Tatjana Patitz in French Elle, March 1989
In the early 90s, I stuck this magazine photo of Tatjana Patitiz on my fridge door because I’d read that having pictures of skinny models in the kitchen would prevent me from snacking. It didn’t work at all. But even despite the negative associations, I still love the image.
This ‘self-loathe your way to skinniness’ advice seems dated now when anyone can idly scroll the #fitspo hashtag on Instagram if they want to feel bad about themselves. God willing that habit will disappear as younger generations of women truly believe in body diversity, not just as a marketing trend. I feel hopeful about this.
Even those purveyors of jet-set anorexia, Victoria’s Secret, are shuttering 250 stores this year (no idea how much of this is due to Covid, but I’ll take it) and they stopped producing their annual fashion shows in 2019 due to declining viewership.
And even though I never got skinny enough to wear a bandage dress, I still think Patitz looks great in this picture. My love of 90s supermodels will never die, and in that one way, I’m still the same person who tacked up that photo.