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The future of fashion: models of all shapes, sizes, heights, races, and abilities.

We often have discussions about how we need to see more "real women" in fashion, media, and advertising.

But what exactly is a "real woman?"

A real woman is any living, breathing human who identifies as a woman.


Real women are tall, short — and everything in between. Real women are slender, curvy, and plus-size — and everything in between. Real women are all different races and ethnicities. Real women are assigned female at birth and transgender. Real women have different abilities and disabilities.

When we talk about wanting to see "real women" reflected back to us and when we say we want clothing available for real women of all sizes, we're simply asking for more variety.

Because the 5'10", 120-pound, size 0 model? She's most certainly real too. She's just not the only kind of real.

Fashion designer and business owner Mallorie Dunn is here for real women — all of them.

Mallorie Dunn. All photos provided by Mallorie Dunn, used with permission.

She created the fashion line SmartGlamour, which she describes as a "body positive clothing line of customizable, ethically-made pieces from XXS to 6X and beyond."

And on Feb. 19, she hosted a runway show during New York Fashion Week unlike anything the fashion world is used to seeing.

The SmartGlamour fashion show was an amazing display of real women rocking Dunn's designs.

It featured 24 models, from sizes XS to 5X, who walked the runway in front of a completely packed room.

Dunn's models, she told Upworthy, come in all sizes, shapes, heights, weights, ages, abilities, and identities. It seems that she definitely has real women covered.

The brand is about creating clothing for all women.

While Dunn has always loved designing and making clothes, she told me the most important reason she created SmartGlamour "was to help fix how badly people, and women specifically, feel about themselves and their bodies."

Dunn explained that when we feel bad about ourselves because of the fashion industry, it's often a two-part problem.

First, it's hard to find clothes that fit well and when we don't have luck, it can wear on our self-esteem. Second, she said, "Models depict 5% of people. That leaves 95% of people feeing like they have no representation, looking around thinking, 'If don’t look like these people, clearly there’s something wrong with me.'"

While it might feel that way, it's just not true. And Dunn is doing her part to change that.

She offers customizable clothing and selects models for her website and shows that are diverse in every way. By giving women options and showing them women they can relate to, "you can really change the way people feel about themselves," Dunn added.

Take a look at more of the women who walked the runway in SmartGlamour's spring show:

The show was a hit, but are times really changing?

I asked Dunn whether she thinks we'll see big changes in the fashion and advertising industries given that there have been steps in the right direction (like the first plus-size model appearing on the cover of Sports Illustrated).

"We've seen small baby steps so far. It can only continue to get better," Dunn said. When it comes to large companies, "There's no reason for them not to do it. I’m one person and I fund my own company. I seem to be able to do it. If one person can do it, I don’t see why giant companies can’t!"

Excellent point. Your move, fashion industry!

@penslucero/TikTok

Pency Lucero taking in the Northern Lights

Seeing the northern lights is a common bucket list adventure for many people. After all, it ticks a lot of boxes—being a dazzling light show, rich historical experience and scientific phenomenon all rolled into one. Plus there’s the uncertainty of it all, never quite knowing if you’ll witness a vivid streak of otherworldly colors dance across the sky…or simply see an oddly colored cloud. It’s nature’s slot machine, if you will.

Traveler and content creator Pency Lucero was willing to take that gamble. After thorough research, she stumbled upon an Airbnb in Rörbäck, Sweden with an actual picture of the northern lights shining above the cabin in the listing. With that kind of photo evidence, she felt good about her odds.

However, as soon as she landed, snow began falling so hard that the entire sky was “barely visible,” she told Upworthy. Martin, the Airbnb host, was nonetheless determined to do everything he could to ensure his guests got to see the spectacle, even offering to wake Lucero up in the middle of the night if he saw anything.

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Pop Culture

Daughter shares incredible 3D optical illusions painted by her father, who has aphasia

David Hollowell suffered from a traumatic brain injury in 2021, losing his ability to speak. Remarkably, he is still able to express himself through art.

@david.hollowell/TikTok

David Hollowell pictured with his 3D art

For a little over three decades, David Hollowell’s professional life had been dedicated to art. In addition to working as an art professor, his highly acclaimed 3D illusion paintings were shown in prestigious exhibits. In 2018, the 71-year-old began taking his talents to a larger scale, turning his family barn into an immersive mural.

Then, in May of 2021, Hollowell fell off the roof of his home, resulting in a traumatic brain injury leading to aphasia, a disorder that affects a person’s ability to communicate through speech or written language.

Though Hollowell couldn’t access words the way he used to, his ability to paint detailed, mesmerizing images remained remarkably intact. And his daughter-slash-self-appointed-TikTok manager, Adrienne, is determined to share his work and his journey with as many people as possible.

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via YouTube

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An Australian woman thinks it's rude that Americans don't say, "You're welcome."

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Recently, Australian TikTok user Tilly Hokianga vented her frustrations with Americans in a viral post entitled, “Things That Send Me as an Australian Living in the US.” A lot of the points she made were pretty typical for someone visiting the United States, such as there's too much sugar in the bread and too many options for cereal.

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Meteorologist Matt Laubham prays for the people in the path of a deadly tornado.

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Such was the case for WTVA meteorologist Matt Laubhan, who found himself live on the air staring at a radar scan of a deadly tornado as it moved towards the small town of Amory, Mississippi. He, more than anyone, understood the severity of the situation, and he did his best to convey that to his viewers.

"This is a strong, life-threatening tornado that's going to move either extremely close to Amory or in through the northern part of the city of Amory."

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Rick Astley rocking his Foo Fighters 'Everlong' cover.

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(For those who are unfamiliar, Rickrolling is when you make someone think they're being sent to a website, but the link goes to Rick Astley's "Never Gonna Give You Up" video instead as a joke. It's a silly viral bait-and-switch gag that's been going since 2006.)

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