Rachel Zoe displayed her extraordinarily lean figure in a plunging gown when she appeared at a public event in the Hamptons this week.The 54-year-old’s weight has been a subject of fevered speculation since she first entered the public eye as one of the most coveted Hollywood stylists of the 2000s.A 2009 episode of her reality show The Rachel Zoe Project centered on her disquiet at the criticism of her ‘pin thin’ physique, with one memorable scene showing her foregoing a backless dress for a party because her vertebrae were visible.Now, with her TV comeback on The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, Zoe has seen her petite frame fall under blistering scrutiny yet again.Last month, she posted images of herself in profile that attracted online remarks like: ‘Yikes! She looks very thin. I hope she is okay and healthy. Best wishes to her.’She was unlikely to quell the conjecture when she attended her Hamptons magazine cover launch Tuesday in a low-cut frock that bared her protruding chest bones.The Daily Mail has contacted Zoe’s representative for comment. Rachel Zoe displayed her extraordinarily lean figure and protruding chest bones in a plunging gown when she appeared at the launch of her Hamptons magazine cover this week She was seen posing Tuesday at the event, which was held at the Hedges Inn in East Hampton, the town immortalized in the documentary The Beales of Grey GardensWhen she posted Insta Stories last month that showed her astonishingly slender build, one Redditor claimed: ‘Seeing this I actually gasped.’Scandalized remarks poured in, such as: ‘My God, I really hope she gets some help. It’s devastating to see this,’ and: ‘Wow! I hope that’s photoshopped.’Zoe mounted her grand return to reality TV a few months ago on the latest season of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, where she frankly discussed her fraught divorce from her husband of 26 years, Rodger Berman.Fan rumors about her figure date back to her heyday as a stylist, when she selected outfits for many of the top-flight names of the 1990s and 2000s.Her clientele included Lindsay Lohan, Paris Hilton, Britney Spears, Anne Hathaway, Cameron Diaz, Eva Mendes, Kate Hudson, Mischa Barton, Jennifer Garner, Keira Knightley and even the Backstreet Boys on tour.The weight chatter reached a crescendo in 2006 when Zoe had a highly publicized falling out with her ex-client Nicole Richie, with whom she has since mended fences.When their feud erupted, Richie posted a ‘blind item’ to MySpace that read: ‘What 35 year old raisin face whispers her order of 3 peices of asparagus for dinner at Chateau everynight, and hides her deathly disorder by pointing the finger at me, and used her last paycheck I wrote her to pay for a publisist instead of a nutritionist?’In response to an inquiry about the post, Zoe retorted: ‘That’s kind of below the belt. I just need to rise above it and let it go,’ via W. When she posted Insta Stories last month that showed her astonishingly slender build, one Redditor claimed: ‘Seeing this I actually gasped’ During the late 2000s, she expressed astonishment at having become a scapegoat for the fashion industry’s fixation on staying in trim; pictured this June The 54-year-old’s weight has been a subject of fevered speculation since she first entered the public eye as one of the most coveted Hollywood stylists of the 2000s; pictured 2007 A 2009 episode of her reality show The Rachel Zoe Project centered on her disquiet at the criticism of her ‘pin thin’ physique; she is pictured ona diffrent episode of the series Now, with her TV comeback on The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills , Zoe has seen her petite frame fall under blistering scrutiny yet again; pictured in March Join the discussionShould celebrities be held responsible for how their body image influences public attitudes about health?What’s your view?’My teenage drama years were a long time ago, and I certainly don’t want to relive them. I’m 35, and I just don’t want the drama. I’m tired.’On the subject of her own food intake, Zoe acknowledged: ‘I’m not going to lie. I don’t eat like a pig. I don’t diet per se, but I’m one of those people that, when I’m under a lot of stress, I have to remind myself to eat.’She maintained: ‘You’re not going to see me eating crap and junk food, because it doesn’t make me feel good. But I eat tons of fish and vegetables. And I would never in a billion years tell anyone to lose weight. Ever.’Repudiating another rumor about her backstage habits, Zoe scoffed: ‘There was something that came out about me giving horse pills or diet pills from Mexico to my clients. Anyone who knows me, they laugh. I’m so drug clueless. If I can get through a glass and a half of wine in a night, that’s a momentous occasion.’During the late 2000s, she expressed astonishment at having become a scapegoat for the fashion industry’s fixation on staying in trim.’We’ve had Audrey Hepburn, we’ve had Twiggy, we’ve had Veruschka, we’ve had Kate Moss. I’m trying to figure out why I am to blame for skinniness,’ she said.’I don’t have one client right now who is a size 0. All of my clients have athletic or curvy, healthy bodies,’ Zoe maintained to Harper’s Bazaar.When the conversation turned to her own diet, however, she confessed to skipping lunch, which she regarded as ‘a lull in the day,’ and shared that ‘when it’s me working on my own, it’s 7:00pm, and I’ve had coffee and a grapefruit.’