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Topshop Agrees To Stop Using 'Ridiculously' Thin Mannequins After Customer Complaint

"I'm calling you out Topshop, on your lack of concern for a generation of extremely body conscious youth."

Topshop has agreed to stop ordering a certain style of mannequin after a customer slammed the British high-street retailer about the figure's size on Facebook.

Laura Berry went to pick up her favourite pair of jeans at a Topshop location in Bristol, England when she noticed how unrealistically thin the mannequin wearing the jeans was. Outraged, Berry decided not to purchase the jeans, and took to Topshop's Facebook page to air her disappointment with the retailer.

"The year is 2015," Berry wrote alongside a photo of the mannequin, "A time when I like to believe we are conscious of the harsh unrealities often imposed on us by the fashion industry (the 90s is famous for its skinny runway models). Every day I am surrounded by strong women and men who struggle with the daily battle of body image."

She continued: "I'm calling you out Topshop, on your lack of concern for a generation of extremely body conscious youth. I'm old enough and wise enough to know I will never be this size, but as we've all been impressionable teens at one point, I'm fairly certain if any of us were to witness this in our teenage years, it would have left us wondering if that was what was expected of our bodies. To be honest, I'm sure many clever, strong and beautiful women of any age are made to feel insecure by your mannequins and advertisements."

The post, which you can read in full here, was liked more than 3,700 times and shared more than 400 times, catching the attention of the retailer. Topshop responded to Berry's post, stating that the mannequin is based on a standard UK size 10 and is not meant to be a representation of the average female body. However, they agreed to stop placing orders for that style of mannequin.

"We have taken yours and other customers’ opinions and feedback on board and going forward we are not placing any further orders on this style of mannequin," they replied. "The views of our customers are extremely valuable and we apologise if we have not lived up to the levels of service that we aim to deliver."

This isn't the first time the retail giant has been called out over their skinny mannequins. Back in October 2014, a customer took to Twitter to post a photo of what appears to be the same UK size 10 mannequin in a Topshop store next to a woman who is a size 8/10.

Topshop released a similar statement in response to that customer's photo, however, did not agree to stop using the mannequins at that time.

Berry has now launched a petition on change.org calling on the Department for Business Innovation & Skills to "establish a single standardised sizing category, to be recognised and used universally throughout the clothing industry."

You go, Laura Berry!

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