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INTRODUCTION
What do we think of when we imagine an ideal body? Chances are, we immediately
picture a tall and trim physique with well-defined muscles for men and long-flowing hair
and a curvy figure for women. The fashion industry has created a cultural ideal that has
taught us to perceive a certain body-type as perfect.
The industry has formed this social norm through specific business and marketing tactics
commonly known as size discrimination. These strategies include the elimination of plussize clothing items to discourage a certain demographic of shoppers and more specifically
target another, setting specific criteria for employee and model selection, and using visualverbal advertisements to send a message to the public about what body-types meet the
modern standard of beauty. Rather than boosting the reputation and customer brand
loyalty for these companies, these tactics are resulting in negative media attention and
public response. Turning size discriminatory activities from strategically positive to brand
deteriorating.

FINDINGS
Lululemon
Recently, the popular athletic apparel company has been under scrutiny for apparent size
discrimination. The brand does not carry clothing for women larger than a size 12. As if
that werent bad enough, the largest sizes, 10 and 12, are kept in the back area of the store,
away from smaller sized merchandise and rarely restocked (Bhasin, 2013). Far from an
accident, the exiling of larger clothing by Lululemon is a central piece of the company's
strategy to market its brand as the look of choice for the stylishly fitness-conscious,
according to former employees and consumer advocates. They say this treatment of larger
clothes and customers reflects the culture that Lululemon represents -- one that suggests
skinniness is the paramount feature of health (Bhasin, 2013).
According to a former store supervisor, Lululemon chooses to treat its larger sizes
differently because it sells so few of the products compared with its more popular, smallersize offerings (Bhasin, 2013).
Abercrombie and Fitch
Recently, Abercrombie and Fitch has been brought into the public spotlight for excluding
bigger sizes from their stores to deter plus size customers from shopping there. While
most large retail clothing companies have expanded the sizes they carry to accommodate
the largest consumer demographics possible, Abercrombie only offers as large as a size 10
for women. The brands refusal to change and keep up with the sartorial times is not out of
laziness (though it might be more respectable if it were). Instead, the folks at Abercrombie
are excluding bigger sizes from their stores for the simple reason that they dont want big
people in their stores. In a 2006 interview, Abercrombie CEO Mike Jeffries even

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admitted: In every school there are the cool and popular kids, and then there are the notso-cool kids. Candidly, we go after the cool kids. We go after the attractive all-American kid
with a great attitude and a lot of friends. A lot of people dont belong [in our clothes], and
they cant belong. Are we exclusionary? Absolutely" (Bryan, 2013).
In addition, Abercrombie has faced discriminatory employment lawsuits for only hiring
those who fit the companys look. The goal is to use employees to exemplify the type of
shoppers they want purchasing and representing their company in public.
Victorias Secret
Abercrombie and Fitch are not the only ones who have specific criteria set for the
employees they select as models for their brand. According to Victorias Secret Chief
Marketing Officer Edward Razik, Fewer than 100 women in the world have the potential
to be a Victorias Secret model. Prospective models must meet specific requirements to
become a Victorias Secret angel (Gregos, 2010).
Victorias Secret has a height requirement similar to all high fashion: between 5 feet 8
inches and 6 feet tall. Anyone shorter than 5 feet 8 inches is typically not considered. In
addition to height, models must meet specific measurement requirements in order to
model designer clothing. Because Victorias Secret primarily sells lingerie, an hourglass
figure is preferred. Models with a 34-inch bust, a 24-inch waist and 34-inch hips are the
most desired; however, slight variations are acceptable if the model possesses other more
desirable attributes, such as a beautiful face (Gregos, 2010).
While Victorias Secret models appear mainly in magazines with the help of Photoshop,
they do not have that advantage at the annual Victorias Secret fashion show or at casting
auditions. Models must be in top physical condition to strut down a runway in high heels
and revealing lingerie on live television or in front of a panel of casting directors. Smooth
skin, a toned body and glossy hair are minimum requirements.
The most important part of a Victorias Secret models appearance is her face. Full lips, a
small nose, high cheekbones and chiseled features are the most common facial
characteristics of Victorias Secret models.
A recent advertisement for Victorias Secret lingerie features models wearing the typical
revealing bras and underwear. They are foregrounded by the phrase The Perfect Body.
This kind of verbal-visual correlation more clearly illustrates the kind of messages sent by
the media every day. That thin is in and we must conform to the image being represented
in the advertisement in order to be accepted by society.
Dove
Unlike the previously discussed companies, one company who has chosen to respond to the
publics desire for a more accepting and self-esteem boosting body campaign is the skin
care brand, Dove. While Victorias Secret advertisements feature women who fit the

