Why we took our clothes off in a shop window

Rachel Peru and Tina Boden were fed up of women feeling like they should be ashamed of their bodies, so they decided to strip off their clothes for a campaign to challenge ageism and promote self-acceptance.

The women, both in their 50s, became live mannequins for the day in a lingerie shop window in Nantwich, Cheshire, on Friday to spark conversations and encourage bra fittings.

"The reaction from other women makes it all worth what we are doing, we want women to walk past and see bodies they can relate to," said Peru.

Boden added: "It was a perfect day, as it made women feel seen."

The campaign, Accepting Who We Are (AWWA), is the brainchild of model and body confidence activist, Peru, and business coach, Boden.

Boden said AWWA was launched in June 2025 after she entered a beauty queen pageant for the first time, at the age of 56.

There was a photo of her in swimwear on stage, and she realised that images of women like her - "5ft 3in, naturally ageing, naturally grey hair" were never seen in advertising for that type of clothing.

The coach, who works with women in business, said she shared her thoughts on Linkedin, and it had a huge response.

Her friend, Peru, who gives body confidence talks, became a model at the age of 46, after a career as an early years teacher.

"When I first got into it, I never imagined I'd be doing lingerie and swimwear modelling, I fell into really," she said.

Her first big campaign was modelling swimwear in the Bahamas, alongside model Ashley Graham.

She said she came back a different person, as other women of her age commented that they could see a body they could relate to, but had not been represented in underwear and swimwear marketing.

Standing in a lingerie shop window was about showing other women bodies like theirs so they could feel more confident, and encourage them to get properly fitted for bras, she said.

"I think they are amazing to actually stand there and show it to the world sort of thing," said one shopper, describing the stunt as brilliant.

Another described the women as brave, while one passerby got a shock when she realised the mannequins were actually real.

Shop owner, Kate Hinton, said this was the second time they had staged this event and "we definitely stopped traffic."

The shop has been open since 1997, Hinton has owned it for 11 years, and said the first live mannequin event in February was probably their best ever day for customers.

As to whether she would stand in the window in her underwear, she said: "If it was warmer, and it was swimwear, and a beach, and a cocktail."

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