Women could soon see ladies fitness wear in larger sizes modelled in shop windows, as Debenhams has become the first UK department store to use size 16 mannequins in its shop-front displays.

The average woman in the UK wears a size 14 or 16 yet most retailers display their clothes, including gym wear, on size ten mannequins.

Debenhams Oxford street store will be the first to use the 'plus-sized' mannequins but they will later appear in the windows of selected outlets across the UK.

Lynne Featherstone, Liberal Democrat MP for Hornsey and Wood Green and equalities spokesperson for the Liberal Democrats, has welcomed the news, claiming it will help to boost body confidence.

"The more realistic we can get companies to be, the better women are going to feel about themselves, whatever their shape or size," she said.

Ms Featherstone suggested that this move was a positive step in the fight against the promotion of thin as being perfect.

"In the end, we all deserve to be happy just the way we are," she added.

Posted by Martin Sebborn ADNFCR-2569-ID-19629738-ADNFCR

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