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angel classification, the Dove has created an #iamperfect campaign that displays six
women with everyday body shapes under the banner, The Perfect Real Body (ElejaldeRuiz, 2014, 12).
Doves Campaign for Real Beauty sprang from a shocking statistic found in a 2004 global
study: only 2% of women around the world described themselves as beautiful (Russell,
2014). To address this issue, the brand created a campaign that was groundbreaking in its
definition of beauty. Its first print campaigns used real women in a number of shapes, sizes,
and colors, without airbrushing or photoshopping.
The goal of the campaign is to celebrate the differences in womens bodies and inspire
women to be comfortable in their own skin. But in its use of non-traditional models, Dove
also made its campaign the centerpiece of ongoing debate about how society views women,
their appearances, and their value (Russell, 2014).
For us its always been about women and tackling stereotypes so they can reach their full
potential. This is a big job and weve never said we can do it alonequite the opposite,
said Rob Candelino, vice president of marketing at Dove. We want the discussion and
debate in society so that we can arrest and stop and hopefully reverse negative and narrow
depictions of beautywe invite everyone to play a role. Its not about us; its about our
women (Russell, 2014).

CONCLUSIONS
This kind of body shaming practiced by the three observed and analyzed companies have
contributed significantly to the health concerns facing our nation today, and has caused
rampant consumer dissatisfaction that companies would be wise to react and adjust to
satisfy.
Today, twenty-four million Americans are faced with an eating disorder. One out of every
four women in the United States will be faced with an eating disorder at some point in their
life. Furthermore, eating disorders have the highest mortality rate of any mental illness
(Carney, 2013, 293-301). These shocking statistics have been reached because of the
constant media messages women are exposed to on a daily basis. Recently, people have
been making their opinions on the detrimental media messages known through public
campaigns and retaliations.
Lululemon
Business employees of Lululemon have commented on customer reactions they have
observed. At the Philadelphia location, Elizabeth Licorish grew accustomed to seeing plussize shoppers enter and quickly leave, having deduced that this was not their place. There
was sort of a grumpy response to people who werent familiar with the brand, she said of
the Lululemon culture in her store. Moms would come in with their daughters, look
around and say, Clearly I cant shop here (Bhasin, 2013).

Due to Lululemons decision to disregard the plus-size market of industry shoppers, they as
well as the other companies analyzed, have chosen to miss out on the $14 billion dollar
plus-size apparel industry. This target market now makes up 67 percent of U.S. consumers
(Bhasin, 2013).
As Lululemon has been highlighted for their exclusionary tactics, their biggest competitor
has flourished because of their more accepting methods. Athleta, another athletic apparel
company, offers sizes up to and beyond a size 12. It has also been observed that Athletas
merchandise compare larger to Lululemon sizes, a Lululemon size 12 measures to an
Athleta size 16; making them even more accessible to all body types (Cunningham, 2013).
Abercrombie and Fitch
ABC News recently aired a follow up story on the publics reaction to Abercrombie & Fitchs
refusal to carry clothing in larger clothing sizes and insistence on exclusionary selling.
Former Cheers actress, Kirstie Alley, voiced her opinion, I would never buy anything
from Abercrombie and neither would my kids (Jarvis, 2014).
Protestors have gone as far as to gather outside the retailers Michigan Avenue store in
Chicago, outraged about the stores not carrying clothes in a size 14, which is the average
U.S. womans pant size. Nicole Patrick, who was among the protestors in Chicago, said she
is hurt by the exclusion. As a woman who cannot shop in Abercrombie, its extremely
hurtful to hear that Im not cool, she said. I think Im really cool and so does my daughter.
In addition to sending back her childrens clothes, Neusner also wrote a letter to Jeffries
explaining her decision. My kids have been wearing [Abercrombie & Fitch] clothes for a
long time now we can make an informed choice not to shop there, she told ABC News. I
didnt want my kids being walking billboards for them but I didnt want to throw [the
clothes] away. I wanted the company to know how I felt about them. (Jarvis, 2014).
But what becomes of those returned or damaged clothing items. Abercrombie & Fitch has
been reported to throwing away or destroying the apparel because they dont want to risk
anyone unworthy of representing the brand to have access to their clothes. One YouTube
user, Greg Karber, has started their own public activism movement Fitch the Homeless to
rebrand the company in his own way. He is asking friends, family and online viewers to
clean out their closets of unwanted Abercrombie & Fitch apparel to donate to homeless
shelters across the nation. The goal is to make Abercrombie the most popular clothing
brand of the homeless (Glazek, 2013). Obviously, this is not the end result Jeffries had in
mind when he made his strong statements defending the objectives of his company.
Victorias Secret
Upon release of The Perfect Body campaign by Victorias secret, women across the nation
have made their feelings on the advertisement message known. Rossalyn Warren stated,
Every day women are bombarded with advertisements aimed at making them feel

