lost in translation.

Turns out -- it wasn't! Rexie legs are not only international, but totally in for fall.

(Also see: Club Monaco's emaciated window models.)

Quick Poll

What do you think about Gap's new mannequins?

RIDICULOUS! I feel less inclined to shop there.

REALLY? Didn't even notice.

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Comments

[Jody Dallas]

02:33 AM on 08/17/2011

Look at their jeans models online... not much difference.

[redsongia]

05:12 PM on 08/15/2011

The real scandal is how ugly that brown sweater is. Also, what climate and in what season is anyone supposed to want to wear that thing?

[Libertard]

03:11 PM on 08/15/2011

It's not like the majority of the women in this country are going out of their way to look as skinny as these dummies. In fact, we all know that the trend is in the opposite direction.

[kurokuro]

02:15 PM on 08/15/2011

Oh god. Death Camp chic? Just buy your clothes some where else like Lane Bryant or something.
Being called fat doesn't sound nice, does it? Nor does being accussed of being sick and malnourished when many people who eat alot, do little exercise, or worry about their weight are this size because they had the luck/misfortune of being born this way.

[TheLibraryOfCodex]

12:57 PM on 08/15/2011

Yes it's shocking

Those inanimate objects need to start eating right.

[Kathleen Shimp]

12:29 AM on 08/15/2011

Based on the scale of the hand at the knee of the mannequin, I'd say the mannequins and I share a frame size, though not presently a clothing size. Not for a long time. Funny thing is, I ate more then than I do now that I'm "voluptuous".

[pattileigh]

08:23 PM on 08/14/2011

If you ride bikes and exercise your calves will be too big for those pants, no matter how thin you are. Can't stand those skinny pants.

[deborahAugusta]

02:03 PM on 08/14/2011

Well, actually my body is like those mannequins (skinny legs and all) and I have never had an eating disorder.

[Carrie Crockett]

01:20 PM on 08/14/2011

i think the mannequins look like normal mannequins and attractive. you no longer see actual anorexics in this country anymore, and personally i think that's a sad indicator. i've been one, and i'd rather see a lot of anorexics than be barraged by the grotesque vision of morbidly obese or even somewhat overweight people. this country can no longer distinguish between a normal weight and underweight and overweight. and only 1% of the population is now anorexic whereas more than half are fat or even obese. i certainly understand the concern about young daughters, having been bulimic myself for many years, but that concern simply doesn't apply anymore. even young girls accept being fat as normal, and it's truly a disgusting sight. i wish people would look at pictures of models and themselves 20 years ago and now and see how awful they really look.

[kimswink]

01:51 PM on 08/14/2011

You clearly still need intense counseling to over your disorder. Your post is scary and heartbreakingly sad. Please get to a therapist who specializes in eating disorders asap because you still have a very long way to go in your recovery. Good luck.

[pattileigh]

08:14 PM on 08/14/2011

You still are one, be careful because anorexic starvation death is ugly.

[mvp019a]

08:51 AM on 08/14/2011

I have friends that live in Europe now, and when they return the 2 things they always comment on are 1) how obese everyone is (and the amount of crap food they eat), and 2) how many drug ads are on TV and how many pills their friends are all taking.

When looking on a dating site, if a female says she's "average" build, that has come to mean size 12-14, when it should be 6-8, maybe 10 at most (depending on frame.)

People in the USA need to be more aware of how FAT they are, not how skinny the mannequins are at a fast fading retailer.

[blevins]

12:26 PM on 08/16/2011

Hye - that's a two way street. Men who have an 'athletic build' always resemble Hoss Cartwright. "A few extra pouds' - Robert Conrad. We are into the absurdities of size zero - what is that? Zero? And yet - many women wear it as a badge of honor. Haggard cadavers if you ask me.

[mvp019a]

10:42 PM on 08/16/2011

Agreed - that's why I said "people" in the last paragraph, but you are right about paunchy guys who have the nerve to criticize overweight females too. I work in a hospital and the level of obesity among most patients is ridiculous.

[Aitch5]

11:54 PM on 08/13/2011

Gap is going down the tubes anyway.

[Connie Markley Boppre]

05:05 AM on 08/16/2011

i don't shop there, but isn't everything sold at the gap made in china ? just like old navy ?

[redsongia]

11:35 PM on 08/13/2011

Still fatter than a hanger.  And who the heck shops at Gap anymore?

[Skyski]

02:41 PM on 08/13/2011

What's the big concern? They sell these jean in the store and you have to be rail thin to wear them. The mannequin is just showing how this would look on a rail thin person. Of course, everyone cannot wear this style. It has nothing to do with being anorexic , this has to do with body type. If you have large to average thighs you will never fit into those ultra skinny jeans, no matter how much weight you lose. But who wants to? This look is totally malnourished.

[pattileigh]

08:25 PM on 08/14/2011

Geeze, you're right, when I was young and weighed 100 lbs still couldn't zip up those knee high boots in the old days. The rest of me was skinny but not the calves! Must have been the bike and horse back riding.

[Kathleen Shimp]

04:57 PM on 08/15/2011

Bone structure, maybe? In college (in the 90s) I rode horses, walked everywhere, and went to the gym, weighed between 95 and 105 usually, had no problem with zipping vintage knee-boots, only with them being too short, but that's another story.
(Note, this isn't meant to say you were "big", just a difference. Heaven knows these days I'm bigger than I ever imagined I'd be back then.)

[Arthur Pendraggin]

03:10 AM on 08/13/2011

Gap's "Death Camp Chic" mannequins -

The image of this is historically HORRIFYING! But no one remebers anyway...(Auschwitz ring a bell?)

[redsongia]

11:36 PM on 08/13/2011

What are you even talking about?  There were no skinny jeans at Auschwitz.

[Kathleen Shimp]

05:01 PM on 08/15/2011

And people were definitely not there looking for modeling contracts!

[xlntcat]

02:50 AM on 08/13/2011

Obesity is now the leading cuase of preventable death around the globe. Sixty-four percent of the U S population is now considered overweight or obese whereas anorexia affects less that 1% of the population. Moreover, from reading comments on this site, Americans can no longer recognize a low normal weight. Anorexia is a serious emotional and mental disorder that has diagnostic criteria for identification not a title to be applied to those who are slim and fit.

[Seaglass]

12:56 PM on 08/13/2011

You obviously don't have young, impressionable daughters.

[xlntcat]

07:09 PM on 08/13/2011

Well, I had intelligent children who could discern the difference between a mannequin and a human by age 3. If I had had highly "impressionable" children then I would have made very, very sure that they were aware the Obesity was the leading cause of preventable death and that was why we did not stock our house with "junk" food (processed food) and made sure that our lives weren't sedentary.

[thalius]

04:45 PM on 08/13/2011

Putting aside dangerous eating disorders, I think some of us have forgotten what a normal body weight looks like.
You walk down the street and you think to yourself what the heck happened?
I can remember a time when it was odd to see so many obese people.

[Kathleen Shimp]

05:04 PM on 08/15/2011

Exactly, but at least I can thank the American public for making sure I don't go over a size Medium no matter how heavy I get. Hooray for vanity sizing.