Spain clothiers to modify fashion sizes

Standardized sizing, yes. But promoting the "social reality of a community"? Sounds like a very slippery slope.

"MADRID, Spain -- Spain's government has reached an agreement with major fashion designers, including the owner of the Zara chain, to standardize women's clothing sizes with the aim of promoting a healthier image. Designers such as Cortefiel, Mango, El Corte Ingles and Inditex, which owns Zara, agreed to take part in the program, which was announced Tuesday.

The program, designed by the Health Ministry, will also prevent those companies from using window displays featuring clothes smaller than a European size 38 (10 in Britain, 8 in the United States). They will have five years to phase in the change.

'It is not reasonable for a modern and advanced society to establish stereotypes of beauty that are far removed from the social reality of a community. It is everyone's commitment that beauty and health go hand in hand,' Health Minister Elena Salgado said at a signing ceremony Tuesday."