When Brandy Melville opened its doors on Newbury Street in 2013, people from all over the metro-Boston area went to see what the hype was all about. Cool, Cali-style clothing was finally available on the East Coast, with reasonable prices. What most people were excited about was that Brandy is known for being “one size fits all.” The Forever 21 meets Urban Outfitters + inexpensive prices + one size fits all = every collegiate’s dream, right? As the hype is dying down, college students are starting to think “not so much”.
If you were to go into the store in the fall, and go back around this time to see what they have for the spring, you’d find that most of the clothes are the exact same. Maybe some more shorts and tank tops available, or a top in a different color or pattern, but the differences stop there. Yes, the clothing is fun and cute, but you can only have so many different versions of the same shirt. Etsy is a great place to find clothing in the same styles, but with more options.
One of the main points that Brandy Melville is known for is being “one size fits all.” While this seems like a good thing, it has become very misleading. In December, Buzzfeed posted an article about six women of different heights and body types to see if “one size fits all” was true. (If you haven’t read the article, check it out here.) The conclusions that the women came to is that one size does not fit all, and each woman felt ashamed and upset when she was not able to fit into one of the pieces of clothing. Brandy goal is to have the “average” young woman fit into their clothes. The truth of the matter, though, is that no one is completely average. Everyone comes in different shapes and sizes, and by saying that your clothes are “one size fits all” when they really aren’t implies that your brand is very exclusive. If Brandy Melville catered to more sizes, I think that they would have more customers, and happier customers at that.