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Sometime this spring, Brandy Melville — the ’90s-inspired fast-fashion brand with a massive American teen-girl following — quietly opened a sister store in Santa Monica, California. The new store, named St. George, breaks one of the retailer’s cardinal rules: Instead of only offering “one size fits most,” at least some of its collection of ribbed cropped tees and drawstring pants now comes in size “medium.” What’s next? Large?
Multiple sizes wouldn’t be news for any other fashion brand. But famously, Brandy Melville only offers its insanely popular miniskirts and oversize sweatshirts in one small size per style, simultaneously seducing and stressing young women everywhere. The effect of the sizing policy was a central topic in Brandy Hellville & the Cult of Fast Fashion, an HBO documentary released in April. Former employees and associates spoke about the company’s troubling work culture, much of which led back to its Italian founder and CEO, Stephan Marsan. The documentary also alleged former employees faced fatphobia, antisemitism, and even sexual assault.
But back to the store. Various TikTok and Reddit posts from St. George in Santa Monica report a grown-up, polished style, seemingly designed to appeal to shoppers in their mid-20s and 30s by offering fewer flowers and more solids and stripes in neutral tones. The store even has homewares, like pillows and olive oil. Before you get too excited, shoppers reported that most items are still only available in size small.
Brandy Melville hasn’t officially claimed the store, even though its shoppers will instantly recognize the interior design. (Its trademark is owned by the same Swiss company, Y.Y.G.M., that owns Brandy Melville’s trademarks.) The Santa Monica location has very little branding generally — not even a sign out front, just the St. George name and logo, a dragon, on a tiny tile on the wall outside.
This isn’t the first time Brandy Melville has played with the St. George logo. Last year, the company opened a St. George coffee shop on Seventh Avenue in New York City, selling baguettes and matcha lattes. The question remains: Is Brandy Melville growing up? Could it pull off an Abercrombie-style rebrand? Does it even need to? Despite the documentary, Brandy Melville remains hugely popular with teen shoppers. And based on the excited posts from the new St. George store, people are curious to check out anything the mysterious company puts out.