[ ♪ ] Hello, friends, and welcome to another video. This week, I'm going to be dressing like seven different store mannequins. Now I'm a bit of an adult mall rat. I'm a big fan of food courts and Teavana samples, and I also worked retail in high school. So, needless to say, I've spent a lot of time in malls, and I've done a lot of window shopping. Now, even though I've seen quite a few mannequins in my time, I've never wanted to buy the entire outfit a mannequin is wearing, or even most of it. I find that mannequin outfits can be pretty over-the-top. They tend to have a lot of elements, and they seem kind of hard to wear. But I've always been interested by them, because beyond showing you the newest stuff that a store has, mannequins are supposed to display some idea of a store's brand, identity, and their interpretation of the newest fashion trends. So I'm curious to see how mannequin outfits from different stores, all generally marketed to my demographic, will compare to each other. What are different stores doing to get me to stop and have me go inside? Okay! Let's bring on the mannequins. It's a classic "mannequin challenge." So our first mannequin outfit was from Forever 21. I just looked at myself in the car window... I look like Lizzie McGuire. Like straight up, is this not the Lizzie McGuire Movie plus 14 years? [ LAUGHS ] I picked this particular mannequin because of the amount of things she was wearing, and also because of this hat. My hat has three lip piercings, thank you very much. This outfit was, like, medium-difficult to find in the store. The jacket and the skirt required some help. I'm not sure if it was, like, from the back, or just like in some strange corner, but we needed help from some sales associates to find them. And then the sweater was a little bit disguised, because on the mannequin it looks like a cropped sweater, but in person, It's actually a full-length sweater, they just, like, rolled it up. Okay, we've been out here for, like, five minutes, and I'm already *very* hot. I feel like Forever 21 dove straight into Fall, and it's not quite Fall yet. There's very little exposed skin. TYLER: If the mannequin was wearing it, you have to be wearing it. The mannequin was wearing it, I'm wearing it. So from Forever 21's website, part of their mission statement is to be "always changing and always in style," and the Fall trends they say that they're keeping up with are "denim, vintage vibes, and jewel tones." Which are all pretty well represented here. I'm not sure if it's all cohesive together, but it's all here. But I'm just, you know, walking straight ahead... thinking about... putting one foot in front of the other. I don't actually think that Forever 21 intends people to wear all of this stuff together. And in fact, I'm not even sure that Forever 21 intends for this all to be an outfit together. I feel like they're just putting a lot of eye-catching things on one mannequin in the hopes that you'll see one thing you like and then walk into the store and try and find it. [ TOUGH ] I skinned Elmo.
[ TYLER LAUGHS ] TYLER: [ LAUGHING] How many times have you almost fallen? SAFIYA: Seventy-five.
[ BOTH LAUGH ] So this next mannequin outfit is from Urban Outfitters. TYLER: It's like you're almost wearing pajamas. SAFIYA: I definitely feel very comfortable, like I'm wearing pajamas. Kind of like a silk "pyjama." [ "piama" ] I chose this mannequin because there were no other mannequins at the store that we went to, this was literally the only mannequin in the window of the store. TYLER: Your flannel is almost a cape. You're like the hipster caped crusader. SAFIYA: I used to save people, but then it became cool. I stopped doing it. [ IRONIC AIRHORNS ] In the store, it was quite easy to find the pants, the necklace, and the flannel, which were all like, not really together, but like, nearby the mannequin, and then the bra and the shoes were a little more hidden. So maybe they're assuming that like, not everyone wants to bare their midriff with like, an open bralette, But they make the rest of the outfit pretty readily available. I am a little bit aware of the fact that, like, my, you know, Taylor Swift belly is showing. It was just an interesting choice for Fall just to be like, ♪ Start spreading the news... ♪ On the Urban Outfitters website, they described their Fall trends as "that 70s look" and "get cozy." I don't see anything 70s about this, but I do feel pretty cozy. It's kind of like slightly risqué PJs. TYLER: You look so comfortable. TYLER: Yes. This is, like, *my* desired aesthetic.
[ SAFIYA LAUGHS ] So take your shoes off. So the day three-mannequin outfit was from Zara. Not that this outfit needed anything more, but I brought my own sunglasses that I feel like go with the look. It's kind of like a... psychedelic, acid-tripping, 80s skiing dream. I picked this mannequin because she was pretty much front and center in the window display, and also because of these yellow poofs. They're a very bright color, and they're very hard to miss. [ FLATLY ] Bright, cheerful, sunny, yellow, happy... happiness. This outfit was very scattered in the store. The top and the bottom were together in like, a back corner, but the jacket and the shoes were not even on the sales floor, like we had to have someone help us to get them from the back, and the socks were not sold by Zara. Apparently, there's actually someone who comes in and styles the mannequins for Zara, and she brought her own personal socks. As an outfit on my body, it is like, kind of fun to wear just because there's so much happening, but at the same time like, it's a little impractical, and like a little uncomfortable? I just, I feel like a Christmas tree almost, like I'm, like, really decked out. So from their website, they describe their Fall aesthetic as "retro fiction." This outfit at first glance is kind of retro, but it's very hard to place. Um, it is a little bit like a fever dream from the 60s, 70s, and 80s. In a way, it's kind of like, so outlandish and crazy, it kind of all goes together. It'd be hard to argue if this were fashionable or not.
