THIS is a lingerie shop with a difference. Men are encouraged to join their female partners inside the fitting room.
Unlike most lingerie shops where fitting rooms have a women only policy, the Triumph boutique in ION Orchard allows couples into its fitting rooms.
Said a Triumph spokesman: This is to provide a more enriching experience for female shoppers as they can now share the shopping process with their partners.
She claimed that this is the first time that a couples' dressing room has been introduced in local shopping malls.
But checks showed that another lingerie shop had beaten Triumph to this. B.ha, which sells Daniel Hechter lingerie, had offered fitting rooms with sofas for men to join their partners when it opened about 11/2 years ago.
Its outlets at Suntec City and Pacific Plaza have since closed down. Triumph store patrons, like Ms Jaclyn Ng, say they love the couples concept which has been available since July.
Useful
Said Ms Ng, a 23-year-old businesswoman who spends up to $400 on lingerie a month: "I am an impulse shopper, so having my boyfriend in the room with me is useful.He can help me choose which pieces are best so I don’t end up buying everything that I try."
The room has mood lighting, ornate furnishings such as a quaint vanity table and plush rugs.
Said Ms Ng's boyfriend, Mr Jas Singh, a 30-year-old defence contractor: "The room is good for couples where the female is normally shy with her partner.
"Perhaps in the soft lighting, she will be more comfortable in lingerie."
Another couple, accountant Karl Ho, 24, and marketing executive Lin Wan Yan, 26, said they were all for it.
Said Ms Lin: "My boyfriend no longer has to feel bored waiting outside the room.I usually feel the pressure to hurry up when I know he is waiting. However, now that I can try on more styles of lingerie, I end up buying more pieces each time."
Like Triumph, Tangs department store doesn’t mind if women customers take their male partners into its lingerie fitting rooms.
Its spokesman said that while it does not explicitly say that it allows this, men accompanying their spouses and girlfriends into the fitting rooms is a common sight at the lingerie department.
"We don’t have designated couples' changing rooms but we are flexible. The staff will not chase the men out," the spokesman said.
"However, if there are other female shoppers who mind, the staff will tell the men politely to wait outside. But it’s understandable why the men would like to be in the rooms."
Other lingerie stores like La Senza, which has outlets in Paragon and Wisma Atria shopping centres, have a strict women-only policy.
Said Ms Pamela Yang, 24, senior marketing communications executive for La Senza: "Our fitting room assistants conduct stringent checks every few minutes to ensure that men are not allowed into the changing room area."
Ms Yang said its top priority is ensuring the privacy of its female shoppers.
Some shoppers, like Ms Soh Lee Ting, 29, a freelance artist, say they prefer to shop alone. "My boyfriend would have too many opinions," she said.
Mr Den Seah, a 33-year-old trader, felt it was inappropriate for unmarried couples to use the room as it went against "Asian values".
He said: "I'm concerned about extremely young couples who will see this as encouragement for them to get intimate with each other in public."
The Triumph spokesman said that such incidents have not occurred at its boutique.
To ensure there’s no hanky-panky in the couples' room, a sales assistant knocks every five minutes to check.
Is these lingeries try out in these "try out couple room' washed and laudered for the next customer ? It seriously raise hygiene issue here.
It raise security concern too - a criminally minded couple posing as a couple preying
on other women in these rooms .
Do you expect a 100 % hotblooded male in the room with his female
in sexy lingerie to prevent any thing hot n heavy happening ?
Come on man , I dont think major US Premium stores practice this .
I do believe they have proffesional female consultants to dress
up the ladies and help the ladies with their choices.
They really dont need a .....
bahahaha.. it is not a THING.. he's her boyfriend!
"Said Ms Ng, a 23-year-old businesswoman who spends up to $400 on lingerie a month: "I am an impulse shopper, so having my boyfriend in the room with me is useful.He can help me choose which pieces are best so I donât end up buying everything that I try."
Said Ms Ng's boyfriend, Mr Jas Singh, a 30-year-old defence contractor: "The room is good for couples where the female is normally shy with her partner."
good for him :) she's pretty and rich (businesswoman at 23)