Inside Looking Out

Remember that Twilight Zone episode about the woman who was accidentally locked in a department store overnight. She was the only one in there but soon found out that once all the people who worked in the store had left, the mannequins would come to life.

These mannequins had a system in which one would be selected each month to spend that month living out in the real world. At the end of the month they would have to come back and take their place once again as a mannequin and then one of the others would be able to take their turn, living amongst the real people for a month.

Well it turned out that the woman who had accidentally become locked in the store found out that actually she too was a mannequin, and it was really just her time to return and resume her place as a mannequin with the others. She was a little terrified at this realization and of course struggled against it, wanting to live outside as a real woman.

Well, I was reminded of this story when I was on my walk yesterday morning. I had passed by an vintage fashion store and noticed the female mannequins in the window. Most of the time when I see a mannequin I don’t really notice them that much unless the wardrobe or setting is very eye-catching. But something about the way these women were styled… not typical. They seemed a little more real to me – not perfect, plastic people with little or no expression. This window setting just really reminded me of that Twilight Zone episode (episode title, The After Hours).