Brandy Melville.

If you’re a teenage girl with an Instagram account you’ve probably seen this up and coming clothing label’s skinny representatives modeling their simply chic clothing. The Italian store came to America only five years ago, but has since gained a loyal following of size 00-2 girls, a demographic that would appear limiting. Despite their exclusive customer base, the label has blown up, stirring controversy among consumers everywhere.

So Brandy Melville sells clothes made for smaller girls. Plus size stores do the same thing for larger girls. What’s the problem? Of course, the most common argument against the store is that many teenage girls are insecure about their body image and not being able to fit into a popular label could increase this insecurity, but I don’t know that we give teenage girls enough credit.

The modern mantra in fashion these days is to shelter young girls from any possible form of body discrimination. In reality we should be teaching them to have the confidence to be able to look at a store like Brandy Melville and acknowledge that they will not shop there because the clothes are not made to fit their body type, just as a smaller girl would choose not to shop at a plus size store.

Brandy Melville’s fault is not in the sizes they offer but in their marketing strategy. Selling to a designated demographic is common amongst just about every clothing store. The issue is the way it is presented, putting out tags with the label “one size fits most,” promoting the idea that a large majority of the American population should fit into sizes 00-2, when average health standards argue otherwise. Just as plus size stores do not advertise that their clothing should fit the majority of the population, Brandy Melville should follow suit. Making modifications to the way in which they present their products could take Melville from a controversial, discriminatory franchise, to just another shop in the mall.

So, if you like Brandy Melville clothing, it fits your style, your size, and makes you feel comfortable and confident, go for it, get that super cute sweater. And if Brandy Melville is simply not the place for you, you have at least a hundred other stores from which to choose.

Stay confident,

Abby