For many young girls, shopping and shopping are normal; however, it is becoming increasingly difficult for girls to find their size without clothes that are too small or too big.
Often, these clothes do not fit in one size, and it has become a growing problem in many brands. Unfortunately, the customer is to blame. It’s time for people to start facing this issue: corporations.
On Saturday mornings, department stores are filled with teenage girls trying on the latest Hollister or American Eagle clothing. And if they’re not in stores, they shop online for the newest collections dropped by their favorite stores and showcased by their favorite influencers on social media.
But for young women and girls, sizing has become one of the biggest problems in fashion. Oversizing in the fashion industry is out of control.
Many girls do not know if they are a size two or a six or a size M or L. Many girls wonder if they are the problem. They become guilty when they present their issue of greatness. There are often common phrases in this regard that women and girls hear like “Well, maybe you should lose a few pounds” or “You should put some meat on those bones.”
It has become one of the unnecessarily difficult parts of girls’ and women’s lives. Who would believe that finding clothes that really fit in the fast and big fashion industry, with endless options, prices and styles, would still be a problem for girls and women.
It’s time to deal with the reality that companies have an unsustainable size. It’s time we confront the fashion industry for their size issues and stop blaming and forcing harmful images and ideas on little girls.
The rise of clothing stores and companies was the beginning of independent clothing brands. Companies began to develop their own methods and standards for measuring what an S or L was. According to Time Magazine, way back in the 1940’s, major companies had started “sizing standards” in the way they measured the fit of their clothes.
However, the rise in size peaked in the 1970s and 1980s with the increase in vanity sizes. Vanity sizing was a marketing tactic used by companies to boost sales. These companies would change the size of the clothes, often adding inches to them and labeling them as a smaller size, in an attempt to make customers feel more comfortable.
Fit Analytics reports that a “size eight is often expanded by six inches” as a psychological and sales ploy for companies to make a profit.
Vanity sizing has grown to affect people of all sizes and shapes and has greatly affected people’s attitudes towards shopping.
Sophomore Alyssa Aromando, an art major with a concentration in fashion said, “Everyone thinks ‘Oh when you’re a zero it’s easy to find your size, but a size zero isn’t everyone’s size.’
Aromando added that it is ironic that stores are instructing customers to shop online to get a larger or smaller size such as 4x or 000.
He said: “These clothes produce clothes that are not made to fit the human body. “It is fit to fit a mannequin.”
Regardless of a person’s size, large or small, the struggle to find clothes is now visible in many clothing stores because of the change that the value of vanity has made clothes.
From a sales perspective, Aromando thought about “setting the story that small is bad or big is bad, to make you not want to shop there.”
He said: “If this store doesn’t carry my size, I probably won’t be lucky enough to find it anywhere else.”
“I really think when you go to the store and you don’t see your size it’s not fun,” Aromando added.
In the implementation of these ancient methods on girls, telling them to go down or up, or go online because most of them are not in the shops, presenting this report that the human body is the problem is actually the shop’s process of controlling emotions.
Marina Bresler, chief designer and design director at eveningwear company Betsy and Adam, said “fashion is changing the way women look.”
Women were equal in all respects [in history]“All sizes were considered fashionable at different times,” Bresler said.
As a designer, he admits, “It’s very difficult for someone who is not in the industry, who is a consumer. I think it’s probably difficult for them to understand how it works.”
Vanity sizing has become very common in fashion, however, this trick is so clever in the mind that the everyday consumer falls for it because of how effective it is.
Designers like Bresler understand that when designing and fitting women’s clothing, the size, especially, depending on the type and style of the garment, can change their size and fit.
In addition to the outstanding quality of the clothes, the brands also increase the effect of the size of the girls in the ways in which the brands advertise themselves and present themselves in the advertisements.
“The fashion industry has a problem with exposure in general,” Aromando said. “We’re still that all-American girl, very thin, as the collarbone shows [idea].”
Aromando continues to touch on brands and companies’ fear of change because he believes they “don’t want to be called a certain way.”
Aromando adds:
It continues to destroy the image of the female body, as Aromando believes, because “if you identify as a woman, you will automatically have sex. [as well]” by representations that stores place in advertisements or marketing campaigns.
She also added how “it’s very dangerous for little girls” for brands to set size standards and lack representation of every body type.
“We demean women. How can we call ourselves a fashion company when we can’t even be honest about what we sell?”
Brands seem to ignore the problems of false standards, sex with clothes, and the discomfort they create, because for them, it is just profit.
“It’s always going to be a money thing,” where companies are willing to make a profit, Armondo said.
Although the primary products are profit and sales, some brands are willing to make and sell clothes to anyone, to get the most sales and profit.
“Brands know who their customer is and they market to that and sometimes it’s really specific clothing,” says Bresler.
He continued, “I think they also look at what brands are popular [what sells most] is to look at the size they sell the most [and] their favorite clothes.”
“For example, with us, I will not cut a [size] two of them in certain dresses. And with other clothes, I will not cut a [size] 14,” Bresler said.
He understands the struggles of the everyday consumer, while recognizing that some brands will choose to make certain clothes that suit certain people.
Today’s culture tends to erase names or people over trivial matters. Brands may not want to damage their image and are willing to pay a large price to maintain their image and profits. Companies aim to change their size to become popular, maintain profits, continue to attract a certain number of people, and sell as much as possible.
And although vanity sizes are prevalent in almost all types of clothing for all ages, women are the ones who are especially vulnerable to this trick. They are the ones who suffer the most at the hands of these types.
Time Magazine continues to write that “it is a very common issue for women” because they always face gender bias in different situations or events, such as sports, job interviews, and even marriage. Women not only face a large amount of social standards and expectations, but also have to deal with raising the bar for clothing brands.
It’s like a battlefield in some stores. Hunting for the perfect pair of jeans while making sure the front doesn’t show your belly, but also making sure the back doesn’t have a gap where your phone could fall. Finding the perfect dress to wear to your cousin’s wedding, while making sure you don’t look sloppy, or look like you’re going to upstage the bride.
These are futile wars, and often wars where women wave the white flag of surrender and defeat.
So the million dollar question is: how can this issue be fixed or fixed?
Our current society lives with the world in our hands. With access to knowledge of all kinds. We can connect with those from all over the world at the click of a button. Social media reinforces the concept of influence and connection in the fashion world.
Bresler believes that one way brands can address this issue is by leveraging these vast resources and access to the internet and connecting with people.
“I think they would ask,” Bresler said. Everyone has a website. Everyone has a TikTok. Everyone has a way of reaching their customers.
Bresler added that at his company, Betsy and Adam always remember “who’s wearing it.”
“We’re going to sacrifice fashion for fit,” Bresler said.
Aromado emphasizes “presence” as a very important issue for the company to improve the size.
Companies should work, as he said, to make the size “more accessible and less expensive” as well as to end the project of “white-skinned girls with “flat chests.”
“It’s up to the next generation of fashion designers to change this, and change [fashion] the climate we are in.”
Ashley Smith is the assistant editor of Setonian‘s Comments section. He can be reached at ashley.smith1@student.shu.edu.
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