We all know that body acceptance is a huge issue today—the media and fashion industries tend to take advantage of self-esteem issues solely for their benefit. While many media outlets tend to publicize the phrase “love the skin you’re in”, they have a funny way of showing it. Magazines may promote body acceptance, yet they fail to feature models that represent all women.
According to this study, the average model in 2012 weighed 23% less than the average woman. How is this teaching young women to love and accept themselves the way they are? Furthermore, using over-sexualized, photoshopped, stick-thin models creates a plethora of self-esteem issues for young women, creating the idea that to be deemed beautiful and accepted by society, they must look exactly like Vogue’s cover model.
Brand Melville and American Apparel, two highly popular brands, jumped on the “thinspiration” bandwagon and have yet to jump off.
American Apparel features controversial ads all the time, and their models seem shockingly thin—even for a hipster brand. I don’t consider myself to be overweight; for my height I’m a normal weight (though I admit I need some toning up). While I’m normally a small/medium in leggings at Forever 21, Zara, and H&M, I can barely fit into a large at American Apparel. The material isn’t stretchy, nor is it accommodating for a large butt (which I was blessed with, of course). The company is able to price their pieces so low because they hardly use any fabric—a large at American Apparel is equivalent to an extra-small at a larger retailer store.
Brand Melville is no different. While the brand publicizes that their clothing “fits all”, it seems it only fits stick-thin, pre-pubescent girls. After hearing friends rave about Brandy, I decided to try it out for myself. I picked out a crop top, floral skirt, and flowy pants and made my way to the dressing room. As I mentioned before, it was pretty difficult getting the pants past my butt—I worked a miracle and they fit pretty well, along with the high-waisted skirt. However, the crop top was a different story. It barely covered my chest, and it was a hassle to take on and off—I felt suffocated the entire time I was wearing it. Not to mention, it cost $45.00 for half a t-shirt.
I’m really not trying to body-shame, but it’s definitely hard to be nice when others body-shame me (and women like me) who tend to have larger breasts and butts. It’s difficult to stay quiet when an entire population of women are underrepresented in the fashion industry. While I would be angry, I’d be much more understanding if American Apparel and Brandy Melville flat-out stated that they only want thin women to shop at their stores. Rather than publicize the “one size fits all” policy, discriminate against an entire audience of people and see how well the business stays afloat.
Shopping at these two stores is entirely your choice. But before you enter your credit card number or hand over your cash, please think twice about the fire you’re fuelling.
Photo Credit:
askmen.com (copyright: thinkstock photos)
brandymelvilleusa.com