Teen Fights Retailer For Conservative Clothes
But she was surprised by what she found.
"Some of the clothes there just aren't very appropriate," she explained.
She found short skirts and blue jeans that left her belly button bare.
So, Ella took her complaint to the top. She wrote the company a letter.
The letter read: "Dear Nordstrom, I'm an 11-year-old girl who has tried shopping at your store for clothes, in particular jeans. But all of them ride way under my hips and the next size up is too big and it falls down. Your clerk suggests there is only one 'look'. If that is true then girls are supposed to walk around half naked. I think we need to change that."
Ella got Nordstrom's attention. In fact, two executives wrote her back.
Deniz Anders, Nordstrom's Spokesperson, said, "We're always looking at our sales floor to see what kind of merchandise we have and want to make sure we're carrying something for everyone."
Nordstrom told Ella managers would coach sales people to suggest more modest options and they would ask buyers to look for a wide range of clothes.
But Ella knows girls all around her are sent the opposite message by their role models and the models in magazines. Her peers might be a tougher sell than Nordstrom.
"We can be cool and we can be good looking," she said, "but you can still be modest at the same time."
If that message doesn't sell, Ella said at least "I've learned you should stand up for what you think is right and people will listen to you."
Ella and her mother have also helped plan a kids' fashion show at the Hyatt in Bellevue on Sunday, May 23. The fashion show will feature more modest clothing options for girls.