Brandy Melville is a trendy boutique type store and everything that it sells is all fit to the same size; discriminating to anyone that doesn't fit their sizing chart. To make it even worse their labels are embellished with the phrase "ONE SIZE FITS ALL"; which is quite ridiculous. How can you say that your products will fit all when you have a specific sizing chart with outrageous measurements that clearly not everyone will meet? Granted, their clothes are extremely loose fitting, flowy, and stretchy, they might fit some customers, despite their size, but definitely not all. Also, in the size chart, the figure is a female, insisting that their merchandise is for females only.
As we know, many stores commit this crime of inferring that 'thin' is good and everyone should look the same. Especially with stores like American Eagle and Forever 21, as a frequent shopper, I have progressively noticed the change in their sizing. If you hold up a 0 size pants, you might even question as to who that is fitting, other than a small child; also why is it labeled a zero, which literally means nothing. Insisting that you should take up no space and weigh as close to 0 pounds as possible? I think we need to educate our society on the idea that size does not matter, health matters. Often, we determine our actions and appearance to please others, which in the long run does not make any sense. Why aren't we working out, eating healthy, and changing our lifestyles to benefit us so we can live longer? How should stores change their sizing charts to create a more accepting view on body types? Should they eliminate sizes all-together? Label sizes in a different way? What do you think needs to happen?
The problem with marketing is that the company tries to satisfy all of it's customers and appeal to the population. It's hard to tell whether getting rid of sizes of clothes would bring any moral victories to any group of people. We as people are adjusted to look at size, some view these indicators as motivation, and others feel that the sizes can aim at hurting their emotions. Health does matter for people. If we as people lived healthier as a society, there would be less branding of individuals and more focus on their own lives. This is quite reflecting of Focault's "Panopticon" and how we are aware of our own self-image. We feel that if society doesn't view us as beautiful, makes us out of the norm.
ReplyDeleteI think getting rid of sizing is a tad extreme; after all it does serve a purpose, it just happens to be distorted to an extreme. I suppose a compromise would be to slide the sizes back to a more realistic degree. How that would happen I don't know, and I must say, as a man, I fail to see how stores benefit from advertising extra small clothes to their shoppers. You would think stores would realize, through common sense or marketing research, that most of their customers do not fit this ideal. I imagine there is some vicious reason but I couldn't say what it is.
ReplyDeleteOn a side note, though I don't condone, it altering your appearance for someone else's approval makes perfect sense. We want that approval, and in many cases will benefit us. We are social creatures. We are perfectly capable of doing actions for our own benefit, but we also want acceptance from our peers.
Female sizes are very screwy, mostly in jean sizes. A 0 in one store may be a size 5 in another size. I think the standardization of pants sizing would not only make shopping easier but it would eliminate the argument that size 0 jeans are enticing women to take up no space. If a store wants to cater to a specific demographic of people I believe they have the full right to. There are plenty of clothing stores that are only plus size specific but yet we do not call them out.
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