Bridal shop earns plenty of praise online after displaying a mannequin in a wheelchair

Shopping for a wedding gown can be overwhelming for many women, especially for wheelchair-user brides.

Beth Wilson, an artist hailing from North Somerset, UK, saw a Bridal Shop displaying one its wedding gowns on a mannequin on a wheel chair and felt excited.

An artist from the UK named Beth Wilson
Twitter

Wilson, a wheelchair user herself, said she felt represented after seeing The White Collection’s January 2019 store window display. Wilson saw the beautiful display of inclusion in The White Collection’s January 2019 store windows and felt that it was important to share it with the world.

“The new wedding shop in town has a wheelchair using mannequin and it shouldn’t be exciting but it’s the first time I’ve ever seen disability portrayed in a shop window,” she wrote in the caption.

The White Collection displaying one of their wedding dresses with a mannequin seated on a wheelchair
Twitter

Wilson was in a wheelchair for five-years when she spotted the display. Although she didn’t need a wedding dress at the time, she knew that many brides would love to know that there is a bridal boutique in the UK that can accommodate them.

Laura Allen, who co-owns the shop along with Sarah Parker, said that she was sad to see such a rare sight.

“It’s been great having such a positive response, but in a way it’s quite sad people have done a double take, it shows how rare it is to see a wheelchair in a shop window,” she said.

Allen said they “didn’t think much about it” when they first arranged the display.

The White Collection displaying one of their wedding dresses with a mannequin seated on a wheelchair
Instagram

She believes they weren’t the first bridal shop to represent disability in this manner but hoped other stores would follow suit, especially since the bridal industry isn’t that inclusive. Many bridal shops still display the typical skinny mannequin.

“But everyone gets married, it doesn’t matter what you look like or how you are, your day is going to be special,” she said.

Wilson said that disabled people often “feel invisible” because they don’t see themselves in the media.

“I don’t need a wedding dress, but if I did, I’d definitely be far happier about going to a shop where I knew that I’d be accepted, wheelchair and all,” she said.

The White Collection storefront
Instagram

Instead of hiding the chair, the shop owners decorated it with vines.

“Mobility aids are often portrayed as negative things people want to hide, when actually mobility aids like wheelchairs give us freedom,” Wilson continued.

The display received positive responses from many online users, and The White Collection responded in a lengthy Instagram post.

“It has been a very full on but incredible couple of days here at TWC. When setting up this window display, we didn’t even think to share on our social media pages or ‘put it out there’ but it seems to have done just that all by itself! We would like thank everyone for their kind comments about our windows. We have been surrounded with positivity and love which is what this business is all about.!”

A suit shop in Tokyo displaying one of their suits with a mannequin seated on a wheelchair
Twitter

“If this window has done anything, it’s shown us how much of an impact having a wheelchair user in the window has caused, and hopefully as time goes by, things like this will not cause so much of a big response, because there will be a lot more of it around,” they continued.

“We didn’t think that our window would get this much attention, but what it really has done is it has opened up a (worldwide!) It has opened up a discussion about inclusion in the industry, which is a good thing! Thank you so much again for all of your support- Sarah, Laura and the team at TWC.”

Wilson’s tweet of the photo prompted wheelchair-bound women to share their wedding day stories and photos.

Others shared photos of similar displays from other parts of the globe. Once shared a photo from Tokyo of a suit shop featuring a male model seated in a wheelchair.

We are grateful to The White Collection for making all kinds of brides feel at home in your store!

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