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Is the changing room dead? According to the teenage fashion mecca, Brandy Melville, it is. The brand has closed all its fitting rooms across stores in the UK, US and Canada, with shoppers taking to social media lamenting the change.
“Why does Brandy hate [its] customers?” one TikTok user questioned. “How am I supposed to know if it’s cute on me???!” another exclaimed.
The closure follows similar moves by retailers, including Sainsbury’s in the UK, which permanently closed all of its changing rooms in 2025, and the charity shop chain Goodwill in the US that shuttered its rooms in 2023.
While Sainsbury’s said the decision was motivated by the need to “simplify tasks in stores”and Goodwill cited unmanageable staffing expenses, Brandy Melville has yet to confirm its rationale. Online, there are reports of employees blaming an uptick in shoplifting, while others credit “the gum issue” – a well-documented trend on TikTok of customers using chewing gum to hold its flimsy changing room curtains together for privacy. Genius but grim.
The decision to remove the option of trying clothes on instore comes at a time when the British high street is in crisis. Everything from inflation and geopolitical events to online shopping has left many shops struggling. In April British retailers reported the highest year-on-year decline in sales in more than 40 years. Boarded up buildings have quickly become commonplace in towns and cities, while shoplifting figures in the UK are at an all-time high. Removing a changing room often means brands can reduce the number of staff they need, including security, while also increasing the availability of floor space to flog stock.
The surge in online shopping but also secondhand platforms such as Vinted also means we have become more accustomed to buying without trying, in the latter case, sometimes without even the hope/expectation of sending back if something doesn’t fit. Technology is also a factor. Retailers such as Uniqlo offer tools that let you input your measurements to determine what size you are in each garment, while AI-driven 3D body scans and virtual try-on services are also being deployed by the likes of Asos.
The retail consultant Catherine Shuttleworth credits the decline to the changing behaviour of consumers. Traditionally a user would try on a piece in a changing room and then buy it in-store. But now Shuttleworth points out shoppers are using changing rooms with a sort of try now, buy online later approach, a method some brands are not keen to indulge.
Then there’s also the experience of the actual room/cubby hole, many of which are so small you can barely outstretch your arms. Add to the mix glaring overhead lights that seem designed to highlight every insecurity, plus the fact you often have to get redressed to fetch an alternative size yourself - it’s enough to leave you wishing you’d just splurged on next day delivery instead. “Why squeeze into a hot and sweaty space when you can try on in the comfort of your own room?” asks Shuttleworth.
But while Brandy Melville fans bid farewell to the changing room, some stores are championing them. While designer stores have always made changing rooms part of the luxury journey – on London’s Bond Street complimentary flutes of champagne and tiny biscuits are regularly doled out – more mid-tier brands are now following suit. At Rixo’s flagship store in west London, you’ll find a coffee kiosk and cocktail bar. Plus, individual pods feature lots of flattering natural light. Elevated changing rooms are also part of Zara’s plan as it attempts to shift its image from fast-fashion brand to a more premium destination. At its new revamped store on Oxford Street the changing room section has been widened and features individual wood panelled rooms while sensory tags alert staff to what items are being tried on, meaning they can aid shoppers and replenish stock quicker.
After-all, a changing room isn’t just about seeing how an item of clothing fits. The fictional world has regularly riffed on this. In Pretty Woman, after originally being snubbed by a luxury store’s sales assistants, Vivian (Julia Roberts) returns laden down with designer bags to deliver the memorable line “You work on commission, right? Big mistake. Big. Huge!” In Sex and The City, Carrie emerges from a changing room in her underwear to ask for a different size only to be greeted by Natasha who has just married Carrie’s ex Mr Big. Plus, who doesn’t have that scene from Bridesmaids burned into their memory.
As anyone who has ever grappled with an insubstantial curtain will tell you, it’s a space to experiment with your style, to try on something you can’t even afford “just for fun” and most of importantly, especially for teenagers, an excuse to hang out with friends in front of a mirror rather than behind a screen.
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