Why do shops care so little about their changing rooms yet revamp the shop floor regularly? I rarely shop for clothes so had forgotten just how unpleasant the fittings rooms can be but it didn't take me long to draw up this list of the faults.
Small
When you obviously need room to remove your clothes to try on the shop's offering why do they make these rooms so tiny? Sometimes the rooms are stuffed with other stock in boxes reducing the size even further. If you hit your head against the wall when bending over it's clearly not big enough.
Small
When you obviously need room to remove your clothes to try on the shop's offering why do they make these rooms so tiny? Sometimes the rooms are stuffed with other stock in boxes reducing the size even further. If you hit your head against the wall when bending over it's clearly not big enough.
Dirty
Even the stores which get a regular shop floor makeover seem to continue to neglect their changing rooms. The boot marks up the wall continue to show the lack of space and the chipped paint and general grubbiness show a lack of care from the shop owners. Even daily cleaning seems to be missed judging by the hair and dust rolling around the floor. It turns out some members of the public are truly disgusting so the cleaners have some repulsive finds in the changing rooms but it often seems as if those bad moments have put them off for life and the mess is never removed anymore.
No Hooks
While the clothes on the shop floor will always be displayed on coat hangers on hooks often no hook exists in the changing room. Sometimes there is the idea of where a long broken off hook was once in place but now you have nowhere for the new clothing you're trying on or your coat and the older clothing you're wearing when you arrive.
Stool
An inappropriate stool may be inside your tiny cubicle. Either too low, high, unstable or wide-based, and basically not offering a lot of help but to save some items from the floor.
Even the stores which get a regular shop floor makeover seem to continue to neglect their changing rooms. The boot marks up the wall continue to show the lack of space and the chipped paint and general grubbiness show a lack of care from the shop owners. Even daily cleaning seems to be missed judging by the hair and dust rolling around the floor. It turns out some members of the public are truly disgusting so the cleaners have some repulsive finds in the changing rooms but it often seems as if those bad moments have put them off for life and the mess is never removed anymore.
No Hooks
While the clothes on the shop floor will always be displayed on coat hangers on hooks often no hook exists in the changing room. Sometimes there is the idea of where a long broken off hook was once in place but now you have nowhere for the new clothing you're trying on or your coat and the older clothing you're wearing when you arrive.
Stool
An inappropriate stool may be inside your tiny cubicle. Either too low, high, unstable or wide-based, and basically not offering a lot of help but to save some items from the floor.
Mirror
For some unfathomable reason if a mirror is actually fitted it will never be the most flattering and not always at the right height so you still can't see the whole of you unless you step out of the cubicle into the corridor.
Curtain
The pull across curtain is always missing some hooks so it won't close fully and therefore reveals your bottom as you bend over to try something on.
Door
If the cubicle has a door it may well not also have a handle or a lock. I found three broken locks and handles before settling for cubicle number four with my foot against the door while changing. There were only five cubicles at that store. I'm presuming the one in use was the only one with a door that actually closed.
The half door is truly unpleasant. Shoppers can see your head while clothes go up and off and heaven forbid you pick up something off the floor as they'll see more than your holey socks. These partial doors seem to be more common in men's changing rooms.
Bell
"Ring this bell for assistance." Well, I would if it worked or if anyone ever answered. Even when I asked for a different size I was told to go out onto the shop floor - without my shoes on and while wearing an ill-fitting item - to ask a member of staff for help.
Lighting
A harsh fluorescent tube directly above your head is not going to give the most flattering appearance. Nor is the broken/never replaced/no lighting effect either.
Smell
Small rooms without windows, where people change their clothes, do get more than a bit whiffy as some people do smell. A quick spray of air freshener only adds to the gag-worthiness of the air.
And all of this without mentioning communal changing rooms that were the horror of days gone by. Maybe they still exist and that's why I find myself only shopping online these days. What have I missed from this list? And what do you dislike about shop changing rooms?
Images: (c) Laura Porter and dearbarbie
For some unfathomable reason if a mirror is actually fitted it will never be the most flattering and not always at the right height so you still can't see the whole of you unless you step out of the cubicle into the corridor.
Curtain
The pull across curtain is always missing some hooks so it won't close fully and therefore reveals your bottom as you bend over to try something on.
Door
If the cubicle has a door it may well not also have a handle or a lock. I found three broken locks and handles before settling for cubicle number four with my foot against the door while changing. There were only five cubicles at that store. I'm presuming the one in use was the only one with a door that actually closed.
The half door is truly unpleasant. Shoppers can see your head while clothes go up and off and heaven forbid you pick up something off the floor as they'll see more than your holey socks. These partial doors seem to be more common in men's changing rooms.
Bell
"Ring this bell for assistance." Well, I would if it worked or if anyone ever answered. Even when I asked for a different size I was told to go out onto the shop floor - without my shoes on and while wearing an ill-fitting item - to ask a member of staff for help.
Lighting
A harsh fluorescent tube directly above your head is not going to give the most flattering appearance. Nor is the broken/never replaced/no lighting effect either.
Smell
Small rooms without windows, where people change their clothes, do get more than a bit whiffy as some people do smell. A quick spray of air freshener only adds to the gag-worthiness of the air.
And all of this without mentioning communal changing rooms that were the horror of days gone by. Maybe they still exist and that's why I find myself only shopping online these days. What have I missed from this list? And what do you dislike about shop changing rooms?
Images: (c) Laura Porter and dearbarbie
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