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Dressing Room Etiquette 201

Victoria Garlin
Jun 15, 2015
4 min read

Dressing room etiquette 201:

Ok class! Today we will learn about dressing room etiquette. Yes, this is a 200-level course. You may have been expecting this to be a “101” class, because you would think that it is basic knowledge to leave a dressing room nice and tidy when you leave.

But no, the proliferation of disheveled dressing rooms in clothiers and departments stores predicates that at even the most basic level, common sense and courtesy are absent. And for those of you who made it out of the 101 class, you’re now being tasked with memorizing this lesson so you can teach those whom follow behind you.

Allow me to replay the recent shopping scenario which drew my ire and inspiration to pontificate on what otherwise would seem like some basic crap:

I was shopping with a client recently and a young woman was trying on an abundance of clothing items in the dressing room across from ours. She came out a few times and smirked at me as she went to gather more items to try on. After a few more minutes she emerged with only two items in her hands and sheepishly told me that her dressing room was a mess, and that I needed to clean that up for her.

Wait. What?

I realized she assumed I was a store employee based on my interactions with my client. I explained that I did not represent the store, rather was a style coach for my client who was in the dressing room behind me. This young-ish patron then shrugged her shoulders with a nonchalant, “Oh, well… I guess it’s their problem to clean up,” and sauntered away, taking no responsibility for the disaster she left in behind in her wake!

End scene.

(her mess!)

Here are some simple rules of dressing room etiquette. I’ve even taken the time to break each step out into sub-steps to provide as much clarity as possible:

1. Hang ALL of your clothes up.

a. Take the article of clothing off its hanger;

b. Try on the article of clothing;

c. Remove the article of clothing;

d. Replace the article of clothing on its original hanger;

e. Repeat steps a.-d. for every piece of clothing you try on;

f. If trying to match separates (i.e. shirts with pants), replace the first article of clothing on its hanger prior to unhanging the second article of clothing.

2. Fold all of your clothes that were folded when you brought them into the fitting area. This can be done in one of three ways:

a. Follow the manufacturer’s crease lines from when the item was folded on display –this may require laying the item out on the bench in you dressing room to aid in your folding;

b. Fold the item in a manner which is neat and presentable that is consistent with how you fold your clothes at home –if you make a good effort, it goes a long way;

c. If you do not know how to fold a single article of clothing, politely hand the article to the attendant in charge of the dressing area –he or she is trained in the art of wardrobe contortion by the store and will restore the article of clothing to its original state.

3. The people who work at the store are not your mother, so do not expect them to come and manage your mess for you!

a. This rule especially holds true if your mother happens to be employed by the store in which you are shopping –nothing ensures a negative employee review quite like an insolent child disrespecting their parents’ places of employment.

4. Leave the fitting room better than you found it!

a. This rule is true for everyone and for all articles of clothing;

5. UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES should you ever leave the pins from clothes you try on in your dressing room.

a. This means ON THE FLOOR;

b. This means ON THE BENCH/CHAIR;

c. This means IN THE PILE OF CLOTHES YOU LEFT BEHIND BECAUSE YOU IGNORED STEPS 1-4!

6. Be respectful of things that don’t belong to you!

a. YOU did not purchase the item yet; THEREFOR –it is not YOURS.

A word of caution: Points 5 and 6 are SUPER ADVANCED, and are often reserved for Shopping Etiquette 301.

I thought it was common sense to be respectful of things that don’t belong to you and to leave a space better than you found it… maybe that is the old country-girl-scout in me. I was taught to be courteous and mindful of the place I was in and for the people I was interacting with.

As a personal shopper, I am in store dressing rooms with clients frequently and we do take a ton of clothes in with us; however, I do not want the staff of the store to have to triage the mess that my client and I could make while shopping… I hang and fold every item that we pull from the racks so the people who work at the store know I respect them and their space. I want Tor at your Door to be respected and welcomed back to stores and my clients to be treated well too.

Please tell me I am not alone in this! Do you have a crazy dressing room story? Pictures of clothing avalanches? Textile tidal waves?

Don’t be a jerk and leave the place a mess! Be respectful and keep the place clean.