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An Open Letter to Brandy Melville: Why One Size Clothing Sucks

This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at U Mass Amherst chapter.

When I hear the term “one size fits all,” the word that comes to my mind is simply ridiculous. How can clothing companies expect people of all shapes and sizes to accept and appreciate the idea that one piece of clothing can fit everyone? Today, more brands are beginning to adopt this idea of sizing, the most notorious being Brandy Melville. Brandy, I love you. Truly I do. But let me just take a moment to explain why one size clothing sucks:

1. It’s the biggest lie of all time

One size does not fit all! Buzzfeed put this to the test in an experiment they did trying on some of Brandy’s clothing. How can they expect someone who is skinny to wear the same thing someone who is curvy would wear? It’s ridiculous and impossible. No matter how much I, and any other girl out there, wishes they could fit into the same dress as another friend of theirs, sometimes it is just not meant to happen.

2. It kills girls’ self-confidence

If you’re told that one size should fit all, but then it doesn’t end up fitting you, how are you going to end up feeling? Pretty badly (I can tell you from personal experience). There’s no need to make girls feel this way–simply have all sizes. A shirt on me could be a dress on someone else and vice versa. That top you look great in could be too tight on someone else and seeing the comparison is really upsetting.There’s no need to make girls think they need to fit into one particular size.

3. Online shopping makes it worse

When you look on the Brandy website instead of saying “one size fits all” it simply says “Fits Size Small/Medium,” unlike when you are at the store. First, you tell me it’s going to fit everyone and then you change to say it is just going to fit those in sizes small and medium. That’s not fair. If someone is a large, why shouldn’t they be allowed to wear the same clothing girls smaller than them would be wearing? Do brands simply not want curvier girls wearing their clothing? Because they can rock a cute crop top just as well as anyone else can. Someone please explain. 

4. There is no “One Size Fits All” pants–and that’s for sure

If some can argue that everyone can fit into the same shirt, fine. It’s not true, but in some cases (like with a baggy shirt) it might be able to work. Pants, on the other hand, are simply impossible. A pair of shorts on you could look could like underwear on me. Shorts and pants are not meant to be one size only and the fact that some stores sell them like that makes me feel sick. You rock your size 0 and another person can rock their size 10! Why is that such a bad thing? Let girls live! 

One size fits all is not a thing. One size can fit you and another size can fit me and that’s great! That’s how it’s meant to be. Not every girl is the same size, height, or shape. It’s time for these clothing companies to put an end to the nonsense and help girls learn to love themselves for who they are and not who they think they are supposed to be. Love yourself and love your body always. 

Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4

Class of 2019 journalism major at UMass Amherst! Absolutely love makeup, fashion, and everything in between.
Contributors from the University of Massachusetts Amherst