A lot of celebrities have a pretty signature look to them, that even despite growth and evolution seem to be stuck to them. For Ariana Grande it’s the high ponytail, for Kim Kardashian it’s the rib-crushing corset, and for Billie Eilish it’s very baggy clothing.
In a recent interview with Complex, Billie revealed that this signature look was more than just a fashion choice — it was her way of combating body issues that she had been battling since she was about 11.
We all remember what it was like to be 11 years old (despite how hard we try to forget). A lot of us were going through puberty, our bodies were changing, and everything felt like it was the end of the world. 0/10 do not recommend. It was around this age that Billie said she started getting obsessed with the clothing brand Brandy Melville.
Now, in 2024 we live in a post-Brandy Hellville & The Cult of Fast Fashion society, where we know that Brandy Melville and other brands that were huge when we were growing up (um, does anyone remember Abercrombie & Fitch?) perpetuated a lot of really toxic beliefs about body image. But back then, these were just the cool brands to wear if you wanted to fit in. Unfortunately, fitting into these clothes was another story since Brandy Melville only carried one size — and *surprise* that size was somewhere between a small and extra small.
Billie explained how she’d buy clothes from Brandy Melville but that they wouldn’t fit, causing her to develop some pretty intense body issues. And remember, she was 11 at the time so on top of all of the awfulness that comes with puberty and developing boobs for the first time, here comes a shitty clothing brand to make her feel like something was wrong with her body. Oh, and she also mentioned that she was in ballet at the time, and if you know anything about the toxic environment ballet can sometimes be for young girls, you know that this must have been a rough time for Billie.
But this is exactly why she turned to her larger, loose-fitting clothing. “I didn’t want my body to be part of my outfit,” Billie said. “I wanted my outfit to be my outfit, and my body happens to be inside it.”
Of course, Billie went through a lot of evolution when it came to her style as a celebrity. She recalled her brief phase in 2021 when she was dressing more femininely, wearing skirts and dresses, and showing off bras and lingerie.
“I was just like, ‘Fuck you guys. I can do whatever I want. And then I can go back to what I was doing before, and you guys can eat it,'” she explained.
And while she’s back to wearing some of her more iconic baggy looks, she recognizes that she’s not confined to being what people expect her to be.
“But then every now and then I want to wear a dress, and that’s fucking fine. And it should be fine the other way around.” she said.
