WARNING, You may have to picture yourself in your underwear if you dare!
So chatting to my girlfriend the other day, she was telling me that she was desperately searching for some amazing pants to wear to a night out. I mean you know what it’s like when you have the top picked out, even the accessories are sorted, but you need the perfect accompaniment, in this case pants. And there’s no denying pants are pretty crucial, you can’t just show up to a fancy 3 course dinner in your knickers ladies (sorry!)
So you can imagine her overjoyed little heart when there they were, sitting on a rack looking gorgeous, just calling her name at an expensive brands outlet store in an exclusive area of town. Yes she was practically giddy! So a quick trip to the change room was in order, after all there’s nothing worse than getting home, on the other side of town and them not fitting, right!
So my friend heads to the change room, but in an instant that giddy, overjoyed feeling turns into full blown terror as the stunning size ‘tiny’ shop assistant announces that they’re ‘communal change rooms!’
OK, you think, is this chick for real? Yep, no jokes, in you go and strip sister! So my friend, (bless her soul,) has a gorgeous body, but she’s not the type to strut her stuff in a mini skirt, let alone her underwear in public (well slightly public), but what the heck right, when you’re in Rome and all that . .
So she cautiously enters the communal room and walks smack bang into a g-string, not kidding you, in all it’s glory! The wearer of the g-string clearly not quite as shy as my friend, is bending over and pulling up her skirt, she turns and smiles, my friend about to die, smiles back politely. “So picture this”, she says, “bras and knickers every direction you look, I didn’t know where to look!” Sounds like man heaven, (well maybe in man heaven there would actually be a ban on bras and knickers, at least those of the beige, or granny variety!)
So my friend promptly put herself in a corner, slipped on the pants, briefly admiring herself in the mirror and she’s was out of there as quick as humanly possible, (all that Sydney to Surf experience came in handy that day.)
I guess for some a communal change room wouldn’t even raise an eyebrow, for others it may be a slight annoyance, but for some women it evokes sheer terror, I mean like candy man movie scary! I am all for feeling beautiful and confident in my own skin, I am more than happy to walk around my home in nothing but my undies, and you want see me hiding under an oversized T-shirt at the pool, but let’s be honest here, when I’m in a change room checking myself out at every angle and hoping they haven’t installed ‘skinny mirrors’, I don’t really want a bunch of onlookers, unless it’s a girlfriend or my sister who’s opinion I’m after.
The question is where do we draw the line? What should be private and how do the rules apply to different locations? When I’m at the gym I don’t care if I change in front of others, and when I breast fed, well I was happy to feed anywhere my baby needed feeding, but in the change room of a clothing store is it different? And if so, why? Your guess is as good as mine. My friend’s husband wanted to know where this communal change was located so he could pay a visit, she sadly informed him it was for women only and he wouldn’t be welcome!!
I would love to hear your thoughts, are you . . .
A. Happy to strip down in front of other’s in a communal change room? “I’m proud to show off my body!”
B. Neutral, whatever it takes to secure the right outfit? A girls’ gotta do what a girl’s gotta do!
C. Terrified to the point of upon seeing a ‘communal change room’ sign, you’d spin around on your heels faster than the shop assistant could ask “would you like to try those on?”
Post your comments below. Can’t wait to hear your view!
Thanks for joining me, love Mackenzie xx
Thanks for commenting, love mg