Brandy Melville is an international chain clothing store that has taken the world by a storm and found its way into many teenage girls’ closets. It’s inexpensive and has all of the current fashion trends, which explains why many girls are obsessed with the store. But if you take a step back, you’ll recognize that Brandy Melville only caters to a certain type of person: skinny girls who can fit into a size extra-small or small. The sad reality for many girls wanting to wear Brandy Melville is that the company simply doesn’t want them wearing their clothes.
One-size-fits-all can be deceiving. This size is typically used to promote inclusivity. But how can something that is meant to fit all sizes, even though only people that have a smaller and slimmer physique can actually fit into it, actually fit anyone? Previous shopper, Stephanie Kauffman, says “It’s pretty simple, it can’t”. She believes that “ it prevents people that don’t fit the company’s “standards” of their one-size-fits-all from wearing their clothes. In reality their clothes are really just for some, not all.”
Brandy Melville only sells one-size-fits-all clothing. Their clothes are only catered to fit people that the company considers “capable enough” based on their body type.
. According to The National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders (ANAD) “9% of the U.S population”, or 28.8 million Americans, will have an eating disorder in their lifetime.” Brandy Melville has a negative impact on our society where the slim and skinny are praised, and body image is such a prevalent issue. According to the NYT, “…young women weighing themselves and breathlessly calculating when they would lose enough weight to fit into the brand’s crop tops and 24-inch jeans.” They are contributing to the fatphobic ideals in society that skinny equals beauty.
The company promotes this idea because their clothes are only meant for the smaller, petite, and skinnier girls that are only a small fraction in the world’s population.
The company sets its intentions straight by only having models that fit their ideal look. Popsugar further explained this when writing “The models on its Instagram seem to confirm it, with pictures of thin models across the board and no diverse body types of any kind.”
Brandy Melville will have to make adjustments and changes to become inclusive to the large population of the world that doesn’t fit into a size extra-small or a small. It will be important to ensure the company is held accountable in the future and that this issue doesn’t slip away.
Written by Mia Kauffman of Quince Orchard High School
Photo by Cristina Arias via Getty Images
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