Does One Size Really Fit All?
Joslyn Battite
Being a girl, I can honestly say that I do follow a lot of models on Instagram. Most of the time they do make me feel bad and I constantly am telling my roommates that I wish I could look like some of these girls. With Instagram being one of the most popular social media websites today, stores like Brandy Melville portray body image to be far from normal to teenage girls everywhere. Of course, Brandy Melville has extremely cute clothing and I am definitely guilty of owning a lot of their clothes. The only aspect of Brandy Melville that bothers me, is that they really do emphasize the fact they are one size only. When you scroll through their Instagram feed, every single one of these models are skinnier than a stick. Not only are these girls extremely skinny, but they are drop dead gorgeous.
Although Brandy Melville has clothes that are supposedly trendy and “in”, they are emphasizing everything that is wrong in our society today. Not one of their models has any type of flaw when it comes to their body. In fact, every single one of their models on Instagram have nearly the same exact body type. When scrolling through their Instagram feed, teen girls are constantly being reminded that in order to be popular and pretty, you have to be the right size and look a certain way in their clothing. In an article I found titled “Brandy Melville Epitomizes What’s Wrong with Our Society” states that “We are told that it’s ok to be different, that it’s ok to be whatever size we naturally are, but then are flooded with images of size 0 models on the runway and brands like Brandy…” (spoonuniversity.com, Nancy Chen). One of the most popular models of Brandy Melville, Alexis Reneg, was asked by one of her fans what her diet consists of. Alexis replied saying only greens, which is basically just salads and vegetables. Because so many girls are in love with this model, I am sure teens will go by her diet. Brandy Melville only selling one size only clothing, their Instagram does not justify that whatsoever. What really should be on their Instagram, is girls of all shapes and sizes to make it clear that these one size only clothes actually do fit any body.
The amount of girls today who struggle with self confidence, is off the charts. When girls are exposed to these images of girls with long legs, skinny stomachs (where you can basically see their ribs), and flawless skin, they feel the need to look exactly like them. The most common way is to resort to eating disorders. The most common of eating disorders is anorexia, which is when one just does not eat. How skinny some of these Brandy Melville models are is extremely unhealthy. Teenage girls should not feel that they should match up to these body types. Instead of portraying the most perfect body, Instagram and many other social media websites should be focusing more on loving yourself. Most of the time when you are online shopping for clothes, they choose these models because they are certain they will look good in almost anything. There is nothing more degrading when walking into Brandy and trying on their clothing and realizing you absolutely love something but know for a fact that you cannot buy it simply because they only have it in one size only.
“It’s one reason experts are worried about the damaging effects social media can have on self-esteem and the role it may play in eating disorders” (expressnews.com, Jessica Belasco). In this article found on express news, it states that the number one reason that people have eating disorders, is because they relate themselves to others. That is exactly what Instagram is all about. What teen girls are constantly struggling with, is that they never seem to fulfill their expectations of themselves. Brandy Melville has models who are far from what the ideal body image of women and teens everywhere should be today. Instead of focusing on the most perfect body, what we should really be teaching girls is that they should love themselves no matter what.
Works Cited:
Belasco, Jessica. "Social Media May Hurt Body Image." San Antonio Express-News. N.p., n.d.
Web. 15 Oct. 2015.
Chen, Nancy. "Brandy Melville Epitomizes What’s Wrong with Our Society." Spoon University. N.p., n.d.
Web. 15 Oct. 2015.
You picked an interesting topic that I feel many girls can relate too! Brandy Melville clothes most defintiley do not fit all. They fit the stereotypical, general sized girl. The company loses business by not providing sizes for everyone. I think you made an awesome point with teaching girls to love them selves instead of focusing on a perfect body.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with this and think body image issues keeps growing in today’s society. Girls need to stop comparing themselves to models on the Internet, with unrealistic diets, like just eating greens. I’m guilty of it too, seeing a picture of a size 0 model and wishing I looked like that. I think Brandy Melville clothing is ridiculous for only having one size fits all, because clearly that is not the case.
ReplyDeleteGreat job Joslyn! Your topic choice is really great, and I think it definitely speaks to a lot of young girls who emulate models and the famous. It's sad that things like this actually happen, and girls are so affected by the annoyances of loving something so much, but not being able to have it. Kudos to you for admitting that you follow a lot of models on Instagram, and admitting how much you love Brandy's clothes. An all greens diet is horrendous, I could not imagine only eating that even though I do like salads. It is hard for girls to look at these models, and want to look like them. I agree it would be great if Brandy Melville had models of all shapes and sizes model her clothes and show that anyone can look beautiful in them and one size does fit all. You beautiful girl, stop telling your roommates you wanna look like those models haha
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