Women come in all wonderful shapes and sizes, and this is in no way an attempt to skinny shame actress Keira Knightley, who I think is a stunning girl. BUT. Did you see the crazy Chanel dress she wore to the Chanel show at Paris Fashion Week? From the chest up, it's fantastic -- a ladylike black and white shell with sweet short sleeves and an adorable bow-tie collar. From the hips down, it's also a great, classic dress -- white with black piping along the bottom hem.
But what the heck is going on around her waist? Or, should I say, her lack of a waist?
Keira's dress features an extremely cinched waist -- like the kind last seen on an 1800s ball gown -- and a color blocking optical illusion that makes it appear as if she has the waistline of a 5-year-old child:
Look, we know Keira is naturally a very slim person. But this isn't about her body type -- it's about that dress. It's very avant-garde, for sure, which may be what she was going for. It's designed to create the illusion of a barely there midsection. But it gives Keira the look of an extraterrestrial who has just landed on Earth to join a circus. It defies nature. And am I the only one who thinks it's slightly unattractive?
It's one thing to show off a slim waistline -- quite another to take an already slim waistline and dress it in a way that narrows it down until it's practically invisible.
Let's hope Chanel isn't championing a return to the days of tight corsets. A naturally slim waistline is always going to be desirable, but it should still look natural.
What do you think of Keira's dress -- do you love or hate it?
Photo via Foc Kan/Getty