You’d think a store selling $360 jeans could afford a dressing room with a mirror and actual doors. We’re looking at you, Aritzia.
Aritzia is a popular clothing store known for making “everyday luxury” items that are flattering, well-made, and sustainable (though consumers and independent sustainability organizations beg to differ on that last part).
Despite how pricey the store can be, they don’t even have some of the fitting room privacy basics—like a mirror and doors more durable than a curtain—that more affordable retailers, like Old Navy, have, which this woman quickly realized after a worker unexpectedly popped their hand into her “private” dressing room.
This isn’t the first time a person has complained about the retail chain’s dressing rooms. Another customer called the brand out on TikTok for forcing people to go out and see themselves in the communal mirror, which is uncomfortable given that there are other people, particularly men, there as well.
“Not only now do I have to compare myself to all the 15-year-olds in Aritzia and the triple extra smalls, alright,” the TikToker said, “but now I have your mans looking up and down at me. Absolutely not!”
In a new viral video, Aritzia customer Halle (@hallechrissy) is seen happily trying on a light pink silky skirt and a white long-sleeve shirt.
She’s recording herself doing this because, as we all know by now, there’s no mirror in the dressing room where people are trying on clothes to see how they look.
Halle continues to check herself out, even pulling her hair out if its ponytail, and appears to like the items. But she’s soon startled by an employee who slipped his hand into the curtained off dressing room to double check if anyone was in there or how she was doing.
“How’s it going in here?” the employee is heard asking.
Halle’s panicked response is an enthusiastic “Good!” but her eyes show a quick flash of surprise and panic.
“Watch me panic in the aritzia dressing room when the worker slips his hand into my dressing room to knock while I have my camera propped up bc ther’s no MIRRORS,” the text overlay on the video reads.
“Sometimes ya dont want an audience,” Halle added in the caption.
The video has a whopping 1.6 million views and commenters had plenty to say.
@hallechrissy “gooood!!” 😅😅 sometimes ya dont want an audience #aritzia #aritziadressingrooms ♬ What You Won’t Do for Love – Bobby Caldwell
“I just wanna know why stores think that a curtain is adequate enough to provide privacy,” the top comment read.
“Idc what anyone says aritzia mad annoying for this concept,” a person said.
“As a retail worker, we only do that to make 100% sure before we open the curtain there’s no one in there! I’ve done all of this and still accidentally opened the curtain because they didn’t respond,” a worker explained.
“Aritizia’s dressing room gives me so much anxiety!” a customer wrote.
Aritzia has faced backlash online in the past, particularly over customers’ experiences with store employees. Much different from body-shaming however, is one shopper’s story in which they supposedly found used boxers hanging up in the store.
The Daily Dot reached out to Aritzia for comment via email and to Halle via TikTok comment.
Update 12:51pm CT March 20: In a statement to the Daily Dot, an Aritzia spokesperson said that all boutiques have at least one styling suite equipped with either a permanent or portable mirror for clients requiring additional privacy.
“Our goal is and remains for every client to receive a high level of dedicated service during their visits,” they said.
“Our styling suite design reflects our commitment to creating a safe, engaging, and welcoming experience in each of our 115+ boutiques,” the spokesperson added. “The shared styling suite mirrors are designed to allow our clients to optimally view and decide on their preferred looks with the assistance of our style advisors. In this setting, clients receive helpful insight on our product offerings—including details on fit and styling possibilities. We pride ourselves on delivering a high level of support, in a welcoming environment that cultivates a sense of collaboration and creativity.”
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