FASHION NEWS AND REVIEWS

• Magazine swamped with letters of support
• Showed un-airbrushed plus-size model
• Now planning whole issue on body image

THEY'VE been dubbed the "wobbly bits that shook the world", inspiring women to learn to love their "love handles".

The US glossy magazine Glamour is usually the domain of waif-thin models in impossibly sized clothes.

But when an un-airbrushed photo of plus-size pin-up Lizzie Miller appeared in its pages, far from being swamped by protests readers inundated the editor with support, The Daily Telegraph reports.

Hundreds of fans flooded the magazine's website with appreciative comments like: "I love this picture. I was starting to despair of ever seeing real women in magazines and it made me reassess how I look at myself. I have a similar tummy, which I hate - but look at her, she's beautiful."

Now the magazine is planning an entire edition dedicated to the improved body image issue.

Despite the overwhelmingly positive response, Ms Miller has admitted that seeing her small roll of flesh in the magazine made her cringe.

"I'm just like every girl or person with insecurities," the 20-year-old said. "You zone in on the (worst) part. Let's just say you're your own worst critic."

Ms Miller said the image had been shot for a feature that appeared in April but was printed last month, to her surprise.

"Honestly, the editor chose that picture not because she was zoned in to a certain part of my body but the picture as a whole really captures me in a moment of feeling comfortable and sexy and happy," Ms Miller said.

Sydney has already been swept up with the boom for the fuller-figured in fashion.

Big Gals Models agent Darrianne Donnelly said the move to embrace plus-size models and all body shapes had finally started to reflect the reality of body types in the community.

Her stable of size 12 and over stars was featured in an extraordinary plus-size catwalk show at the recent Rosemount Fashion Festival and welcomed with hoots and hollering from the audience.

"It's gone ballistic (since the show). We've been here for 13 years but the rest of the fashion industry has finally caught up," Ms Donnelly said.

This year Alexandra Shulman, the editor of British Vogue, made headlines when she criticized designers for encouraging size 0 models by sending only tiny clothes for fashion shoots.