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Brandy Melville doesn’t just sell beige tops and yoga pants, it sells a finished personality, a ready-to-wear pre-built identity. I’ve always been intrigued by how easily people can spot Brandy clothing from a mile away, and how the brand has built such a basic, but undeniably specific and unique aesthetic. I wouldn’t be able to recognize clothes from stores like Urban Outfitters or PacSun with such ease, so what makes Brandy so identifiable? And despite being a controversial company, once the pieces are spotted, the reaction is almost always positive, as there’s no denying the clothes are in fact cute.
As a teenage girl of the highest stature (a 19-year-old), a large part of my self-expression when it comes to clothes and fashion has stemmed from a desire to not only be accepted, but to be viewed as pretty and socially desirable. Everyone’s experience is their own, but I don’t think it’s an unfair generalization to say that other girls have shared this experience as well. Brandy Melville serves as a kind of shortcut to the mob identity a lot of tween/teen girls are striving towards. Whether you’re wearing a hoodie, t-shirt, blouse, or sweats, it all plays a role in curating this cool-girl, effortless, but put-together aesthetic that seems to have dominated the trend cycle in recent years.
Through all the noise, Brandy Melville has consistently stuck with their simple florals, white and blue color scheme, 100% cotton basics, and most polarizing, their one-size policy. The company isn’t afraid of being “cancelled” because they know one thing is for certain: the product sells itself. There’s a harmonious balance between the brand and its consumers. It draws from existing trends and nostalgic styles, while subtly responding to microtrends at rapid speed, all in an effort to quietly dictate the standard aesthetic that other brands will try to replicate season after season. The brand’s ability to stay relevant and maintain a consistent image (despite controversy after controversy) is intriguing, but what’s equally as intriguing, is the consumer’s response to the brand. What is it about these white tops and floral tanks that make people go wild, what is it about Brandy that ignites a hive mind?
Amidst pressure to create a trendy and innovative, but classic personal style, Brandy offers a ready-to-wear identity that can be stepped into but still simple enough to be made your own. Brandy is at the forefront of trend cycles and desirability, and they manage to do this without much interaction with their consumers. No sales, no ads, an inconsistent website, and a mysterious Instagram page seems to be their MO. Exclusivity is at the root of their company, yet they have one of the most loyal consumer bases because people love feeling part of something special; tapped into a secret that others don’t know about.
Brandy’s arguably lackluster website creates an additional layer of exclusivity, as it forces people to shop in person. Each of their locations has a unique selection of pieces that likely can’t be found in store again. It’s almost like a permanent pop-up shop. You never know what you’ll come across. Brandy’s clothing is basic, but still limited enough that people can use it as both a fully formed sense of style and a semi-blank canvas to build off of. In the end, Brandy’s appeal lies both in the clothes and in the silent social language it creates. The promise is that if you wear the “right” or “trendy” thing, then you’ll be read and treated accordingly. Wearing Brandy is treated as a promise to be seen as desirable and cool, without any additional effort. Brandy makes fashion feel collective, simple, and recognizable in a word of hyperindividualism.
Boutiques have always been a large part of teenage girl culture, but what makes Brandy stand out is that as the world grows seemingly more open-minded and inclusive, the brand that has taken over is the exact opposite of that ideology. Their promised social status only applies to those who fit their “one-size” policy, which inherently excludes an entire population of young girls from the kind of mob mentality and ingroup vs outgroup attitude that comes with the brand. Ultimately, Brandy’s power and influence lies in their ability to blur the line between fashion and identity, as their young consumer population takes the brand not just as clothing, but as something they are or aren’t part of. Its cult-like appeal showcases how the desire to “fit in” is not something that has ever really gone away, no matter how woke or not woke the world has grown, and this type of conformity comes at the cost of those left out of the brand’s wannabe hive mind.