In the latest fashion trend, Chinese women have found to be wearing children's t-shirts at Uniqlo stores across the country prompting social media users to label the trend unethical. Parents voiced concern over the trend saying that they are unlikely to buy clothes for their children from Uniqlo this season over the fears that they have been tried on by women.
Women in their 20s posted photos of themselves in children's t-shirts on Sina Weibo — China's Twitter-like application. The trend is dubbed "BM style" and stemmed up from Italian clothing brand Brandy Melville that only retailed clothes only in extra small and small sizes. The aim of the trend is to flaunt petite frames and slim waistline in children's t-shirts, South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported.
"I'm a big fan of UNIQLO's girl's shirts and skirts. Actually, I've tried some other fashion brands' children's wares. I like the patterns and colors the most, as clothing for young girls makes adults look cute and mischievous with all the cartoon figures and colors like sky blue, cream and peach pink," a 24-year-old blogger who goes by the name "Little Moon," according to Global Times. "And because it is small, it is tight on your body and shows your curves. That is a little bit sexy."
Damaged Clothing
Women following the BM style have been criticized after the children's t-shirts were found to have been stretched after trying them, according to Uniqlo staff. Some t-shirts had lipstick stains and had to be discarded after stretched, workers at Uniqlo reportedly said.
"I saw a woman 170cm tall go to the fitting room with a T-shirt made for children up to 120cm. The result is the T-shirt has been stretched too much and we can only deal with it as waste," a worker at Uniqlo's Chengdu branch reportedly said.
The store was forced to either discard the damaged clothes or sell them at discounted rates. Uniqlo, however, did not stop customers from trying out children's t-shirts, but encouraged them to try out clothes from women's section.
"We also tell customers to keep the clothes clean and complete and take care of the clothes," a Uniqlo worker told SCMP.
Uniqlo staff in Chengdu received complaints from parents that they would not buy this season's clothes from the store due to the BM style.
"[After hearing this phenomenon], some parents said they felt disgusted and said they would not buy this season's clothes of Uniqlo for their kids," the worker reportedly said.
Social Media Outrage
The BM style has enraged social media users in China with many calling the trend "unethical." Some users also lashed out at women who tried on children's clothes but did not buy them.
"I'm definitely a chubby girl, and I feel powerless and hate myself a little bit every time I see people who can fit into an A-shape mini skirt... Like there is nowhere to hide if I'm not wearing my hoodie," a 17-year-old girl in Chengdu told the Global Times.
"We can't point the finger at them if they try on the children's clothes and buy them. But if they have made the clothes bigger and don't buy, it's not ethical," wrote one user on Weibo.
"It's a bad trend created by internet celebrities," another user wrote on the platform.
