I have always been a big fan of Filene’s Basement. I grew up a lover of bargains and interesting clothing, both of which could be found in abundance at the old Filene’s Basement location in Downtown Crossing. I was saddened by its closing, but eagerly awaited its new opening and location. Change can be a good thing, right?

So when I returned to Northeastern after my summer holiday, I eventually made time and walked to Boylston Street. I found the store there a bit smaller and the bargains a little harder to find. The “automatic markdown” system, dated tags that discount the price more as time goes on, has been replaced with general racks of clearance merchandise. However, I can deal with this, since I still found a pair of $10 Ben Sherman jeans to swoon over and hope would fit. I headed to the changing room, only to be shocked by what I found.

No, I was not horrified at how the jeans fit (they were actually a little loose), but Filene’s no longer has a communal changing room.

Anyone who ever shopped at Filene’s Basement remembers the room: small, mirrored and fit about 25 women give or take. Every woman had an armful of clothes, and you had to fight your way to both a mirror and hanger.

But at the same time, this room was amazing. There were no models in the room, just loads of “real” women. From 80 to 380 pounds, every skin tone and color possible. And a lot of them were naked, in a completely non-sexualized way.

It was a normalizing experience in a world filled with somewhat skewed visions of what women look like. Plus, if you wanted an opinion on an item of clothing, the surrounding 10 women would be willing to give one in surprising detail: “The second (out of the seven you tried on) skirt looked the best.”

Now there are about 25 individual changing rooms. They have small benches, mirrors, hooks and the same bad lighting that makes everything look unflattering. No longer will women have the opportunity to be surrounded by a bunch of other women, all attempting to assess whether that shirt is flattering, or if there is a better option. No more random opinions, just you and the mirror.

I’m truly going to miss the changing room in the old Basement. I can understand the necessity for change: the room wasn’t geared toward the cripplingly self-conscious or the conservative. But would it be so bad to keep the communal rooms, and add a few individual stalls? Didn’t the good outweigh the occasional awkward?

Goodbye, communal changing room. May your legacy live on in the heart of every woman who got an opinion of that dress, solicited or not.

– Victoria Quamme is a middler communication and cinema studies major.