ONE SIZE or ONE SIZE FITS ALL: the dreaded size I hate to see. It is unreasonable that certain brand owners set standards of the ‘average size’ specifically women should be. They do this by limiting us to only one size option at certain stores. By limiting brands like Brandy Melville, SoHo, and Don’t Ask Why, to a single size option, they are lowering people’s self esteems and being unrealistic about people’s various body sizes. The only thing I see for-coming as a result of single sizing are eating disorders and insecurities. 

The single sizes are typically extremely small, and fit only people with little to no curves. These clothes generally only fit the smallest of  proportions, and rarely fit anyone a size 4 or above. The average woman is a size 16, with 68 percent of women are a size 16 or higher. So why are these companies making clothes so small, and not having any other size options?

Brandy Melville, a well known ONE SIZE clothing store, was created by a man and his son, Silvio and Stephan Marsan. Leave it to two men to decide that specific unreasonable sizes should be able to fit everyone. And, even if the clothes are not made to fit everyone, why aren’t there more sizes, and why are they marketing to all sizes yet not being feasible for all bodies? The only thing I foresee coming from that is making people feel bad by putting ridiculous standards on them.

A comparative store to Brandy, Urban Outfitters, is annually raising their growth rate significantly. This past year, Urban has a total of 4.1 billion dollars of revenue. In comparison, Brandy only has a total of 125 million dollars in revenue this year. Brandy Melville’s store compound annual growth rate is higher; however with the way our world is changing, it is subject to change.

The way society is evolving, size inclusivity and body positivity has become more prominent, and seems to be the way of the future. With these developments, how can Brandy Melville proceed to be successful when so many people disagree with their sizing and being very exclusive to what they accept as a person deserving to wear their clothes.

I think ONE SIZE is shameful marketing because young girls are going to think that this specific size is the size they should be, and if the clothes do not fit, it is their fault and not that of the store itself. This is frightening, and could not be further from the truth. Furthermore, who is deciding what this ideal body should be, and why is petite the size they decided?

Furthermore, stores like Brandy, are leaving their customers insecure and not beautiful. They may be focused on the one size fits all system, however it does not fit all, not even most. If their clothes barely fit 1/4 of the population, how does this company plan to thrive? Even their customers, when they get older and larger, may not be able to fit in this attire. By doing this they are trying to make people self-conscious. What is the goal of the company if they are only providing specific sizes? The goal of clothing companies be making people feel confident and beautiful. They are not marketing to specific sizes, like a ‘Plus Size’ clothing store; they are marketed to all people, especially teenagers but only catering to the stores ‘ideal body’. 

This also bothers me because no body is the same and it cannot be assumed that certain clothing will fit people of completely different shapes. For example, Loft carries sizes 00 to 26, and their goal is to “We believe in offering versatile, accessible and affordable fashion with undeniably feminine appeal, special and unexpected details and a great fit.” They want their customers to feel beautiful and comfortable, which appears to be different than a lot of ONE SIZE FITS ALL stores, which choose specific body types as optimal. And Loft is not the only one, several stores have been choosing to have more inclusive. The ONE SIZE clothing stores should be able to open up their sizings too.

I have so many questions for the creators of these companies, and all I can wonder is why: why is subjective sizing the route you chose for sales, and why have you chosen to make people feel unworthy and insecure, although it may be indirectly, it hurts nonetheless.