Changing room

Last updated
Changing room inside a sports hall HK Jian Ni Di Cheng Kennedy Town Shi Mei Fei Lu Shi Zheng Da Sha Smithfield Municipal Services Building Geng Yi Shi changing room Sept-2011.jpg
Changing room inside a sports hall

A changing room, locker room (usually in a sports, theater, or staff context), or changeroom (regional use) is a room or area designated for changing one's clothes. Changing-rooms are provided in a semi-public situation to enable people to change clothes with varying degrees of privacy.

Contents

A block of clothing store fitting rooms in Denmark Cabines-d'essayage-Copenhague.jpg
A block of clothing store fitting rooms in Denmark

A fitting room, or dressing room, is a room where people try on clothes, such as in a department store.

Separate changing rooms may be provided for men and women, or there may be a non-gender-specific open space with individual cubicles or stalls, [1] as with unisex public toilets. Many changing rooms include toilets, sinks and showers. Sometimes a changing room exists as a small portion of a restroom/washroom. For example, the men's and women's washrooms in Toronto's Dundas Square (which includes a water play area) each include a change area which is a blank counter space at the end of a row of sinks. In this case, the facility is primarily a washroom, and its use as a changing room is minimal, since only a small percentage of users change into bathing suits. Sometimes a person may change their clothes in a toilet cubicle of a washroom.

Changing rooms at the Aijalanranta Beach in Jyvaskyla, Finland Changing rooms on Aijalanranta beach.jpg
Changing rooms at the Äijälänranta Beach in Jyväskylä, Finland

Larger changing rooms are usually found at public beaches, or other bathing areas, where most of the space is for changing, and minimal washroom space is included. Beach-style changing rooms are often large open rooms with benches against the walls. Some do not have a roof, providing just the barrier necessary to prevent people outside from seeing in.

Types

Changing room sign of swimming-pool at Keangnam Hanoi Landmark Tower, Hanoi, Vietnam Male locker Keangnam.jpg
Changing room sign of swimming-pool at Keangnam Hanoi Landmark Tower, Hanoi, Vietnam
Changeroom sign Changeroom symbol on sign close up.jpg
Changeroom sign

Various types of changing rooms exist:

Changing stalls

Changing stalls are small stalls where clothes can be changed in privacy. Clothes are usually stored in lockers. There are usually no separate areas for men and women. They are often combined with gender-separated communal showers. Most public pools have changing facilities of this kind alongside communal changing-rooms. Some other places also offer these changing stalls such as fitness centers.

Communal changing rooms

Lockers and bench in changeroom Lockers in modern change room.JPG
Lockers and bench in changeroom

Locker rooms are thus named because they provide lockers for the storage of one's belongings. Alternatively, they may have a locker room attendant who will keep a person's belongings until one comes to retrieve them. Locker rooms are usually open spaces where people change together, but there are separate areas, or separate locker rooms, for men and women. Sometimes they are used in swimming complexes.

Locking devices used in locker rooms have traditionally been key or coin lockers, or lockers that are secured with a combination lock. Newer locker rooms may be automated, with robotic machines to store clothes, with such features as a fingerprint scanner to enroll and for later retrieval. Locker rooms in some water parks use a microchip equipped wristband. The same wristband that unlocks the lockers can be used to purchase food and drinks and other items in the water park.

Some communal changing rooms are only supposed to be used by groups of persons, not individuals. In this case, there may be no lockers. Instead, the entire room is locked in order to protect belongings from theft.

Locker rooms are also used in many middle schools and high schools. Most of them include showers for after Physical Education.

At an outdoor sports facility, the changing rooms may be integrated into a pavilion or clubhouse, with other facilities such as seating or a bar.

(Store) fitting rooms

A fitting room in a department store Grey Fitting Room Curtains-direct-fabrics.co.uk.jpg
A fitting room in a department store

Fitting rooms, or dressing rooms, are rooms where people try on clothes, such as in a department store. The rooms are usually individual rooms in which a person tries on clothes to determine fit before making a purchase. People do not always use the fitting rooms to change, as to change implies to remove one set of clothes and put on another. Sometimes a person chooses to try on clothes over their clothes (such as sweaters or coats), but would still like to do this in private. Thus fitting rooms may be used for changing, or just for fitting without changing.

Rules and conventions

Changeroom sign in clothing store ClothingStoreChangeroomSignDSCF0024.JPG
Changeroom sign in clothing store

Retail establishments often post rules such as maximum number of items allowed in changing room, e.g. "no more than 4 items allowed in changing room".

History

It appears that the first store fitting rooms appeared with the spread of department stores. [2] Émile Zola noted their existence in his novel Au Bonheur des Dames (1883), and that they were then forbidden to men. [2] Some years later, when Henri Gervex, who painted Jeanne Paquin in 1906, that was no longer the case.[ clarification needed ] [2]

In any case, Buster Keaton worked in one in an American 1928 silent comedy The Cameraman . [2] Since then, they have continued to provide comic scenes in films, for example in the 1995 French film Les Trois Frères . [2]

Dressing rooms (domestic)

Domestic dressing room Ankleidezimmer.jpg
Domestic dressing room

Some homes may have dedicated rooms solely for the purpose of dressing and changing clothes, typically with fitted wardrobes. In larger Victorian houses it was common to have a private room called a boudoir for the lady of the house that is accessible from the bedroom, and also a dressing room for the gentleman [3] (and sometimes a man's cabinet).

