I remember watching "Heat" with an ex-gf (who was definitely hourglass and not pencil thin). There was an actress who played Al Pacino's love interest--she looked like a man! No hips, no shape. I thought she was hideous, but the gf said that was the 'trend' at the time (she could date a movie by the makeup women were wearing, so I'd have to defer to her expertise).
Ick. Pencil-thin is not attractive but then amorphous jelly bellies aren't either.
The 'thin' fad started in the mid-60's with Twiggy,
when most fashion designers were (and still are) gay.
Womens clothes were designed for the ideal young MALE figure-- hipless, wider shouldered etc. Therefore, women had to go against their natural body type to fit into this unrealist ideal. Anorexia sprang up during this time period.
The fashion continues with the only thing different being the stick figure has fake boobs and silicone lips.
I always get a giggle when I hear a younger guy talkin' about how he likes skinny girls--sighting the classic 'boy figure' ideal.
If only he knew the origin of the fashion trend.