I kind of love Wet Seal today!

I never thought I would say this, but I am kind of loving Wet Seal right now. In my high school days, I missed the phenomenon that is Wet Seal. By the time I was into tight, inexpensive, synthetic clothing, H&M had already won my wallet, and there wasn’t room for two discount clothing stores in my life. So I have largely ignored Wet Seal and other stores like it, until today! I came across this story on XO Jane, and it warmed my heart.

You see, Wet Seal made a young person’s dream come true, when they asked her to model their clothing for a new ad campaign. This young person is named Karrie Brown, and she happens to be diagnosed with Down syndrome. Individuals with Down syndrome have a hard time building muscle tone and are not typically very tall, which are usually requirements for models. Our narrow framework of beauty would have typically kept Karrie from modeling jobs, but a photo of her in Wet Seal clothing began circulating the internet in August. It got some attention, and Karrie created a campaign to convince Wet Seal to use her as a model. Eventually, Karrie’s hard work paid off; when Wet Seal agreed that she should be their latest model. 

This makes me really happy for a few different reasons:

1. Wet Seal showed a young person that their dreams can come true through persistence and work. That doesn’t always happen.
2. Wet Seal is shining a spotlight on a typically invisible population and creating space for them in society. This is hugely important when we think about acceptance
3. The ad campaign is not infantilizing. Oftentimes, people with developmental and cognitive disabilities are treated like small children, even as adults.
4. I would like to think that maybe this ad campaign is one step toward broadening our conversation about beauty and idealized social norms.

      So, the next time I need a new tank top or trendy clothing item, I might just use my money to support Wet Seal, a company that is expanding the conversation of who deserves to be a model. I, for one, am ready for that chat! 

-          Lauren, new Wet Seal supporter