We took a selfie in 10 high-street changing rooms to see how the lighting can change your look… and some are A LOT more flattering
WITH London Fashion Week kicking off today, the stores are all preparing to drop their designer dupes on to the rails.
Now is the perfect time for style-conscious women to update their wardrobes for spring, but finding the perfect outfit can be a serious challenge – and it’s all down to the changing room lighting.
We sent Fabulous reporter Lauren Windle out on a shopping trip to London's Oxford Street to see which changing room lighting is the most flattering.
Lauren wore the same figure-hugging red dress and gold heels for every snap. And, she was careful to stand the same distance from each mirror.
There was a huge variation in the reflections with Topshop's spotlights highlighting all kinds of lumps and bumps, while H&M's softer lights provided an almost airbrushed look.
Here from least to most flattering is what we found…
Topshop - Flatter Factor 1/10
The least flattering lights was, without a doubt, Topshop.
Each cabin is illuminated with harsh spotlights glaring down from the ceiling casting a shadow on every single lump or bump.
New Look - Flatter Factor 2/10
New Look wasn't far behind Topshop with a similarly harsh lighting system.
The unflattering shadows cast by the bright overhead lights make for an unforgiving reflection.
Zara - Flatter Factor 3/10
Still with some strong over-head lights, Zara's changing room was slightly easier on the eye than Topshop and New Look.
The 360 mirrors meant the overhead light was bounced around reducing strong shadows.
Primark - Flatter Factor 4/10
Primark's changing rooms were next up with a mid-range result on the flatter scale.
The cold, blue lighting meant that the reflection was still quite harsh but not as unforgiving as those preceding.
Gap - Flatter Factor 7/10
Gap's changing rooms had both overhead lighting and strip lights down the sides of the mirror.
This resulted in an almost airbrushed look with the whole front of the dress looking completely flat around the stomach and even around the bust.
French Connection - Flatter Factor 7/10
The lighting in the French Connection changing room was not harsh, but also not so dim that you would have to search around for your specs.
The result was a flattering reflection with little in the way of lumps and bumps on show.
M&S - Flatter Factor 7/10
M&S's lighting was the most dim of the 10 stores we visited.
The resulting selfie was flattering but still allowed for some natural shape with slight shadows around the stomach and a lot of shadow under the bust.
Next - Flatter Factor 8/10
Next also embraced the side-light-strip-mirror thing, casting an even amount of light over the whole body.
The reflection, once again, has an airbrushed appearance with very few lumps on display.
River Island - Flatter Factor 9/10
The softer lighting in River Island had a yellow-tone and created a very flattering silhouette.
The selfie gave the impression of a completely flat stomach and toned shape.
H&M - Flatter Factor 10/10
H&M's reflection was by far the most flattering, with the set-up creating a cracking figure.
The forgiving lighting even makes it hard to see the stray strands of hair visible in other pictures and highlights the small amount on contouring on the cheeks.
You may assume that H&M won this challenge by creating the most flattering image, but in fact it's hard to know which changing room is actually the best.
Ideally the mirror would neither flatter nor shame us, just reflect how we will actually look in the clothes in the real world.
The Sun Online contacted all ten retailers for comment.
H&M, Primark, Topshop, French Connection, New Look and M&S all thanked us for our feedback but preferred not to offer a comment.
We are yet to hear back from Zara, River Island, Gap and Next.
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