Bridal boutique display features mannequin in wheelchair, and the internet loves it

Michael Panter
 
Michael Panter

Every day, all across the world, thousands of women with disabilities get married.

It’s no uncommon occurrence, and yet when one bridal boutique in England opted to put a mannequin in a wheelchair wearing a wedding dress in their display, it garnered a whole lot of attention …

Of course, none of said attention was negative. Rather, many saw it as a step in the right direction.

Rather than merely presenting the image of a conventionally perfect bride, the boutique had made a statement with their display – after all, people come in all shapes and sizes, and some do live with disabilities.

A snap of the dress, originally shared by one Beth Wilson on Twitter, has since achieved viral fame, with people across the globe celebrating the decision of inclusivity.

The dress appeared in the window of The White Collection Bridal Boutique in Portishead, England, with owner Laura Allen stating: “For this season we wanted to strip it right back and have a mannequin in each window.

“Our thoughts of having one of them in a wheelchair was ‘why not?’ And we didn’t really think too much about it.”

Indeed, this year’s display is certainly different from last year’s, when the shop opted for an elaborate Cinderella theme complete with carriage, staircase, and falling snow. Two basic mannequins it might be this year, but it’s made all the difference in terms of plaudits.

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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 to thank everyone for your kind comments about our window- we have been surrounded by so much love and positivity, which is what this industry is all about, right?!? 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. 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!) discussion about inclusivity in this industry, which can only be a good thing!! Thank you so much again for all of your support- Sarah, Laura and the team at TWC xx (Dress- Prunella by @mooshkibridal)

A post shared by •The White Collection• (@thewhitecollection) on

“We love the fact that it’s so simple compared to our window display before, yet it portrays such a powerful message of inclusion,” Allen added.

“We certainly didn’t expect (it) to get the attention that it has, but we have loved the positive comments from passersby and hope it means that one day things like this are just the norm.”

It’s fantastic to see that barriers are being knocked down every day. Long may it continue!

If you think this bridal boutique’s decision is a great one, share this article on Facebook with all your friends and family.

 

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