An Open Letter to Brandy Melville
I have a beef with you. If I’m being honest, I think you suck. Sure, some of your clothes are cute and probably comfortable, but I abhor what you stand for. You represent the opposite of everything I work on daily with teenage girls in my office. You body-shame young girls and as a mom and a psychotherapist, I want to shame you back.
You have created a market for young girls. Some love your clothes but many just love your name. It’s cool to wear Brandy Melville and you have become a household name. Girls want to include Brandy in their wardrobe and wearing you makes them feel fashionable. In my opinion, you have a chance to help young people embrace their bodies during a fragile time in their life. You have an opportunity to teach them self-acceptance, body peace and self- love. Sadly, you have failed.
Let me share my experience with you. Last week my healthy, athletic teenage daughter was over the moon excited to go shop in your San Francisco store. She was ready to spend all her birthday money on your little tee shirts and patterned miniskirts. Your store wasn’t just a place we stumbled upon; it was a destination. Ten minutes into trying on the clothes she had grabbed with excitement and enthusiasm, she was in tears. Big tears. You see, your crappy “one size fits all” philosophy is a joke and she was painfully reminded that.
The world is not one size. Everyone is different. Shouldn’t we celebrate that? Shouldn’t we encourage diversity and be happy everyone has a different shape? Shouldn’t we remind young girls of the world that beauty comes in all sizes and “one size fits all” isn’t realistic? Shouldn’t we encourage them to embrace their bodies and focus on being healthy, not skinny? Yes, the world is not one size, thank God.
Watching my daughter feel bad about herself and her beautiful body made me sad at first. I reminded her she was perfect, just the way she is. I told her that your clothes are not built for everyone and because she has a cute figure (hello boobs and a butt), your itty-bitty apparel isn’t made for her. But, the more I thought about it the angrier I got. My daughter is darling, and I would not change a thing about her. Your clothes, however, made her feel “too big” which is comical because she wears a size 4 at other stores. I’m furious that you planted a seed of doubt in her mind and caused her to look negatively on her body. In an age where we, as parents, combat the pitfalls and landmines of social media, the last thing we need are more reminders that cause them to think there is something wrong with the way God made them. Your store epitomizes what’s wrong with society today and emphasizes the harmful message to young women that we all need to be one size, small.
Why don’t you do teenage girls a favor and change your philosophy to “One size fits small”. Just be honest about your clothes. Save the average teenage girl the time and trouble to not put themselves in a position that makes them feel large, fat, or chubby (which they aren’t!) by stepping into your dressing rooms. Save us mom’s the heartache of seeing our precious daughters feel terrible about themselves by simply stating what you are: cute clothes for small people. Save our sweet girls from receiving the wrong message about themselves and their bodies by being truthful about your clothes and admitting that one size does not fit all, or even most. Save us by simply being truthful.
I dried my daughters’ tears, gave her a hug, and left your store empty-handed. We will not be back. And while I’m sure you won’t miss us, we will definitely not miss you either. You are the antithesis of what I believe in my core and I’m grateful my daughter wanted to go thrifting after our painful experience at your store. Finding hidden treasures was far more fun than feeling demoralized and body shamed.
Thanks for reminding us that one size does not fit all (or even most!!) and one store does not define who we are. What makes us different makes us beautiful and we need to raise young girls up, not knock them down because they can’t squeeze into a skirt sized for a toddler.
Body acceptance and body peace are a beautiful concept, you might want to do some research and reconsider your philosophy. Use your platform to help young girls appreciate their differences and embrace all body types. We are all meant to be uniquely different in our personalities, styles, choices, and body types. Life is not one-size-fits-all and neither are people.
Respectfully,
A Mom Who Loves Her Daughter
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Amen…Very well written. I know you are aware how passionate I am about this subject. Alyssa spearheaded the campaign at Vista! Your daughter is beautiful. So wonderful you were able to turn your day into a happy one.
This has got to be my all time favorite that you’ve ever written. I’ve had EXACTLY the same experience with my own daughter. As usual you helped put words to my thoughts so perfectly. Thank you.
Someone needs to take them to court with their one-size-fits-all sizing. This is horrific target marketing to young girls and it’s completely false
Agree!
Right on Kel!!!
This is so awesome Kel! I read the toddler-sized comment to Donald. It is so spot on. We have been to brandy with my niece a lot and I’ve often wondered how many fit into these clothes ~ most of which I find to be crazy expensive for what you get. So glad you and your beautiful girl turned your day around! One size definitely does not fit all!
I hope you sent this letter to Brandy Melville. We have all been silent too long on this subject. Just like money skinny will not make you happy or feel fulfilled.
You said it perfectly!! I too feel that same pain at a lot of stores…. it’s a shame that people in the position of a fad brand would even allow that. They have to know by now all bodies are different and those that are not sticks still like to be fashionable. I hope she reads this!! I’m the mean time … Katie chose a way better style than anything at that store!!
I totally agree. Today, as in this second, both my girls haven’t “filled” into their adult bodies. It’s just a matter of time. So when we went there, things fit, but just barely. I was looking at what was fitting them and I was like- “one size fits all”???? No freakin way!! In fact, because my girls are in that gangly-coltish phase is the ONLY reason stuff fit. I talked to them about it and pointed out how the sizing was basically offensive and inaccurate. And you know what else, it’s lazy and more profitable to just have one size so the business motivation is purely financial, in guessing. I agree with just calling it what it is, one size fits small. I am so glad you put my thoughts into words.
My daughter and I had the exact same experience. This Torture, child abuse and exploitation has to stop. These types of stores and brands have created a huge eating disorder epidemic among young people. One size fits all is 00-2 with this brand one size fits all skinny girls
Amen sister. Brandy Melville is not one size fits all but just one size. It’s terrible and they should be ashamed of the fact their clothes don’t fit 85% of girls. When does 15% equate to all??
Couldn’t agree more
Brandy Melville is not one size fits all but just one size. It’s terrible and they should be ashamed of the fact their clothes don’t fit 85% of girls. When does 15% equate to all??
Kudos to you for writing this. I hope you consider starting a petition to get their attention. Please turn your anger and frustration into power by letting all of us support you with our signatures. My teenage daughters think this is horrible marketing and a dangerous message for this store to be sending. If enough of us make our opinions known, perhaps they will change and future girls and parents can be spared this same terrible experience!
Kudos to you for writing this. I hope you consider starting a petition to get their attention. Please turn your anger and frustration into power by letting all of us support you with our signatures. My teenage daughters think this is horrible marketing and a dangerous message for this store to be sending. If enough of us make our opinions known, perhaps they will change and future girls and parents can be spared this same terrible experience!
There are tons of brands that are only for curvy girls,and no one complains about them, so why does everyone hate on one brand just because their clothes are made for smaller girls? I had such a hard time as a younger teenager actually finding clothes in popular teen stores that fit me right. Sometimes I had to shop in the kids section, I hated that.
The fact is, Brandy Melville is a very popular brand. Girls want to wear these clothes, and naturally other girls with different body styles will want to shop there too. The point of this letter was not meant to hate on Brandy because their clothes are for smaller girls. The point is that their spreading false marketing by saying “one size fits all” when it doesn’t. I understand where your coming from, but I think you got the point of this message slightly wrong.
YESSSSS. I hope your daughter knows how beautiful she is. She does not have to change for a petty brand that spreads false marketing nor does anyone. I hope that anyone who is struggling with this knows that they DO NOT have to change for anyone.
so true kelly richardson!!! #wap #wine #brandymelville #livelaughlove