After the overwhelmingly positive reaction to the nude photo of plus-size model Lizzie Miller that Glamour ran in its September issue, the magazine has decided to feature more plus-size models in the November issue.

Showcasing female bodies that are beautiful at every size, the plus size models featured in the story are confident, sexy and unconcerned about a bulging belly (muffin top). In fact, many commenter’s on Glamour’s picture of Lizzie Miller felt that, given her actual size, the term “plus” shouldn’t apply. At 5’11” and 180 pounds, Miller, who exercises and eats a balanced diet, is “just barely overweight, according to her BMI.

Plus-size models aren’t all that “plus.” The most popular American dress size, a 14, is rarely found in high-end designer fashion with sizes often topping at 10 or 12. “At most modeling agencies, any girl larger than a size 4 might have trouble getting work because she won’t fit the clothes, and over a size 6 she might be moved to the plus division,” says Glamour senior bookings editor Jennifer Koehler. “There’s a shortage of truly plus-size girls to choose from, and every other week I’m e-mailing the agencies asking, ‘Do you have any new size 16s?’” Often the answer is no, she says, because there still isn’t enough work to employ them.

Brands such as Michael Michael Kors, Isaac Mizrahi for Liz Claiborne and Baby Phat are among the few who do offer apparel in sizes larger than 14. Considering designer samples made by the manufacturer usually fit a woman size zero to 4, it causes a conundrum for larger models when it comes to fashion shoots. When Glamour uses models and celebrities who are larger than sample-size, getting of-the-moment fashion for them “can be a challenge,” says Maggie Mann, senior fashion editor. “We’ll have a tailor standing by, doing alterations and opening up seams. And we might buy clothes off the rack if we can find something that’ll be available months later when the issue comes out.”

In June, Alexandra Shulman, editor-in-chief of British Vogue, wrote a letter to top designers, begging for reform. “We have now reached the point where many of the sample sizes don’t comfortably fit even the established star models,” read a portion of her memo, quoted in The Times of London. She charged that designers were forcing magazines to hire models with “jutting bones and no breasts or hips.”

Going forward, Glamour pledges the following in their pages going forward:

• A continued commitment to showing a wide range of body types—and, of course, racial diversity—in our pages, including fashion and beauty stories.
• A promise to give the best plus models not just work, but the same great work straight-size models get, partnering with top photographers, stylists and makeup artists. Because a generous helping of fantasy, in our view, is fabulous—as long as it’s extended to women of all sizes.
• An ongoing celebration of the so-called imperfections, from nose bumps to gap teeth smiles that make us all unique.
• Enthusiastic support for any designer who manufactures chic clothes we can photograph on full-bodied models. Isn’t it time for changes like these? Reality, after all, is everywhere. On Twitter, Demi Moore tweets matter-of-factly about her body: “I still have excess skin & stretch marks!” And then, “Comes with having a few kids 4 some of us!” Scott Schuman, a.k.a. the Sartorialist, has attracted a cult following by photographing real people with great style—and quirks. Crystal Renn has written a fascinating new memoir about her transition from an anorexic straight-size model to a healthy, exuberant and very successful plus-size model. And Jeffrey Buchman, professor of advertising and marketing communications at the Fashion Institute of Technology, notes that Renn and plus-size model Johanna Dray have shown up on runways at Jean Paul Gaultier and John Galliano, respectively. “Art leads social change, and high fashion is art,” says Buchman. “So these are not frivolous choices; they are clarion calls.”