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insecure about their bodies in the hope that they will spend money on products that will
supposedly make them happier and more beautiful All this does is perpetuate low selfesteem among women who are made to feel that their bodies are inadequate and
unattractive because they do not fit into a narrow standard of beauty. It contributes to a
culture that encourages serious health problems such as negative image and eating
disorders (Bahadur, 2014).
Warren and fellow The Perfect Body opponents have created a petition campaign,
change.org, requesting that Victorias Secret apologize and change the campaign. At the
time of writing, the petition had over 27,000 signatures and is continuing to gain support
(Bahadur, 2014).
While Victorias Secret has altered signs in most store-displays to read A Body For Every
Body, this change is far from ideal. Changing the written message doesnt address the
problematic subtle messages of the advertisement. Women have continued to utilize social
media to express their desire that Victorias Secret ads would alter from the typical tall and
thin body representation into something more realistic.
One might speculate that Victorias Secret would be wise and eager to take advantage of
this opportunity to listen to customer concerns and develop relationships that may form a
wider and more loyal customer base. However, despite the massive amount of media
coverage and consumer responses, Victoria's Secret has not commented on the backlash or
its decision to change the language on the advertised banner (Bahadur, 2014).
Dove
Based on the researched findings, Dove appears to be the most consumer-friendly
organization that celebrates all body-types, rather than praising and shaming a select few.
As Dove celebrates the tenth anniversary of its Campaign for Real Beauty, they are finally
seeing the tangible effects of its influence with a recent outpouring of female
empowerment-themed campaigns including the dissident acts towards the aforementioned
companies (Russell, 2014).
Dove has engaged social media audiences with taglines including #LikeaGirl, #ShineStrong
and #NotSorry to promote positive body image among viewers and developing supportive
relationships with customers. Doves videos have averaged 150 million views per video
and have been reviewed as inspirational and comforting to viewers (Russell, 2014).

RESOLUTIONS
Although practices that promote exclusivity and eliteness may have worked in the past,
times are changing. Now more than ever, consumers are expecting their voices to be heard
and responded to. Social media has bridged the gap between producer and consumer and a
companys success can be enhanced or destroyed based on how they listen, interact and
respond to the criticism and the desires of their audience. A personal interview with

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Chelsey Bird supports this observation, In the past two years, my impression for
companies has been seriously influenced by how they present themselves through social
media and how they engage their customers in a positive way. I have found companies
whose products I admired, but because they ignored me on their social media platforms,
my respect for them diminished. I want to know that I am valued as an individual. I dont
want to be just another numbered customer, I want to be a voice that matters and one that
a company cares about (Bird, 2014).
As people are becoming more transparent through social media and more confident in
their ability to share their opinion, the fashion industry has a tremendous opportunity
available to them. By using their brand to connect with consumers, their buyers may
become their marketers. This is a concept that will generate brand loyalty, promote
awareness and maximize industry sales.
Big-name brand companies in the fashion industry would do well to follow the example of
Dove and any other organizations that embrace all buyers, no matter their shape or size.

Sources
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Bird, C. (personal communication, November 23, 2014)
Bhasin, K. (2013, July 31). Shunning Plus-Size Shoppers Is Key To Lululemon's Strategy,
Insiders Say. Retrieved December 1, 2014, from
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/07/31/lululemon-plussize_n_3675605.html
Bryan, C. (2013, May 10). The Shoddy Ethics of Abercrombie and Fitch. Retrieved
December 1, 2014, from http://truthiscool.com/the-shoddy-ethics-of-abercrombieand-fitch
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Elejalde-Ruiz, A. (2014, November 14). Victoria's Secret 'Perfect Body' Ad Stirs Backlash.
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