Pop culture trends have always received a lot of attention. For instance, the hashtag Outfit of the Day (OOTD) has attracted the bulk of media attention, and dedicated accounts have been made to provide ideas. Every day, we exhibit ourselves via our OOTD, which sometimes reflects our personalities through our chosen patterns and colors. And yet, my whole closet of hoodies can evidently explain my strong preference for comfort! It’s fascinating to see how fashion brands have evolved in a variety of ways to accommodate distinct preferences as pop trends and fashions are evolving nowadays.

In fact, clothing trends have mirrored the mood of each period and revealed societal changes over time. Various historical frames have enforced restrictions on dress in certain situations; for example, people during WWII were compelled by the war’s responsibilities to construct minimum-sized, wartime-appropriate attire. Social roles can often be constrained solely by clothing size. Admittedly, as the globe is approaching a more industrialized society today, the option of “size-inclusive” allows all individuals to access their preferred, unlimited styles.

However, the presence of body shame has never been erased. Restrictions can be imposed on social positions by clothing size, and humiliation can be seen in overall body types, specifically fat shaming.

Seeing the evolution of fashion trends through a vast array of possibilities over role models, some bodily features have never been fully accepted. Tess Holliday, an American plus-size model, has encountered the unending body shaming she endures. Even under the current media that highly promotes equality and inclusivity, she has more than often been requested to “lose some weight” rather than being referred to as “pretty”.

When we go shopping and find clothes that we are willing to try on,  we look through the size of the clothing tag before we enter the fitting room. But the inquiry of “what is your size” has always carried a lot of weight. As inferred from Holliday’s case, the absolute standards for a model never seemed to disappear. 

In an article exploring clothing size biases, Eliana Dckterman, a TIME staff writer, stated her hesitation toward fitting rooms.

“What I really hate is why I have to go to fitting rooms in the first place: to see if I’ve distilled my unique body shape down to one magic number, knowing full well that I probably won’t be right, and it definitely won’t be magic,” she said.

Size inclusivity informs us that we do not need to have a certain body type in order to fit in certain styles, but the underlying assumptions of contemporary culture strongly contradict this.

“People shouldn’t shame other people’s bodies, and we should not judge other people’s appearances,” expressed Arcadia High School sophomore Layla Roslan. “People should have positive feelings about their bodies. Despite size inclusivity, our society has failed to achieve the goal of body diversity by how social media always advertises perfect skinny people and how there are negative comments about people who aren’t skinny.” 

Studies have shown that body dissatisfaction is linked to a worse quality of life, psychological discomfort, and an increased chance of developing eating disorders. There should never be times that we sacrifice our health for others’ expectations. Artistically delighting the senses or intellect is the definition of beauty, and that includes positivity toward all kinds of body types.

Photo by Monica Dahiya