I was reading this article on Refinery29 this weekend regarding the hullabaloo surrounding some Swedish department store mannequins. You see, my friends, the mannequins are, get ready for it, average size. These mannequins are size 10-12, which is larger than your typical model/sample size, which ranges 2-4. I remember working at Martin + Osa and when we went to dress the mannequins for floor change, we would grab the smallest sizes that we carried (XS and Size 0) and still we had to use clips sometimes to get the clothes to look right on the super slim frames of the typical mannequin. To me, as someone who as always carried extra weight, even at my thinnest, I logically look at mannequins as just a way to showcase clothing in stores we all shop at even though they do not represent my size. Though I feel this way, I can understand that mannequins that do not represent reality can put unrealistic expectations on women to maintain a certain size to wear certain clothes, but then magazines, movie and television put those expectations on us anyways. So why has it been such a big deal that one Swedish department store, Åhléns, has displayed mannequins that more accurately represent the average woman? There are people who support the mannequins, there are people who say that this encourages obesity, there are people like me who agree with Liz Black... why didn't this happen ages ago?
The average woman wears a size 14. If there are women, size 6 and up, who aren't being represented in the stores they shop at, isn't that a problem? I know I am no skinny minnie but I certainly do spend my fair share at multiple different retailers. Wouldn't you think that a curvier mannequin, a petite mannequin, a medium height/build mannequin could find their way into our stores? Why not have mannequins of every size so that people feel like they are being catered to? I would have to think that if I felt that I were being catered to, I would be more likely to shop there. Again, I do not claim to take huge issue with thin mannequins but also don't really understand the "all one size" thing either... and so the "weight debate" or rather "mannequin size" debate wages on.
What do you think? Would you like to see a more realistic mannequin at your favorite store?
via Refinery29
