So, since we announced our plans on Instagram people have commented on the name. The Try On. Strange name for an online shop! But if you follow us on Instagram you’ll soon discover, that we’re all about the clothes being tried on. And not just being tried on by hired beautiful models, but being tried on by beautiful women of all shapes, sizes, heights and ages. We all know the frustration of looking longingly at online images of dresses on someone who looks nothing like you. And wondering will it look like that on you, trying to imagine, wondering and trying to judge it.
I’ve been organising try ons with different people on social media for many years when we owned a shop. I’ll be honest, and this is something I’ve never spoken about, but in the beginning I got a bit of “advice” on this from various people and was told I was crazy. That people didn’t want to see clothes modelled on the “normal” person, that people bought clothes because they wanted to buy a part of the fantasy. I was told by one person that seeing a dress on someone taller, slimmer, younger than her makes her want to buy the dress more because of the illusion that that’s how she’s going to look in it. That if she saw it on someone who looked the same as her that it would probably put her off buying the dress. I stood there with my mouth open. But I also realised that this woman was telling me the truth, this was how she felt. And my heart broke just a little bit. Was this how women felt? I want all women regardless of their appearance to consider themselves beautiful, and to consider all other women as beautiful too. This is not a competition; this is people’s feelings of self-worth.
I did what I do with most unasked for opinions, I continued on and went with my own gut feeling. I asked as many different shapes and sizes in to our boutique as I could find, and recorded their try ons for Instagram stories. And guess what, the feedback was amazing. The try ons became an integral part of our business and one that set us apart from others. Now our boutique has closed and we find ourselves in this new online space, I want to maintain that same vision and values. To create a space where different women are represented, valued, admired and celebrated.
We’re only beginning, and honestly we’re a little scared to be starting over during these uncertain times. My poor mother was praying I’d go and get myself a nice safe secure job with a pension! But it’s a bit late for that. We have plans for developing this website and making it as interactive as possible over time, and as our budget for photo shoots and campaigns hopefully grows. But for now, most of the stock for the website will be photographed mainly on me. But be sure to follow us on Instagram where there will be regular try ons shown on stories, and nearly every piece will be shown on different body shapes and sizes.
We hope you stick around and become part of The Try On journey, we’re excited about where its going.
The Name! The Try On!