Cellulite, stretch marks, saggy bums… for celebrities, keeping it real has never been more in vogue
IF you’ve got it flaunt it – and if you haven’t got it, even more reason to flaunt it.
So say an increasing number of celebrities who just can’t stop showing off their “imperfections” on social media.
Ex-Vogue editor Alexandra Shulman is the latest famous face to jump on the bandwagon, posting a candid bikini snap on Instagram this week.
Having spent 25 years on a publication that would rarely feature a bikini model who was not rake-thin and bronzed to perfection, Alexandra’s picture predictably attracted plenty of attention — and more than 5,000 likes.
Fans piled in to gush about how “gorgeous”, “refreshing” and “brave” the 59-year-old was, with many hailing her a role model and hero.
With comments like those, it is not hard to see the appeal in proudly showcasing your wobbly bits.
In fact, many famous folk have found that letting it all hang out can get even more love than a flawlessly filtered selfie.
Whether it is Little Mix’s Perrie Edwards showing a scar that is her “biggest body hang-up” or Loose Women’s Stacey Solomon boasting about her stretch marks, it seems that keeping it real has never been more in, er, vogue.
Some might say that it is a little self-obsessed to show off every inch of yourself, warts and all.
But no, apparently this kind of posing is “inspiring”.
Footballer’s wife Rebekah Vardy, Hollyoaks’ Jennifer Metcalfe and TV presenter Saira Khan have all got in on the act.
But the concept can be traced back to Dove’s Campaign For Real Beauty in 2004.
The personal hygiene brand used the idea that it is brave to flaunt your less-than-perfect body by featuring women with diverse shapes in its adverts.
Suddenly, if you wanted to be a “real woman”, you had to be proud of your flaws.
Now in the age of Instagram, the “real woman” brigade are out in force.
Body confidence warriors, led by American actress Lena Dunham, are fighting back against the filtered and cleverly posed pictures that dominate social networks.
What better way to show how down-to-earth you are than by throwing in a less-than-perfect “realfie” among your exotic holiday photos and perfectly groomed magazine shoots.
Take Davina McCall. She has made a fortune flogging exercise DVDs and recipe books to women who want a fit and fabulous body like hers.
But even she could not help “revealing” a previously unnoticed imperfection.
Alongside a picture of her daughter gripping her belly, she wrote: “After three kids, my tummy looks like a sharpei puppy . . . My daughter is holding it . . . it’s one of her fave things . . . my rolls . . . she’s helped me love them too.”
No matter that she is bending in such a way that would give even a washboard a wrinkle, Davina is just like you and me!
Stacey Solomon also decided to become a holiday hero last weekend, posting a video of herself in a bikini explaining why she loved her “muffin top” and “saggy boobs”.
To much applause, she told her followers: “You’re all perfectly imperfect and unique and beautiful.”
But was referring to parts of her classic hourglass figure as “society-labelled imperfections” really helpful or just a little bit “me, me, me” — the old humblebrag?
When it comes to celebrities, the word “real” is up for debate.
Just like those who post #nomakeupselfies that are not actually that fresh-faced, some stars will make a song and dance about how “honest” they are without quite telling the full story.
Last year Towie’s Jess Wright took to Instagram to show how she “really” looked in a bikini after trolls attacked her for putting on weight.
In the carefully posed video, which she captioned “REAL, UNEDITED, NORMAL EVERY DAY LIGHTING and this is ME, flaws and all”, she managed to look better than she did in most magazine shots.