Dear H&M,
I have just come back from your store, two of them actually. I needed black leggings so I went to the nearest H&M I found. It was the 'teenage H&M', the one for 15 year old people. But leggings, you can find them in there too. So in I went, feeling very adult once inside. Found no leggings. But hey, jeans, I need them too. Oh, and denim jacket, been looking for you! Took both and went to the fitting room. In the fitting room there was a girl, who with no words (for real) made a super secret sign with her head allowing me to go in. I went in, looked around trying to find an empty room until another adult (me not alone!) told me she was waiting too 'Oh, sorry! But that girl told me...oh sorry'. While waiting, this same woman tells me that there are 4 girls in one of those, quote, "tiny" fitting rooms. I give her a smile and the phrase "things you do when you are 15" goes through my head, makes it to my throat and then I consciously stop it 'cause somehow, it makes me feel older. Ah well.
My turn! The door opens, I go in and...oh no!...what is..? what..? how can that be...? ..me? ...is that..?huge head...? what? Yes, H&M, your fitting rooms are like walking straight into the House of Horrors. I looked deformed. Totally, had a huge head, tiny legs and if you walk away from the mirror you become taller and skinnier, taller and skinnier. It's scary, really. I tried the denim jacket, was too big, or so I thought. Then the jeans, felt slightly tight but because of disfiguration could not decide if it was good tight or bad tight. I was blind! Do I look ok, or like a sausage?
I went out with an aloud 'ridiculous' and left it all. Couldn't buy it as I didn't know whether it fitted me. And then I started thinking. This is absolutely...absolutely what? ridiculous? no...criminal? yes, criminal. But I just can't stop thinking that it probably works, cause you wouldn't have it otherwise, would you? and these 15 year poor girls spending their allowance money on t-shirts, don't they have a mirror at home?? surely the one at home is not a House of Horrors mirror!!!
Then I went into another H&M and this one was a normal one. Mind you, I wasn't sure what to find in the 'adult' H&M version. If you think you need to deform 15 year olds, what do you think of me, age 30? The thing is, I think this is greedy. You are so rich, H&M, do you really need to fool girls into buying jeans? I want to think that the person behind this idea has a body issue him/herself, because if (s)he doesn't, then I have to think you are playing a nasty game, and just for money. It is highly disrespectful to think that we are stupid, no matter the age. We know what our bodies look like, and how dare you deform them anyway? But really, that is not the worst, is it? what is worse is that you are feeding the insecurities and body image issues with those silly deforming mirrors of yours, and you are targeting teenage kids. And that, in my opinion, is criminal.
I am a big consumer of yours, H&M, and I am highly disappointed. I thought about asking for a Complaint Form in the shop but I was scared of not understanding the super secret code language from your employees. By the time I got to the 'adult H&M" I thought writing this post was a better option. I hope you take this into consideration. You really should.
Regards,
Andrea Ibargutxi from All Pretty Things.
