What to wear is always the question of the day. What temperature is it outside? What do I wear for my sports team’s dress-up? Is it fine if I wear sweatpants again if I wore them yesterday? The clothing that you put on your body in the morning has a meaning behind it; it’s not just “a white tank top and blue shorts” or “brown sweats and a cardigan”. What we wear symbolizes who we are on the inside and out, which at times may contradict who we want to become.
What to wear or who to be is a deeper, more philosophical question that we must face when charges are directed against one of our favorite clothing stores. What are my moral responsibilities as a consumer?
The clothing store, Brandy Melville, is known for its affordable and fashionable clothing, ranging from lounge-like pajama sets to corduroy flare pants. There won’t be a day that goes by where you won’t see at least one person from Fieldston wearing Brandy. After all, our fashion choices inspire each other. It’s come to the point that we can recognize the brand itself by just looking at someone’s clothing. Places like Brandy, Zara and Pacsun are the latest contributions to Fieldston attire since you can buy an item for $15, while at other places that item might be $50 or $70. These stores are all over the city, making it so easy to shop there.
What you might not know is that when you walk into Brandy Melville, you’re walking into a store that has been accused, by former employees and the media, of body-shaming, sexual misconduct, anti-semitism, racism and more. Several weeks ago there was an explosion on social media. Headlines such as No One Fat, No One Black, and Worse: The Brandy Melville Exposé’s Most Batshit Bits from the Sourcing Journal; Brandy Melville’s CEO doesn’t want Black people to wear the brand’s clothing, according to an ex-store owner from Business Insider; and Brandy Melville Execs Reveal CEO Doesn’t Allow ‘Black Or Fat’ Girls to Work in His Stores from Black Enterprise, are explaining the deep damage that Brandy has done to young women.
The store allegedly cultivates a toxic “one size fits all” policy, making it impossible for girls of varied sizes to fit into their clothing. It is fitted for skinny, average-height girls with thin waists and flat chests. It’s fun to shop there, but seeing the clothes fit on someone else but look unflattering on you is disappointing, and quietly undermines you. It makes you question, why don’t I look like that and what can I do to look like that? For some, it’s bringing girls down and their profit prices up.
There are allegations of racism against the store from former employees. The owners, it is claimed, refuse to hire Black women, thinking that they don’t fit the image that the store sets according to Luca Rotondo. Rotondo, a former senior vice president, was interviewed for Business Insider. During his interview, he gave the inside scoop on CEO Stephan Marsan. Marsan, a white male, had a specific benchmark for what women he wanted to be employed. He stated, “If she was Black, if she was fat … he didn’t want them in the store.” Employees would get fired if they hired off of his certain criteria. If you look on their Instagram, @brandymelvilleusa, you will see that all the models are skinny and fit perfectly into the clothing, just how they want you to see it.
Luca Rotondo additionally remarked that Marsan makes the models (that worked at the store from 14 years of age and up) change while trying on the clothing in front of him. Rotondo alleges that would touch the girls in a sexual way, and bribe them to get raises or other privileges if they were to change infront of him. Even as gifts to the girls, he would send underage teens alcohol.
Business Insider referenced another interview where a woman said Marsan was anti-semitic. They wrote, “Reporter Kate Taylor describes an instance where Marsan photoshopped his face onto Hitler’s body for a group chat of executives (the threads also included pornography, the N-word, and more).” We are the root of this man’s success, and yet he is an anti-semite. How could I ever support this man again? Do I feel shame?
Brandy has not responded to these statements yet. They have not felt the need to say anything, and their silence speaks louder than any other excuse they could possibly muster. I don’t know if they are being investigated. I don’t know if charges are being filed against them. I do know I have to weigh these things for myself.
I knew Brandy Melville was far from perfect, but this was the last straw to ever shop there. I couldn’t betray my identity as a Jew, woman and white-ally more so than I already had done. To share a little secret of mine, I didn’t stop shopping there when I heard the accusations of racism. I felt a little uneasy about my purchases, but I kept ongoing. However, after I discovered they were additionally accusations of anti-semitism, I knew that my days of walking into that store and buying something were over.
I look at my actions and are disappointed by them. I should have had more self control, I should have just stopped shopping. I only stopped when it affected me, personally, as a Jew. But this made me realize something vital. We’re all part of a community, meaning that we lean on each other. When someone gets hurt, we all get hurt.
What to wear, or who to be? That is the question of the century.
