Be it a female fashion model or an ordinary woman, there has been a significant change in their figures over the period of time. From a few decades back to the present, there has been a trend towards slimness as far as women's figures are concerned. Beauty standard is something that has fluctuated greatly over the period of time. In the medieval Europe, overweight women were fancied. If one looks at the pieces of art created in those times, it is pretty obvious that obesity was a preferred feature in a woman's figure.During the Victorian era, it was considered ideal for a woman to be plump and full-figured hence; corsets were a widely used clothing item. At the beginning of the 1900s, slenderness started to be considered as more fashionable, and women started showing interest in athletics. It was the time when body weight started to be of high concern to the physicians. Women of this time were not ordinarily tall.By the 1920s, the hourglass figure of the Victorian era gave way to the thin flapper and women achieved a washboard profile. During the World War I, an entirely different dimension of women's figures evolved. This was mainly because of the active lifestyle of women during the war. Characteristics like energy and vitality were considered to be ideal and obesity meant inefficiency, and was considered as a sign of self-indulgence.In the 1950s, voluptuous and thin women were considered as ideal. By the beginning of the 1960s, slenderness had started to be considered as the most important indicator of charisma. The women of this time weighed much less than those of a decade before. As the years passed, women started getting more conscious about their diet and weight, and they preferred slenderness to an hourglass full figure.By 1975, while an ordinary woman had an average figure, the models weighed much lesser. This was the time when women started getting introduced to modelling, and they became very conscious about their figures. With the passage of time, the female models became only thinner than the average women.Between the 1960s and 1980s, there was a lot of trend towards slimness, and it was considered attractive and promoted on a massive level. By the 1980s, women moved towards working out and exercising, to keep their bodies fit and toned. This was the time when a fit and toned yet, slim body was considered beautiful. The women, who were conscious about their diet, enough to maintain a fit look, now started exercising, which lead to an obvious change in their lifestyles from that of a few years ago.As the years advanced, artificial methods of changing and maintaining the body shape became popular. Celebrities and models started getting treatments for making their bodies look more beautiful and attractive. In the 1990s, women were back to being voluptuous. With the passage of time, the trend has again moved towards slenderness, and now, size zero is something that is the most prevalent in the world of modelling. Even the ordinary women want to remain slim, and consider the hourglass figure as more attractive.