Clothes Shop Installs Fitting Rooms That Give Compliments - But Isn't It All A Bit Patronising?

A Fitting Room That Dispenses Compliments Is Both Cheesy And Patronising
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If you step out in a new dress and a friend says 'wow you look amazing' with genuine enthusiasm, you're bound to leave the house feeling great.

But would the compliment have the same effect if it had come from a pre-programmed, computerised mirror?

Our guess is, probably not.

But a London branch of women's clothing store Yours has installed interactive changing rooms that compliment shoppers.

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The shop - which specialises in sizes 14-32 and has 40 stores around the UK - has installed somewhat patronising interactive dressing rooms which tell women they look fabulous - even if they're wearing a butt-ugly dress.

“Wow, you look amazing!” is just one of the phrases you (and everyone else in the store) might hear.

Speaking to The Telegraph, a spokesperson for Yours said: “We feel all women, no matter their size, should feel amazing and have a great experience when shopping with us."

On the surface, this sounds admirable.

But dig a little deeper and you start to wonder whether an insincere robotic voice churning out repetitive phrases is really going to help a person who's suffering from a lack of body confidence.

To suggest that woman are shallow enough to be won over by cheap flattery is insulting to our intelligence.

What's more, it also belittles body-acceptance issues, suggesting they can be banished by such a quick-fix.

However well intended, these fitting rooms seem like yet another supercilious corporate attempt to tell women to love their bodies, without actually addressing the fundamental reasons for why someone might have negative feelings about their image.

Take the 'inspirational measuring tape' created by Dove as part of their 'Campaign For Real Beauty' - instead of numbers, the measuring tape is covered with words like 'beautiful' and 'real' in an attempt to celebrate body-diversity.

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But is a faceless voice telling a woman she's 'real' really going to address the self-doubt that individual feels?

It's a good effort, but nowhere near good enough. Far better are ad campaigns that consider why so many women hate their bodies.

Take the new 'Stop The Beauty Madness' ad campaign - it uses stock images to prove that the media smothers women with images of people who conform to stereotypical ideas of beauty, making us mere mortals feel inadequate.

A campaign which questions the way the media and society functions is useful - condescending robotic messages from fitting rooms are not.