Security

Because of the privacy afforded by changing rooms, they create a problem in the trade-off between security and privacy, where in it may be possible for crime to be perpetrated by people using the cover of privacy to sell drugs, or steal clothing from a department store. Some department stores have security cameras in the changing rooms. [4]

Communal changing rooms pose less of a risk of theft than fitting rooms, because there is not total privacy. In particular, the perpetrator of a crime would not know whether or not other users might be undercover police or security guards. Many modern changing rooms often have labyrinth-style entrances that have no door, so that people outside cannot see in, but security can walk in at any time without the sound of an opening door alerting persons inside. Washrooms in which changing clothes is merely a secondary purpose often also have such labyrinth openings. Many washrooms have security cameras in the main area with a view of the sinks and the urinals from a viewing angle that would only show the back of a user. However, when a washroom is located near a fountain, wading pool, or the like, and is likely to be used for changing clothes, some believe that washroom surveillance cameras would be a violation of privacy.

Another security risk present is that of theft. Sometimes, no method of securing items is provided, but even lockable lockers or baskets are usually designed for only minimal security allowing experienced thieves to steal the valuable items which people typically have with them before changing. [5] [6] Changing room operators frequently post signs disclaiming responsibility for stolen items, which can discourage but not eliminate claims for negligence.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Closet</span> Enclosed space used for storage, particularly that of clothes

A closet is an enclosed space, with a door, used for storage, particularly that of clothes. Fitted closets are built into the walls of the house so that they take up no apparent space in the room. Closets are often built under stairs, thereby using awkward space that would otherwise go unused.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bathroom</span> Room for personal hygiene activities, such as showering

A bathroom is a room in which people wash their bodies or parts thereof. It can contain one or more of the following plumbing fixtures: a shower, a bathtub, a bidet, and a sink. The inclusion of a toilet is common. There are also specific toilet rooms, only containing a toilet, which in North American English tend to be called "bathrooms", "powder rooms" or "washrooms", as euphemisms to conceal their actual purpose, while they in British and Irish English are known as just "toilets" or possibly "cloakrooms" - but also as "lavatories" when they are public.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Office</span> Room where administrative work is performed

An office is a space where the employees of an organization perform administrative work in order to support and realize the various goals of the organization. The word "office" may also denote a position within an organization with specific duties attached to it ; the latter is an earlier usage, as "office" originally referred to the location of one's duty. In its adjective form, the term "office" may refer to business-related tasks. In law, a company or organization has offices in any place where it has an official presence, even if that presence consists of a storage silo, for example, instead of a more traditional establishment with a desk and chair. An office is also an architectural and design phenomenon, including small offices, such as a bench in the corner of a small business or a room in someone's home, entire floors of buildings, and massive buildings dedicated entirely to one company. In modern terms, an office is usually the location where white-collar workers carry out their functions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shower</span> Place in which a person bathes under a spray of water

A shower is a place in which a person bathes under a spray of typically warm or hot water. Indoors, there is a drain in the floor. Most showers have temperature, spray pressure and adjustable showerhead nozzle. The simplest showers have a swivelling nozzle aiming down on the user, while more complex showers have a showerhead connected to a hose that has a mounting bracket. This allows the showerer to hold the showerhead by hand to spray the water onto different parts of their body. A shower can be installed in a small shower stall or bathtub with a plastic shower curtain or door. Showering is common due to the efficiency of using it compared with a bathtub. Its use in hygiene is, therefore, common practice.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Studio apartment</span> Type of apartment

A studio apartment, or studio condo also known as a studio flat (UK), self-contained apartment (Nigeria), efficiency apartment, bed-sitter (Kenya), or bachelor apartment, is a small dwelling in which the normal functions of a number of rooms – often the living room, bedroom, and kitchen – are combined into a single room.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Campervan</span> Type of vehicle

A campervan, also referred to as a camper, caravanette, motorhome or RV in North America, is a self-propelled vehicle that provides both transport and sleeping accommodation. The term describes vans that have been fitted out, whereas a motorhome is one with a coachbuilt body.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bedroom</span> Private room where people usually sleep for the night or relax during the day

A bedroom or bedchamber is a room situated within a residential or accommodation unit characterized by its usage for sleeping. A typical western bedroom contains as bedroom furniture one or two beds, a clothes closet, and bedside table and dressing table, both of which usually contain drawers. Except in bungalows, ranch style homes, ground floor apartments, or one-storey motels, bedrooms are usually on one of the floors of a dwelling that is above ground level. Beds range from a crib for an infant; a single or twin bed for a toddler, child, teenager or single adult; to bigger sizes like a full, double, queen, king or California king). Beds and bedrooms are often devised to create barriers to insects and vermin, especially mosquitoes, and to dampen or contain light or noise to aid sleep and privacy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Public toilet</span> Room or building with toilets for the general public

