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Like real-life models, mannequins tend to be tall and lean. Even though mannequins are not real, the message they send to people can be very real. Due to the fact that mannequins help clothing stores attract customers, a British department store has decided to use bigger and curvier mannequins to represent the average shopper. The store, Debenhams has introduced its line of plus size mannequins.

Debenhams, which is similar to America's Macy's, has created mannequins that fit a U.S. size 14. The mannequins in the U.S. range from a size two to a size six and usually stand at 5'10" even though the average American woman is around 5'4" according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). So far, the department store has incorporated these mannequins at its shop on Oxford Street in London. The company plans on using the mannequins in all of the 170 locations that the company has throughout the United Kingdom.

Even though the use of larger mannequins is not completely new, it is still relatively rare. In Sweden, the clothing chain store named Ahlens uses bigger and more realistic mannequins to model clothing. This company received a lot of publicity after one of its fuller mannequin displays went viral after a women's rights group took notice of the figure and mentioned it.

"We hope that it will help people in some small way to feel comfortable about their bodies and, crucially, that other retailers will follow," Ed Watson, the director of Debenhams said according to TIME. Watson added that they have been working on this project for a decade.

On the other end of the world in Venezuela, mannequins have gotten a lot curvier in the breast and butt area. The creators of the mannequins stated that they wanted their products to stand out. The mannequins with larger breasts and buttocks have become popular because they represent wealth. Since bodies are not normally this exaggerated, having bigger breasts and buttocks indicates that the person has enough money for augmentation surgery.