Walking into Brandy Melville, you’ll be surrounded by countless baby tees, tank tops, and sweaters, fabrics patterned in pastel flowers, teddy bears, bows, American flags and low-rise jeans. Nearly all the clothes are in shades of white and gray, and most of them only fit size small.
Stella Eskilsen ‘28 shops at Brandy Melville and said that the stores are always packed with teenage girls. Esckilsen said she likes some of the clothes because they are “basic and comfortable.”
“The sweatpants are my favorite,” Eskilsen said. “They’re thick and fleece lined, so they feel high quality.”
Brian Mutar ‘28 heard about the 2024 documentary “Brandy Hellville,” which accused the company of fat shaming, anti-semitism, racism, sexism by the CEO, unethical practices and fat‑ phobia in stores.
“I’ve heard about the one size-fits-all approach, and I don’t support it at all. It feels like the brand is catering only to a specific body type – people who are thin, or at least not ‘abnormally large,’” Mutar said. “Clothing should be for everyone.”
Esckilsen agrees.
“I only own sweatpants and sweatshirts, so I haven’t had a problem. But I know the shirts and shorts can be controversial,” Esckilsen said. “Most of the shoppers do look pretty similar.”
Brette Fialko Casey ‘27 said that a Brandy Melville open‑ ing in Burlington exposes some of the hypocrisy that exists in progressive communities.
“Quite frankly, I think that Burlington tends to pride itself on being very progressive, on being liberal minded, on being inclusive,” Fialko Casey said. “But then you have the kind of culture that’s around brands like Brandy Melville, where not everyone is welcome.”
Calista Simo ‘25 works at Brandy Melville.
“There was this really sweet older woman who came in, and she told me that none of the clothes she tried on fit her,” Calista Simon said. “I felt bad and said, ‘Oh, I’m really sorry,’ before taking the clothes back. She went out to grab more items, and while she was gone, one of my coworkers came over. I said, ‘Hey, do you want to put these back? She said none of them fit her.’ My coworker just shrugged and said, ‘Then tell her to go to another store. What’s she gonna do—leave us a bad review?’ They always make fun of the people who leave reviews on the computer. It’s actually really sad.”
Glenna Westbrook ‘25, Calista Simon ‘25 and Ella Knudsen ‘25 all took jobs at Burlington’s newly opened Brandy Melville, but they said sometimes the work environment has been “just unbearable.”
Westbrook, Simon and Knudson recounted being yelled at at work, accused of stealing and constantly under scrutiny about how the store looks.
“We have to send pictures [of the store, to the CEO] and we can’t leave until they approve it. And for closing, we have to literally space all the hangers one finger apart from each other,” Knudsen said. “The tables have to be a certain height, the stacks a certain way, the colors have to be perfect.”
They said the store thrives on its cohesive aesthetic and uniformity. When people shop at the store, they know what to expect.
“Every other day, we have to rearrange the entire store – mannequins, tables, everything – until it looks exactly like the CEO’s vision,” Knudsen said.
Westbrook said that she and her fellow employees would lock themselves in fitting rooms during work just to take a break from the environment.
“We discovered this room in the basement. At first, it just looks like a regular storage room, but when you step inside, it’s actually this open space. The best part is you can see when people are coming,” Westbrook said. “I cried in that basement.”
Fialko Casey thinks the rise of Brandy Melville’s popularity has risen in tandem with the rising popularity of early 2000s fashion trends.
“I know that a lot of people would like to believe that these trends are turning with more inclusive body ideals,” Fialko Casey said. “I don’t think that’s actually true. I think that the names have changed, but the streets have stayed the same.”
Brandy Melville has not responded to requests for an interview.
