Toronto woman calls out Aritzia for allowing men in changing rooms. Then she finds out how much they make in a day: ‘You can’t afford to put mirrors?’
Because Aritzia is a high-end fashion outlet, one would probably expect a VIP experience. Yet, according to one TikToker the changing rooms have a serious problem.
In the viral video, which has garnered 20,800 views, Koryn (@lenny.and.zelda) spoke directly to the fashion brand. “This is a genuine question for Aritzia,” she said. “Why do you allow men in the change room?”
She said that while she wasn’t “man-hater,” she wanted to ask Aritzia the following: “Why do you allow men in a woman’s change room where they have to come out of the change room to look at the clothes that they’re buying?”
Koryn also questioned that if the brand can afford to charge $450 for a denim item of clothing, why can’t they afford to put mirrors in the individual changing rooms?
“Somethings really off about that,” she added.
Koryn went on to claim that Zara purportedly had both a ‘no men allowed’ changing room policy and a male clothing section, while, comparatively, Aritzia is seemingly mainly tailored towards women.
In Zara, the creator noted that women had mirrors in individual changing rooms, and suggested that they were also comfortable enough to use the outside communal mirrors.
Addressing the Aritzia issue
“And the other challenge here, the more that I think about it, is that you curtail to a younger demographic,” she added.
“Why are you encouraging young women to A: feel uncomfortable trying on clothing in front of people […] like, why would you create a space for that and then B: have men there?” she asked. “And then C: charge an exorbitant amount of money because that’s your branding and that’s your vibe. Fine, spend whatever you wanna spend – but why would you do that?”
Koryn added that she asked the Yorkdale store one time how much the store incurs a day. She says she was told that they took in $26,000 per day.
“You can’t afford to put mirrors in your change rooms, or you can’t make a policy that men aren’t allowed in women’s change rooms?” she asked. “Come on, that’s not cool.”
What did commenters say?
In the comments, some users shared their annoyance. “Been asking this for over 20 yrs soo doubt they’re planning to change it,” one wrote. “I just don’t shop there anymore. It’s sooo weird.”
“Agree!” a second added. “And why don’t those curtains ever close fully!!??”
“Give us damn mirrors in the rooms!!!!” a third said.
However, a fourth commenter provided a different perspective. They said that men are allowed “so my husband can help me decide what to get.”
A further TikToker replied, “That’s fine, but it’s uncomfortable for other women trying things on when they have to come out and look in the shared mirror.”
Meanwhile, a sixth TikToker reported, “I just visited one that had mirrors in the stalls. It was glorious. It also had a cafe bar.”
Other shoppers have complained
Several Redditors on the Aritzia subreddit expressed similar complaints.
“Aritzia!! I love you but I have a bone to pick with you,” one wrote. “The absolute LAST thing I want to see as I’m checking the PUBLIC changing room mirror to see if my chest is too big for a cross halter are a bunch of crusty dusty MEN sitting there WATCHING me!!!
A second complained, “So who’s the genius that thought having a communal fitting room is a good idea ? what makes you think I want every bitch’s boyfriend in the middle of the [expletive] fitting room sitting there while i’m trying [expletive] on and I have to come out of the room because there’s no [expletive] mirror inside the rooms?”
Aritzia appear to have addressed this issue in the past
A third Reddit user shared a screenshot of an email purported to be from Aritzia’s customer service. “Our communal dressing room mirrors are designed to allow our clients to optimally view and decide on their preferred looks with the assistance of our style advisors,” the text reads. “We pride ourselves on delivering a high level of support, including personalized styling insight, in a welcoming environment that cultivates a sense of collaboration and creativity. As our clients are our priority, a private room with a mirror is available upon request. Our goal is and remains for every client to receive a high level of dedicated service during their visits.”
Aritzia didn’t immediately respond to The Mary Sue’s request for comment via email.
What did the TikToker say?
In a TikTok direct message conversation with The Mary Sue, Koryn said, “I’ve always known there was an issue with Aritiza and the lack of mirror representation in each individual changing room. Meaning, there is no world where it is OK to not have mirrors in change rooms.”
She continued, “However this became very obvious to me after being in Zara and noticing that women are actually quite happy to be out of their change rooms, in communal areas when men are not in the room. Noticing how uncomfortable the women (of all ages) are in Aritzia vs how definitely comfortable women are in Zara is what prompted me to make the video. It really made me question Why Aritizia would want to make their customers feel this way.”
She went on to add that “so many people agreed” with her video. “I had no idea so many felt the same way and it was interesting to learn about how each person felt from an individualistic perspective as well as then from the collective,” Koryn noted. “Again, the question ‘Why?’ came to my mind: Why as a company would you know how your policy makes people feel so terrible, awkward, and comfortable and then proceed to do nothing about it? (And the odd mirror, in some random locations is NOT the solution and nor is it good enough).”
According to Koryn, Aritzia were “directly tagged onward of 50 times in the video [comments].” Despite this, she says the company “has not reached out or responded in any way.”
“I guess I would want the take away to be: do better Aritzia,” she concluded. “If you’re going to allow men in the change room area, they show your loyal customers some respect and dignity giving them the freedom to decide if they want their bodies to be put on display, by anyone (both men and women and especially men as you are a female clothing distributor) or not. It’s not cool. It’s not cute. And it’s not ok.”
Koryn also reiterated how, in her conversation with a Yorkdale store worker, they told her that they earn $26,000 a day. “As if they can’t afford to put mirrors in the dressing rooms,” she added.
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