Having a salesperson refuses to serve you, or asks you for your license is bad enough, but being denied access to a fitting room because you don’t look the norm is rather sh*tty and pretty de-humanising, especially if its due to your gender not being the norm.

After transgender woman Kylie Jack was refused access to a female dressing room at a local retailers, Styleite decide to find out what were high street retailer (H&M, Urban Outfitters, Zara, Victoria’s Secret, Forever 21, and American Apparel) official policy on fitting room access for different gender identities (be it for transgender, butch females or studs).

See below for their responses.

H&M

Transgender people are the same as everyone else, you can take your things to the women’s area or the men’s. All of the fitting rooms are unisex, like there will be a fitting room on the men’s floor, but anyone can change. There’s a women’s fitting room by the women’s clothing, but anyone can try on clothes there.”

Urban Outfitters

If you’re transgender, it doesn’t matter. Anyone can go into either of the fitting rooms, like we have a men’s floor fitting room, but people use whichever one they want. That’s our official policy, anyone can try on in the men’s or women’s areas, anyone.”

Zara

No, if you want to go to try some clothes, you are not able to do that. If a man wants to go, no we don’t allow that. It’s because that’s our policy, we don’t allow men to try some clothes, and vice versa for women.” If the ‘man’ identifies as a woman? [After a hold….] “You can talk to the manager. if you have any issue or concern, you can go to the customer service department.”

American Apparel

If you’re transgneder, there’s absolutely no problem, you can change. A man or a woman can go to the fitting rooms, they wouldn’t have to be concerned. We’re not one of those stores. You can be perfectly comfortable if you choose to try anything on. We would help you.”

Forever21

In most stores, there aren’t women’s or men’s fitting rooms, the fitting rooms are for both men and women. If someone’s transgender, yeah that’s totally fine, yeah it’s totally… there’s no preference. If someone wants to try on clothes you can try them on. There’s no discrimination against anybody.”

Victoria’s Secret

Well because sometimes, women feel uncomfortable, it would have to be more on the side to make sure other women aren’t there feeling uncomfortable, but we could allow it [a transgender woman or man changing.] It really depends on the management and how people feel, but it should be fine, you would just have to ask the manager.”