Yay, for common sense

Australian Fashion Week has axed under-age Polish model, Monika Jagaciak from the cat walk.

Better yet, Vogue magazine has decided not to show the 14-year-old on the cover and fashion magazine Marie Claire has called for a minimum age of 16 for all models.

The Editor of Vogue, Kirsty Clements said that Jagaciak's case is symptomatic of a sick fashion system. "I mean there's the obvious sexualisation of very young girls ... but also the reason that they are using them so young because they haven't actually developed women's bodies yet. And that is a whole other part of the business that's a problem," Clements said.

As Ms Clements pointed out, the fashion industry is built around selling clothes to women and to use a girl who's yet to develop curves is ridiculous.

I agree. For too long the fashion industry has promoted the ultimate woman as flat-chested and stick thin when the truth is a long way from that. The average woman has a lot more curves than ruler and to suggest otherwise is a lie.

Worse, it encourages young girls to try to conform to such a image resulting in chronic eating disorders. That's not to say that all models contribute to the problem, but look how popular (from an Australian point of view) Elle McPherson and Megan Gale have been. And I understand that some models are just genetically built to be skinny as a piece of gum. But for the industry to tell the rest of the world they are ideal is wrong on so many levels.

I hope the industry days of wanting women with the shape of adolescent boys is over. I also hope that a pretty girl like Monika Jagaciak has a long and successful career, but not before she's ready, and not before she develops some womanly curves.

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And in another cheer for common sense, giant confectionery company, Cadbury-Schweppes, has lost a court case it brought against confectioners Darrell Lea to stop them from using the colour purple.

Justice Peter Heerey ruled Cadbury was not the only company that used the colour purple to market its chocolate.

Buying chocolate would be a drab affair indeed if all chocolatiers were banned from using purple, I think.