[ TYLER LAUGHS ] Because it's just kind of like, "Well, I say it is." It's like, [ CONFUSED ] "Oh, well... maybe." "I don't know."
TYLER: "I don't know." I would maybe wear it all together again though, because there is something fun about the effect, even though I look like a giant, LSD-taking friend of a muppet. TYLER: How you handling the going uphill? SAFIY: Great. So my day-four mannequin outfit was from Francesca's. TYLER: You bought this outfit *recently?*
SAFIYA: Yeah! TYLER: It looks like something you wear usually.
SAFIYA: Yes, it does. It's kind of like, um ... I picked this mannequin mostly because of the sleeves on this top, and also because this outfit was one of the more styled mannequins in the window. I did add these boots though, because the mannequin didn't have any shoes. TYLER: it's kinda like a date-night outfit. TYLER: We're on a *date* right now!
[ SAFIYA MAKES SUGGESTIVE NOISES ] SAFIYA: In the store, these items were actually pretty easy to find. They were not close to each other, or all together, so I don't know that they were, like, actually trying to sell them as an entire look together in the store, but they were at least in the store. TYLER: You're joking now, but I'm not jumping into there to get you. SAFIYA: Wah! TYLER: The outfit is too normal, so now you have to actually ... did you almost drop that in? Did you drop that in? SAFIYA: [ LAUGHING ] I dropped my bag in the water. So Francesca's really tries to present all their stores like mini boutiques, even though they are, like, a pretty big retailer. I feel like the mannequins at other stores are a little more wild, and then once you walk into the actual store, the clothes are, even if they're trendy, like, more normal or wearable, and I feel like at Francesca's, it's a little more like what you see is what you get. Like, the mannequins are pretty normal and wearable, and inside the clothes are pretty normal and wearable. I think that's like, their intent. Just be like, "Are you afraid of crazy mannequins? Come in here. We'll shelter you." For me, my favorite part of the outfit has to be the tiered bell sleeve, but I did actually like the whole outfit, and I think I would wear this all together again in a normal situation. I felt like this outfit was, like, so, like, kind of cute and normal that I actually Instagrammed it *not* for the video. TYLER: Do people think it's for the video?
SAFIYA: People are just fine with it, you know? No one's super suspicious about it, so. So my day-five mannequin outfit was from H&M. TYLER: It looks like a bow on you.
SAFIYA: Yeah, like a little present. I picked this mannequin mostly because this shirt seemed very interesting, and also because I had seen this mannequin at other H&M stores. So when I saw it again, I was, like, "They're really trying to sell me this outfit, like, let's see what it's like." My perception of H&M is that they have more work-appropriate clothing, more, like, basics, a little more subtle stuff than somewhere like forever 21, but they do have trendy stuff as well, and oftentimes I feel like they fuse the two together, so you get like this type of shirt, which is like a "twist" on office wear. The outfit itself was *very* easy to find in the store. I think it was one of the only stores where the first thing when you walk in was this. So they do kind of have this, like, interesting, strange bustier thing that you might have never seen before, but they do actually want you to buy it and wear it-- except for the shoes, which were display only, which is interesting because they were, like, the most normal part of the outfit, so they were just, like ... the shoes, you probably already have, but this is what you want. So on H&M's website, they describe their Fall collection as "power glam sass," which makes sense with this outfit, because it's kind of like, "working lady." "Office woman." I'm decently comfortable. I love the pants, actually, to be honest. The shirt is fine. It's a little bit, uh, strange around the boob area, and I wonder what someone with larger boobs would do, because I've got pretty small boobs and it's even a little tight across. It's kind of a cool effect, but I almost wish they were separate pieces, you know? [ TYLER LAUGHS ] "Oh, I didn't see you there!" I can let it fly in the wind! TYLER: They're almost like bat wings. SAFIYA: So my day-six mannequin outfit was from Hollister. We're down at the beach today, because Hollister is supposed to be kind of like a beachy company, like beach wear. So we're here, even though I don't necessarily feel super beachy in this outfit. Now, I actually didn't anticipate on getting anything from Hollister. I actually used to work there from 2010 to 2011. But when I walked by, I was so surprised by the mannequins, mostly because they didn't look like anything I would think that Hollister would sell, that I had to get something. TYLER: I mean this kind of lovingly, but it looks like a pimp costume I picked this outfit mostly because of the fuzzy jacket. Like everyone else, Hollister is going with shearling for Fall 2017. We're all just going to look like very colorful sheep. I feel you would look very much like Macklemore in this.
