OCTOBER 2014
15
One Size Fits None
Meet Brandy Melville: the hottest teen retailer with laidback vintage vibes, offering cozy cardigans, chic halters, and edgy graphic tees. The prices are relatively affordable, with shorts as low as $10. While it only spans 18 storefronts in the United States, Brandy has an online store, spreading its influence and style throughout the world. Despite the low prices and relative accessibility, the brand has still been shamed for one more factor.
Critics have been slamming the store for its microdemographic: tiny teens. Occasionally, a size Medium will pop up, but the majority of tops run only in size ‘Small’ or ‘One Size Fits Most’. Their Jada dress comes in only one size, “Fits XSmall/Small” and is approximately 26 inches long, letting the buyer stand only about 5’ feet 3” inches before exposing some major gluteus maximus. Their Taylor leggings come in only one size: “Fits size 002”.
Critics are calling out this teen clothing mecca for what it could possibly do to some girls’ selfesteems. If someone doesn’t fit into the mold, to what extent will they go to try to squeeze in? We’ve seen retailers like Abercrombie & Fitch and Lululemon take hate for their exclusive markets; the latter blatantly admitting that plussized customers don’t fit into their “formula”.
But when companies must deal with rising input costs, specific marketing strategies are the key to profits. Whether stores even have the money to start designing a sewing pattern for the new size, they must find the room in their storefronts and warehouses to place these options. Simply adding an extra self on the Jeans wall is not as easy as it sounds. It’s impossible to have a store that carries every single size of every single woman in the whole entire country. There’s no way any business has the factors of production for that wide of a market. Exclusivity will exist in the business world, no matter what. Granted, Brandy Melville’s one size policy is taking the specific consumer base theory a bit extreme, but it all comes to the same conclusion.
If a store doesn’t carry my size, I will not shop at that store. End of discussion. Every single
brand has a demographic, whether wide or narrow, and I will not take it personally if I don’t fall into that category. In an interest of fairness, if there are ‘plussized’ stores, there should be
stores directed towards the petite, without the blame of “bodyshaming”. Some women are naturally smaller, some women are naturally larger, and there will be a different store for each demographic. I had a best friend that was 5’ 10”, while I stood at a mere 5” 0’. We both accepted that Twinning Tuesday would never be an option; there were simply no stores that offered both of our sizes. But, we didn’t take it personally. We knew this is how our bodies were naturally built, we were both healthy, and there was nothing wrong with this discrepancy. This is not an issue of the business model, this is an issue of the mind.
“We agree that a beautiful healthy life is not measured by the size you wear” said one Lululemon representative on their Facebook page. Every woman, of any size, is gorgeous. But absolutely no business model can cater to the vast range of sizes. If you are one to take offense to specific markets, I highly encourage you to start practicing selflove and body positivity. Embrace your size. If you know in your heart that you are beautiful and healthy, then nothing will be able to crush that.
by Claire Tran