As a fashion-centered campus, I’m sure many students continue to stay up to date on the nuances of the “one size fits all” trend that is continuously displayed by large corporations. 

Stores like Brandy Melville cater its apparel to young girls, usually around the age of 13 or 14, with the message that these are the kinds of clothes older teenagers wear. Then, when prepubescent teens grow into their normal, age-appropriate, bodies, they begin to wonder why they can no longer fit into their favorite brand. 

The TikTok account, @offtrendhq restates this point in one of its interviews. The girl being interviewed states, “you first start shopping at Brandy when you’re like 13…you grow naturally, especially as a teenager, then notice that the clothes no longer fit.” This seems to be common given the majority of comments on the video expressed similar experiences. 

It is normal to grow and change as a teenager, but not being inclusive in sizing as a brand leads teenagers to have a warped view of their body and is often a catalyst for body dysmorphia and even eating disorders. 

Having only one size doesn’t just present the problem of not being able to fit into clothes because they are too small, but some people can’t wear Brandy because their clothes are too large.

When Brandy Melville’s “one size fits all” began to receive large amounts of critique under the public eye, they decided to up their sizes, or rather, size. Not by a great amount, mind you. They went from standardly carrying an XS to standardly carrying a Small. While this change seemed to be going in the right direction, it created a whole new set of problems for the brand.

Naturally petite and smaller people who turned to Brandy Melville as a safe haven for clothes that wouldn’t look oversized and shaped their figure well now had a harder time finding pants and tops that fit. 

On one end their clothes are too small, on another their clothes are too baggy.

I know this may be a complicated concept for Brandy Melville executives to grasp, but the simplest solution to their problem would just be to add multiple sizes that fit numerous different body types.

It’s 2023, and the fact a brand that only caters to one type of body still dominates the market is beyond disappointing. “One size fits all” needs to be done away within the fashion industry.

Hannah Bulgrin is an opinion writer. Contact her at [email protected]