On the quest for a new spring outfit, you search the shelves for something cute. You finally come across the perfect pink shirt and look for your size in the stack. You flip the tag to see what size it is but all you see is ‘ONE SIZE FITS ALL.’ Hmm, ok maybe it will fit, right? You are part of “ALL,” right? You hold up the shirt to find that it would fit you perfectly… if you were the same size as your 6-year-old cousin.

One of the first decisions kids get to start making is what they wear. From a young age, girls in particular think about how they look and look at what other girls are wearing. As girls get older, they move on from the  glittery pre-teen stores like Justice and onto stores for teens like Urban Outfitters and Brandy Melville.

Some stores for teen girls, such as Brandy Melville, sell all of their clothing in one size, logically labelled “one size fits all.” Correct me if I’m wrong, but last time I checked, ‘All’ means everyone,’ and if these stores think everyone in America is a size zero, then they’d be better off selling their clothes to toddlers.

Every person feels comfortable dressing in their own way. There is already constant pressure from society for young girls to dress femininely and highlight what men often see as the attractive parts of their bodies. This pressure can also come from female friends who often challenge girls confidence and while this fits some young girls style, we should give others the opportunity to experiment with more than this one option.

I for one completely admit to buying some articles of clothing from these stores. They never end up fitting me how I thought they would and often look more provocative on me than they would on a smaller girl, but, yes, they are still likeable clothes. Shopping there normally makes me very uncomfortable and also frustrated that the stylish clothing doesn’t fit me right. I have tried to make the single sizing work and some shirts or jackets occasionally will fit me, but overall I’ve still found that most of the clothing would only work if I were two sizes smaller and 5 inches taller. The store would greatly  benefit if they added sizes to their system.

Shopping is made into a bad experience when nothing fits and I don’t want to feel bad about myself shopping because I don’t fit into a tank top that is supposed to be for everyone. If America is supposed to be a place of individuality, beauty, acceptance, and uniqueness then why are stores trying to categorize us all in one size?

Beauty comes in all sizes and shapes. We all have curves, butts, different size waists and different length legs. Curves are beautiful, and trust me, curves don’t fit into one size fits all skirts and pants. It is wrong to assume that all teen girls should fit into one size of pants.

One of many explanations for the rising eating disorder problem is young women constantly comparing themselves to the models wearing the “One Size” clothing. According to the National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders, at least 30 million people in America suffer from eating disorders such as anorexia, bulimia and binge eating. These model girls are beautiful, but not everyone can fit into clothing made for flat chested, size zero, five-foot-ten-inch girls. This level of what people have defined as perfection is unattainable. Why are we making it synonymous with small thighs, a flat stomach and  flawless skin? Maybe everyone is working toward this “perfection” because they don’t know how to define it in any way other than how the media is, which is outrageously unrealistic. Let’s redefine beauty starting with making every size of clothing for every size of beautiful. It doesn’t stop at sizing next there’s overcoming extreme pressures on young girls and promoting self-love.

These messages are surrounding us, but the more we encourage body confidence the more we can defeat impossible body standards. No girl should have to be put through the pressure of fitting in society’s mold of a perfect body type because your body is beautiful, curves and all, no matter what size you buy in stores.