‘One size fits all’ is a term that stores use to describe clothing that fits all body types. There are many stores that sell just one size clothing, and they are surprisingly popular among teens.

Brandy Melville, an Italian clothing and accessories brand, popularized the term. The brand’s target audience are teen girls and their popularity is unparallelled. They’ve garnered close to 4 million followers and their sales are steadily growing despite being established less than 50 years ago. Brandy sells trendy items at affordable prices but that doesn’t set them apart from other brands, so what does? Perhaps it is their west coast, laid-back aesthetic that catches the attention of young girls, or the fact that it is easy to shop there: you either fit the clothes or you don’t.

Brandy has also caught attention outside of their target audience but not for a positive reason. They have been under fire for their controversial clothing size; they only have one size. A look at Brandy’s Instagram will give you an idea of who their clothing is catered to: tall and skinny girls. Using models to model their clothes isn’t the problem, the problem is that they only sell their clothes in a size small— and very rarely, a medium—and claim that they can fit most people when they don’t. Buzzfeed got six girls with very different body types to wear their clothes and it is very apparent that many of their items do not fit everyone, contradicting what Brandy claims.

Buzzfeed, and many others, promotes the idea that if you can’t fit into their clothes, you’re different from the rest, and it causes insecurity. When reality is, everybody’s body shape is different, and there is no size that fits all body types.

It is unfortunate that Brandy is so popular because other brands, such as Pacsun and American Eagle, are trying to follow in their footsteps by copying their aesthetic and sizing. One size fits all forces consumers to change their body just to fit in their clothes. This sizing spreads an unhealthy message to consumers. However, for as long as people continue to purchase items from such stores, the stores will continue to only sell one size. Unfortunately, I think that such stores will continue to thrive since their sales have been increasing, and they don’t show any signs of slowing down. We can only hope that other stores will not copy them, and instead, sell their clothes in different sizes to have a larger audience to sell. And we as consumers need to send stores like Brandy a message by refusing to purchase their items, so that they are inclined to change their ways.