Trigger Warning: brief mention of eating disorder and racism
Brandy Melville. If you aren’t familiar with the name, they are a clothing store that is aimed towards teens, more specifically teenage girls. But the true kicker is the culture of the store. They are not only a one size fits all store but they are also infamous for having terrible employees and a degrading hiring process. Their store has unintentionally, or intentionally, added to society's most detrimental beauty norms while simultaneously becoming one of the biggest teenage clothing stores in america. Being a one size fits all store is problematic, to begin with, due to the lack of inclusivity, but to be a one size fits all store that’s main demographic is teenage girls is a whole other thing. In a survey of almost 2,000 teens and adults taken by Yahoo Health in 2016, on average they said that they started feeling ashamed of their bodies between the ages of 13 and 14. Lack of confidence towards one's body usually goes hand in hand with the urge to fit in. So by Brandy pushing their one-size products to this audience, they are presenting to them what is deemed as desirable and the look that is needed to fit in. And in their eyes what it takes to be in this category is to be able to fit into their extra-small or small clothing. If you go onto youtube and search for ‘Brandy Melville Eating Disorder’, you will see video after video of people talking about how they “lost weight to fit into brandy melville”. Even Brandy’s instagram, with a following of 3.5 million people, is full of photos of just skinny girls. To add to that, there are mostly only photos of white skinny girls. This same lack of diversity can be seen on their website, in stores, and on twitter. They even came under fire a couple of months ago after a former employee exposed them for allegedly using discriminatory practices during hiring. Those included only hiring a certain body type, race, and overall look. This employee talked about the racists and fat-phobic remarks that were constantly being spread around the store. She called the job traumatizing and she isn’t alone. On Indeed (a job reviewing app. to be honest this was my first time on it. But I think millennials use it to review work experiences), former employees have often described the people they had to work with as rude and judgy. Many have commented on managers hiring based on looks and paying people differently based on their physical appearance. Others even continued on to say that they had to have photos taken of them every day that would be sent to corporate, but they were never told what corporate did with these photos. Among the complaints, customers have also often talked about the rudeness of the employees and the feeling of being judged while shopping. Overall this brand is racist and problematic in multiple different ways (and that’s not even getting into the fact that they have been known to steal other brands' ideas and are a fast-fashion company). Brandy is a prime example of the impact that trends and desire have on society. People are willing to go through an uncomfortable shopping experience just to fit in. Which is much more telling of the society they want to fit into than the place itself. That's it, that's my rant.
love,
your fairy godmother
(because fairy godmothers need help sometimes too)
Bender, Rachel Grumman. "The Age Girls Become Self-Conscious About Their Bodies." Yahoo, 12 Jan. 2016, www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/the-age-girls-become-self-1338923817869366.html. Accessed 3 June 2021.
"Brandy Melville." Wikipedia, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brandy_Melville. Accessed 3 June 2021.
"Brandy Melville Faces Allegations of Racism and Body-shaming by Former Employees." Today, www.today.com/style/brandy-melville-faces-allegations-racism-body-shaming-former-employees-t183363. Accessed 3 June 2021.
"Working at Brandy Melville." Indeed, www.indeed.com/cmp/Brandy-Melville/reviews?start=20. Accessed 3 June 2021.
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