Shoppers Are Noticing Something Weird About These Mannequins

In theory, mannequins are meant to show you what clothes look like on a body to encourage you to purchase them — not to reflect back what you look like in the darkest part of your soul. However, that's exactly what appears to be happening at UK clothing chain River Island.

Sarah Griff, a writer based out of Ireland, noticed there was something off about the mannequins at the fast-fashion retailer. Naturally, she tweeted about it.

"The river island mannequins look like they're hungover in the shower thinking about their life choices," she commented. "U ok hun." This arrangement is a bit out of character for retail mannequins, which are usually positioned upright and glamorous around brick-and-mortar stores. These particular specimens, however, look deep in thought (or regret?), holding their knees to their chests. Whatever's happening inside their plastic shells, it definitely seems like they're having a hard time. Griff isn't the only one who's noticed the mannequins' odd demeanors: Dazed reports that other shoppers have described them as “goth,” “depressed,” and “hungover.” The BBC even reached out to River Island to check in on their mannequins. "River Island likes to keep the shopping experience interesting, fresh and different for our customers, with distinctive in store displays, which we change and update regularly," the store said in a statement. "We always welcome customer feedback and aim to reflect their views in our stores." They should probably check Twitter.