TYLER: Can I try it on? SAFIYA: Yeah! TYLER: Ooh, it's comfortable! SAFIYA: It's truly a transformative jacket. TYLER: How's it working with the rest of my outfit?
SAFIYA: Not bad. From what I remember, Hollister's brand was distinctly focused on California-style Beach wear, but this outfit feels like they're going in a different direction. I feel like the theme of this outfit is that, like, they're kind of pretending that it's not Hollister. There's no, like, branding, no graphics, no logos. They're just like, "You could be wearing anything from anywhere." They don't say anything super specific about their fall trends, but they are kind of pushing this narrative that the "Co" in "Hollister Co." stands for comfort, which kind of makes sense, because it seems like with this outfit, we're veering away from the beach and into the bedroom. Do you think it might get dirty fast? TYLER: It looks like something that would actually like, turn gray a little bit. SAFIYA: Like, it's very comfortable, but I would not recommend putting this in the sand. This is perfect for like, doing grocery shopping and that type of stuff ...
TYLER: Yeah. ... because it's like, indoor, will shield you from the refrigeration aspect ... TYLER: Good point.
... No dirt. No sand. Just groceries. So my final mannequin outfit was from Topshop. TYLER: Where you going? I picked this mannequin mostly because of the pants. The pants really stood out to me because of their impressive height. And length. And width. This is where my bra ends, and this is my crotch. So, you know, it's full abdomen. When I saw them, I was, like, "No way in heck," and now that I'm wearing them, I'm, like, "Having a grand old time!" TYLER: They're like wearable clown pants. ♪ Don't make me dance, don't make me do it ♪ This outfit was not super easy to find in the store. Nothing was really close together. The shoes I had to get from online, but everything else was kind of scattered throughout the, like, multiple floors. So I feel like with Topshop's mannequins, they're not really trying to show you, like, a super wearable or, like, everyday look, but they're trying to show you some, like, cohesive, stylish look that they've, like, put together. They're not just, like, throwing a bunch of things at the wall and hoping that you'll want to buy one thing; they're kind of just, like, ... marketing, like, their taste. So from Topshop's website, they say that they try and stay "ahead of the style game," and they designate coats, fuzzy stuff, denim, modern utility, and jeans as Fall trends, which I actually see in some of the other outfits that I wore this week. I feel like actually this is one of the only outfits without something fuzzy. Ooh, I was thinking about it for a while, but how am I gonna turn around in these long pants and, like, stiletto boots. TYLER: Not bad. Watch yourself. My only complaint with the outfit is that they put this kind of like, interesting top underneath all of these other items. Like they're kind of just trying to, like, throw, like, maybe another expensive item into the mix, where, like, you could have probably just put, like, a plain shirt under there, and it would have been a similar effect. TYLER: You're gonna fall over in those things, you know.
SAFIYA: Yeah, I'm really testing my limits here. I don't know about that. I would say that my favorite part of the outfit was the pants. I also liked the denim jacket and the non-prescription glasses. I've never worn any before, and they actually make my vision worse, but ... I like the look. So that was my week dressing like a store mannequin. Given that it is the turn of the season, it is fun to see what some of these big retailers think that the Fall trends are, but I was definitely surprised by a couple of things. Firstly, by how much faux fur and shearling there was *everywhere.* [ TO THE TUNE OF "I FEEL PRETTY" / WEST SIDE STORY ]
♪ I feel fluffy, oh so fluffy ♪ And also, how difficult it was to find all of the individual items, because a lot of them were very scattered, and some of them were not even available on the store floor. I figured that the outfits weren't that wearable, but I was actually surprised by how unwearable the stores seemed to also think they were. There are some exceptions to this, like H&M, kind of Francesca's, maybe kind of Hollister even, but for the most part it's just an attention game. All in all, it was a fun week dressing like store mannequins, but I wouldn't necessarily recommend it to other people. There were some uncomfortable moments. You know, mannequins don't have to walk on cobblestones, or sit in cars. And you also end up with a lot of accessories that you don't really know what to do with. But at the end of the day, I think it's usually more fun to have agency and dress like you want to dress, versus dressing like a beacon for window shoppers at the mall. Thank you guys so much for watching! If you liked that video, make sure to "shmash" that "Like" button, and if you want to see more videos like this make sure to "shmash" that "Subscribe" button. And if you already "shmashed" that Subscribe button, make sure to also "shmash" that little bell icon in the middle to turn on post notifications, so you get a notification every time that I post. Here are my social media handles, and make sure to check out my NextBeat, I do a lot of daily vlogging and Q&As on there. A big shoutout to Meghan for watching; thanks for watching, Meghan. And I will see you guys a-next time.
