Mannequins, keeping up with the size of Britain?

You may have come across them in ‘plus size’ stores in the past, but mannequins larger than a size 10 are now to be found in more high street stores. Debenhams in particular has decided to move away from only having size 10 mannequins to introducing some at size 16.

Research has shown that customers are more likely to buy clothes when they see them modelled in their size, and with the average UK woman today being a size 16, it seems to make sense. The hope is that being able to see the clothing presented on a figure they feel they can relate to will make women shoppers feel better about themselves, and they will consequently be more comfortable shopping.

It is a true point that seeing mannequins modelling size 10 clothes or sometimes even smaller can be difficult if you're shopping for a larger size. Different styles often suit different body shapes, and so seeing the clothes at a size 10 doesn't always help those looking at size 16 to imagine how the item will look on them.

What do you think? Does it make a difference to you what size mannequins you see in the stores? Do you see them as a representation of the human body or just as something to hold up the clothes on promotion?

Sarah