Yesterday, New Zealand-owned women’s clothing store Glassons came under fire for using mannequins that have protruding ribs on display:
Glassons was defended by prominent New Zealand fashion entrepeneur Denise L’Estrange-Corbet, who said: “Clothes look better on skinny people. They just do.”
When I saw the shocking rib-cage mannequins and heard L’Estrange say that, I wasn’t surprised. Because I was once told by a Glassons manager that they had hired me over another girl because that girl was fat.
A number of years ago, I had just finished high school and was looking for a job. I had no experience in, well, anything really. I had no professional work that I could put on a resume, so I just listed my school achievements, and walked around the local shopping centre hoping to find part-time work.
Given I had no work experience and was pretty clueless, I was shocked when I got a call from Glassons asking me to come in for a trial. I never expected them to get in touch with me; Glassons was a young women’s clothing store – kind of like a cheap Sportsgirl – and since I’d never worked before, I was fully prepared to start somewhere like Subway and work my way up. To get a job in a clothes shop was kind of my holy grail at the time, so to have Glassons call me after my mass resume drop? I was stoked.
Top Comments
If I owned a plus size clothing shop, I'd try and hire big women. If I ran a store that only stocked smaller sizes, I'd try and hire a smaller girl.
If I ran an up-market clothing boutique that catered for rich, older ladies, I'd try and hire someone with no visible tattoos or piercings and who dressed conservatively. If I ran a skate shop, my approach would be a lot more casual.
You need to be able to market your clothes effectively and pick people to work for you who are going to fit in with your image, as well as make your customers feel comfortable.
However, if I only had two applicants to choose between and one was better qualified but didn't quite fit the image and the other one looked the part, but had no qualifications and sucked at their trial, I'd pick the better qualified person.
Ok lets flip this around
Would a store targeting larger women hire a size 6 - 8? They wouldnt be able to wear the clothes the store sells
Have more issues selling it as they can describe the fit or anything