A public toilet, restroom, public bathroom or washroom is a room or small building with toilets and sinks for use by the general public. The facilities are available to customers, travelers, employees of a business, school pupils or prisoners and are commonly separated into male and female toilets, although some are unisex, especially for small or single-occupancy public toilets, public toilets are sometimes accessible to people with disabilities. Depending on the culture, there may be varying degrees of separation between males and females and different levels of privacy. Typically, the entire room, or a stall or cubicle containing a toilet, is lockable. Urinals, if present in a male toilet, are typically mounted on a wall with or without a divider between them. Local authorities or commercial businesses may provide public toilet facilities. Some are unattended while others are staffed by an attendant. In many cultures, it is customary to tip the attendant, especially if they provide a specific service, such as might be the case at upscale nightclubs or restaurants.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Strip search</span> Searching a person with clothing removed

A strip search is a practice of searching a person for weapons or other contraband suspected of being hidden on their body or inside their clothing, and not found by performing a frisk search, but by requiring the person to remove some or all clothing. The search may involve an official performing an intimate person search and inspecting their personal effects and body cavities. A strip search is more intrusive than a frisk and requires legal authority. Regulations covering strip searches vary considerably and may be mandatory in some situations or discretionary in others.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Walk-in closet</span>

A walk-in closet or walk-in wardrobe (UK) or dressing room is typically a large closet, wardrobe or room that is primarily intended for storing clothes, footwear etc., and being used as a changing room. As the name suggests, walk-in closets are closets sufficiently big as to allow one to walk into them to browse through the items. It is often a small room with wall-mounted cabinet, shelf and drawers, and these can either be with or without doors. Walk-in closets often do not have doors in front of shelves, which can give a better overview of the clothes, but also leads to more dust. When the walk-in closet is large enough for dressing and undressing, the wardrobe is often also equipped with one or more mirrors. The room should also have good lighting, and a bench or chair can be handy. A dressing table is sometimes also found in the walk-in closet, and such dual use can relieve congestion around other rooms such as bathrooms.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Potty parity</span> Equitable provision of public toilets or men and women

Potty parity is equal or equitable provision of public toilet facilities for females and males within a public space. Parity can be defined by equal floorspace or by number of fixtures within the washrooms, sometimes adjusted for the longer average time taken and more frequent visits to the washroom for females, among other factors.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Common lodging-house</span> Victorian era term for a form of cheap accommodation

"Common lodging-house" is a Victorian era term for a form of cheap accommodation in which the inhabitants are all lodged together in the same room or rooms, whether for eating or sleeping. The slang terms dosshouse and flophouse designate roughly the equivalent of common lodging-houses. The nearest modern equivalent is a hostel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Unisex public toilet</span> Public toilets that are not separated by sex

Unisex public toilets are public toilets that are not separated by gender or sex.

<i>Jjimjilbang</i> Type of Korean bathhouse

Jjimjilbang are bathhouses in South Korea which gained popularity in the 1990s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Room</span> Distinguishable space within a building or other structure

In a building or a ship, a room is any enclosed space within a number of walls to which entry is possible only via a door or other dividing structure. The entrance connects it to either a passageway, another room, or the outdoors. The space is typically large enough for several people to move about. The size, fixtures, furnishings, and sometimes placement of the room within the building or ship support the activity to be conducted in it.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Locker</span> Storage compartment

A locker is a small, usually narrow storage compartment. They are commonly found in dedicated cabinets, very often in large numbers, in various public places such as locker rooms, workplaces, schools, transport hubs and the like. They vary in size, purpose, construction, and security.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">YMCA Boston</span> United States historic place

YMCA Boston was founded in 1851 in Boston, Massachusetts, as the first American chapter of YMCA.

A women-only space is an area where only women are allowed, thus providing a place where they do not have to interact with men. Historically and globally, many cultures had, and many still have, some form of female seclusion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Toilet (room)</span> Room for privately accessing a toilet, and often handwashing sink

A toilet is a small room used for privately accessing the sanitation fixture (toilet) for urination and defecation. Toilet rooms often include a sink (basin) with soap/handwash for handwashing, as this is important for personal hygiene. These rooms are typically referred to in North America as half-bathrooms in a private residence.

Unisex changing rooms are changing rooms that are not separated on the basis of sex or gender. Unisex changing rooms are sometimes referred to as single-user changing rooms or inclusive changing rooms.

References

  1. Queen Elizabeth Pool, Edmonton, Canada Archived September 27, 2013, at the Wayback Machine
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 « Essayer en corps. Sociologie des cabines d'essayage », Thierry Caro, mémoire de fin d'études à l'Institut d'études politiques de Lille, 2004.
  3. Yorke, Trevor (2005) The Victorian House Explained. Newbury: Countryside Books ISBN   9781846748233; p. 105
  4. See Phil Patton's article "You don't have to smile", excerpt included in Netcam Privacy Issues for more on security cameras in changing rooms
  5. "Gym Locker Theft in Bangkok". Archived from the original on 2013-03-13.
  6. "Mysterious gym locker theft leads to string of troubles".