Remember those teenage years when we started questioning ourselves, trying to figure out how to connect or disconnect from the world around us? For generations of teenagers, fashion has played an important role in achieving both goals.
While style trends change every season, consumer habits are undergoing a much deeper macroeconomic shift. In recent years, retail loyalty has moved from simple “logo recognition to emotional connection,” Fashion Times reports.
Nowadays, clothing is no longer just a fabric to wear. They represent specific aesthetics, lifestyles and identities. This psychological shift explains the sudden rise of cult fashion brands, “labels that inspire devoted followers through identity-driven design rather than mass appeal,” the report found.
What defines a cult fashion brand?
Distinctive aesthetics: Create an instant, highly recognizable identity without relying on massive, flashy logos.
Limited availability: It restricts product availability, causing immediate consumer demand through artificial scarcity.
Lifestyle Alignment: It addresses a niche consumer mindset, transforming clothing into an explicit badge of personal values.
Consistent storytelling: Weave a unified narrative both on social media and in physical stores. Source: Fashion Times
By maintaining a highly recognizable aesthetic and controlling its distribution, many cult brands have managed to make clothing synonymous with cultural identity. But what happens when a brand known for its strict, identity-based appeal suddenly cuts off the very space where consumers experiment with that identity?
A controversial fashion giant is about to find out.
Brandy Melville is reportedly closing all of its fitting rooms. Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images
Brandy Melville will reportedly close its fitting rooms
A controversial one-size-fits-all fashion brand is reportedly closing changing rooms at its stores in the United States, according to the BBC, citing several employees.
The news caused a stir on social media among its loyal customers, arguing that it is “devastating news.”
“How am I supposed to know if it looks cute on me???!” asks another woman on TikTok.
The rumors began in recent days, when several customers and store employees took to TikTok and X to share that the popular teen fashion brand abandoned its fitting rooms and removed all mirrors from its stores, The Cut writes.
Some customers tried to improvise, recording themselves as they brought the desired clothing closer to their body, since they could not try it on.
So far, the brand has neither confirmed nor denied the news spread in the media, but Employees at Brandy Melville stores in New York City, Boston and Austin confirmed to the BBC that they were told to permanently close their stores’ fitting rooms.
Why is Brandy Melville getting rid of her wardrobe?
According to viral videos and reports from people claiming to be store employees, the brand has begun closing its fitting rooms for two main reasons:
To stop shoplifting: Many stores have had problems with people stealing clothes inside the dressing rooms.
The problem of “gum” and clutter: Customers frequently left messes, including chewing gum stuck to the walls and curtains. Source: The Cut
The company is implementing this as a new “Nationwide” no locker room policyand it is also extend the exchange policy to 21 days instead of 14 to accommodate the change, according to a woman on TikTok, who claims to be an assistant manager at a Brandy Melville store.
A risky move that could lead to an endless, high-risk cycle
The brand was previously heavily criticized for its exclusive sizing. Eliminating the space where customers can see if clothes fit could be the last straw for some customers, especially given the store’s credit policy for returns.
According to multiple customer reports, you can only return items in store within 14 days and there are no cash returns for in-store purchases, only online. This means that customers may end up purchasing clothes that don’t fit them and need to exchange them for something that may also not fit as well as they want, since they can’t try them on on site. The return period can be extended to 21 days.
This could result in another exchange, and another, and so on.
A fashion enigma that doesn’t “need to ask for attention”
Brandy Melville has become a cult fashion brand worldwide, with 94 stores on 6 continents. Analysts project that the brand has seen strong annual growth of 25%, according to the Financial Times.
There are two characteristics that distinguish this teen fashion brand from many others around the world. It’s not the one-size-fits-all style, but its famous and often controversial “one size fits all” sizing policy, which sparked many debates about its exclusionary nature, The Science Survey writes.
With petite and extra-small sizes, the brand promotes a narrow standard of beauty and body type.
What also sets the brand apart is its marketing approach. Brandy Melville doesn’t implement traditional marketing strategies, such as flashy campaigns or collaborations.
“This lack of typical advertising creates a feeling of authenticity and attractiveness, positioning Brandy Melville as a brand that does not need to ask for attention, since it is already the center of attention,” according to The Science Survey editor-in-chief, Simone Ginsberg.
This does not mean that the brand has no marketing. On the contrary, its strategy is carefully designed to match the brand concept. It is promoted more on social media, website and physical stores. For example, her Instagram account appears to come not from a company, but from a real-life teenager who shares candid moments and even photos of everyday customers, Ginsberg notes.
The stores themselves also align with the very essence of the brand with their intentional simplicity, choice of lighting, music and store design.
Additionally, the brand is known for remaining silent when criticized, which seems to enhance its enigmatic appeal.
Brandy Melivlle has created “a paradox in which the brand’s own exclusivity drives its popularity. Frankly, while the one-size-fits-all approach isolates many, it also deepens the loyalty of those who fit its standard, reinforcing the appeal of belonging to an elite group,” Ginsberg concludes.
Related: Target Offers Great New Deal for Loyal Customers
Customers react to Brandy Melville’s decision to close fitting rooms
The news spread quickly online, with customers sharing their disbelief and frustration. Many of them were disappointed when they heard the news, arguing that “one size fits all” is already an important bet, and that without fitting rooms it would be like buying clothes completely blind.
“Honestly, between this and all the polyester sneaking into everything while prices go up, I’m done with Brandy. If they just closed the curtains, people wouldn’t do that. They manufacture their own problems and then profit from them,” wrote Reddit user Capital_Coat_2043.
One user shared an idea of revenge, writing on TikTok: “I’m going to buy clothes, stretch them over my fat ass and return them.”
User MicToria wrote on TikTok: “I’ve never seen a brand that likes its customers less.”
Some customers shared that they understand why the brand is doing this, arguing that shoppers who acted inappropriately (sticking gum to curtains and walls) are to blame, while others suggested the brand should simply put doors instead of curtains, or eliminate dressing rooms altogether.
Related: The iconic shopping center chain you grew up visiting just closed another 30 stores
This story was originally published by TheStreet on June 6, 2026, where it first appeared in the Retail section. Add TheStreet as a preferred source by clicking here.
