A TikToker has gone viral after highlighting the strict clothing rules of designer outlet Gucci. In a video that’s amassed 1.6 million views as of Saturday, Ben Blue (@benblue01) claimed that the store treated him differently depending on how he was dressed.
Recounting his first trip to the store, Ben claims that he had just disembarked from a plane, meaning he was dressed a little more casually.
“I was like, wanting specifically a ring so the staff were like, ‘Yeah, we’ll get someone to come over and help you’, and plot twist: nobody came to help me,” he said.
According to Ben, he ended up waiting “10-15 minutes” and nobody came to help him, so he says he left and returned to the store the following day wearing “proper clothing.” This, Ben claims, led to the staff treating him completely differently.
He continued, “Suddenly, they let me in straight away someone comes up to me, they asked me what I want. I asked them if they had this ring.”
According to Ben, the worker told him they had “just sold out yesterday,” which irked him as he was in the store at that time.
The Daily Dot’s reached out to Ben and Gucci via email.
@benblue01 #stitch with @Bethenny Frankel ♬ original sound – Ben Blue
Do luxury stores treat you differently?
Ben’s video was stitched to a viral clip by reality TV personality Bethenny Frankel, during which she alleges Chanel did the same to her. In an earlier clip, Frankel said she was made to feel like an “interloper” by the staff, who she claims said she wasn’t allowed in the store without an appointment. In an Instagram post further expressing her disappointment, Frankel remarked that she thinks her clothes made the outlet act “elitist and exclusionary.”
“I was straight off a plane in a sweaty T-shirt and not dolled up or looking wealthy,” she wrote.
In an attempt to prove a point, Frankel then returned to the store the next day dressed more formally. She was let in with no problem. It was this TikTok that Ben stitched, as he added, “What she proved is actually wild.”
In the comments section of Ben’s video, other TikTokers recounted their own experiences with stores.
“I got kicked out of Hollister in 2012 because they said my ‘weight was a disturbance to the other guests,’” one claimed.
“My mom dreamed of getting a BMW and was finally able to buy one,” another said. “She showed up to the dealership in jeans and a tshirt and NO ONE would help her.”
While a third added, “I got judged at Myers, they thought I was stealing.”
Clearly, Pretty Woman was onto something.
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