Brandy Melville- only sells one tiny size. Why is this allowed to happen?

[S0rrel]

So since the first lockdown my dd is one of many teenagers contributing to the huge spike in Anorexia. It’s is deadly and incredibly difficult to beat once it has taken hold.

She needs new clothes and mentioned Brandy Melville. Went on to tell me they only sell one tiny size and her friends tell her she is small enough,barely able to hide her glee. Talk about putting dreadful pressure on already susceptible girls. How are we as parents supposed to battle crap like that. I did the women come in all shapes, how deplorable spiel. Went on complete deaf ears.

Why are they allowed to do this? What messages are we sending out to young girls.

@ all FortVictoria

Are you saying that teenagers that shop there do not have a social conscience? That is a sweeping statement. I do not believe you live and let live. Even thought you said you do after being judgemental.

Boycott all you want. Glad my daughters are easily influenced and k ow what they want.

Not easily influenced

I think a part of the problem is also that a lot of teens view the store as a trendy teen store in general not as a trendy store that just caters to petite sizes, at least at DDs school and area in general, so it kind of messes up with their body image.

Some of DDs friends couldn't fit into their tank tops and were upset about being "fat" because they didn't even know the store was meant to cater to smaller sizes, they just thought of it as a trendy store.

IMO the brand doesn't do a good job of advertising itself as one for petite sizes rather than just a teen brand. Their advertising seems solely through posting in IG, no mention of being a brand for petite sizes anywhere or through "influencers" (basically conventionally attractive girls with loads of IG followers) who work there who also don't promote that it's for petite sizes and make it sound like it's just a trendy teen store, along with stores like Urban Outfitters etc which it probably shouldn't be compared to in terms of sizing and who they cater to. Nothing about being for smaller sizes on their website either.
Of course, that's just my opinion on their advertising and branding, though.

I'm a slightly overweight adult, yet I can wear age 13-14 clothes from primark quite comfortably. That seems to be more of a problem to me

Well yes, on any other thread regarding children's weight, don't we always read that 'children should be skinny' and 'you should be able to see their ribs'.

@justanotherparent583

I think a part of the problem is also that a lot of teens view the store as a trendy teen store in general not as a trendy store that just caters to petite sizes, at least at DDs school and area in general, so it kind of messes up with their body image.

Some of DDs friends couldn't fit into their tank tops and were upset about being "fat" because they didn't even know the store was meant to cater to smaller sizes, they just thought of it as a trendy store.

IMO the brand doesn't do a good job of advertising itself as one for petite sizes rather than just a teen brand. Their advertising seems solely through posting in IG, no mention of being a brand for petite sizes anywhere or through "influencers" (basically conventionally attractive girls with loads of IG followers) who work there who also don't promote that it's for petite sizes and make it sound like it's just a trendy teen store, along with stores like Urban Outfitters etc which it probably shouldn't be compared to in terms of sizing and who they cater to. Nothing about being for smaller sizes on their website either.
Of course, that's just my opinion on their advertising and branding, though.

Well said.

@S0rrel

It sends dreadful messages out re women- we should all be one tiny size.

Many other brands have petite sizes to go with their range of sizes. That I can live with.

I was very skinny as a teen but petite sizes are usually aimed at shorter women. I was a more average height. Would have loved somewhere that sold jeans that fitted my long legs without gaping at the waist back then.

This one is a 13" bust... How is that even possible when bras usually start at a 28" bust? I'm a size 8, and a 32B FFS

uk.brandymelville.com/products/ronnie-where-do-you-go-my-love-tank?pr_prod_strat=description&pr_rec_pid=6283100487861&pr_ref_pid=6575832400053&pr_seq=uniform

[quote LadyWhistledownsQuill]This one is a 13" bust... How is that even possible when bras usually start at a 28" bust? I'm a size 8, and a 32B FFS

uk.brandymelville.com/products/ronnie-where-do-you-go-my-love-tank?pr_prod_strat=description&pr_rec_pid=6283100487861&pr_ref_pid=6575832400053&pr_seq=uniform[/quote]
The model wearing that is a strange shape, broad shoulders and very narrow waist and hips. Has she been photoshopped to make her hips and waist look smaller?

A 12" bust! They keep getting smaller and smaller.

uk.brandymelville.com/products/connor-tank-686-ps-2

It is not a good message to send young teens who will be influenced by insta etc.......

The clothes are bloody awful. Boring and cheap looking. No idea why anyone would want to wear them.

I'm a slightly overweight adult, yet I can wear age 13-14 clothes from primark quite comfortably. That seems to be more of a problem to me

Same, I'm an average height flabby size 10 and wear teen clothes a lot.

[quote LadyWhistledownsQuill]This one is a 13" bust... How is that even possible when bras usually start at a 28" bust? I'm a size 8, and a 32B FFS

uk.brandymelville.com/products/ronnie-where-do-you-go-my-love-tank?pr_prod_strat=description&pr_rec_pid=6283100487861&pr_ref_pid=6575832400053&pr_seq=uniform[/quote]
RTFT, the 13 inches refers to the underarm to underarm measurement. The chest size is 26 inches and presumably has a bit of give.

@CounsellorTroi, she’s an inverted triangle shape. I’m this shape and have broad shoulders and very narrow hips.

Not BM - but when I was getting married at 24 and at the time was a size 10 max - weighed about 9 stone - went to a wedding dress shop where I was told I was too big to try on any of their sample sizes! I did wonder who they managed to sell anything to.

Gosh, is that popular amongst teenage girls? Some of that stuff reminds me of the WORST fashion of the 90s.

@CirqueDeMorgue - thank you for a laugh out loud moment

@S0rrel

It’s not normal for all 13-19 year olds to all be a size 6 or 8. It just isn’t. Teen bodies change a lot and the female shape can vary hugely in size quite naturally.

Yes, the female shape can vary hugely in size quite naturally. Some women and girls are, for example, very petite. All part of natural variation.

RTFT, the 13 inches refers to the underarm to underarm measurement. The chest size is 26 inches and presumably has a bit of give.

Yup. I have lots of jackets and jumpers sized 33-34cm and even a couple of 31-32cms. My bra size is 32C/D depending on the bra. They are the largest two children's sizes. And both girls and boys clothes have these measurements.

DD1 was about 4'11" when she went to secondary school and just about 4 in women's clothes. There was nearly two years when there were so many shops we couldn't get clothes in at all- she didn't want children's stuff (of which there was hardly anything the right size anyway). BM was just the ticket, especially when she eventually fitted into a size 6 and grew a little, still fits her now aged nearly 16 and I find it good quality.

There are also plenty of adult women that size, why should they not be catered for also?

Can we just accept some young girls and women are naturally very slim. I was 5 ft 9 ' tall at 13 and extremely thin but healthy. I had a lot of negative comments towards my weight/ build that really knocked my confidence so spent my teenage years hiding under several layers of clothes, which were always very baggy and shapeless on me.
I don't think this stores intention is to promote anorexia but that they have found a niche in the market for naturally small sized customers who are often overlooked.

Yes, DD2 is quite different from DD1 (5'9" ish at 12) but a size 6 as well.