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Shopper 'mortified' after being told her hot pants were 'too short'

A shopper in the UK has been left "mortified" after being told to pull her T-shirt down because her hot pants were "too short".

Lauren O'Connor took to Twitter to share her experience in a Sainsbury store in Staines, Surrey where a staff member approached her and asked her to pull her T-shirt down after an "elderly man made comment" about her outfit.

Lauren O'Connor short shorts
A shopper in the UK has been left "mortified" after being told to pull her T-shirt down because her hot pants were "too short". Photo: Twitter

She wrote, "I’m so angry right now. Just been approached by a @sainsburys staff member in Staines store to ‘pull my t shirt down’.

"An elderly man made comment to staff member who felt compelled to come over and tell me as I was shopping.

"It’s 32 degrees. If I want to wear shorts I will," she said.

Lauren O'Connor took to Twitter to share her experience. Photo: Twitter
Lauren O'Connor took to Twitter to share her experience. Photo: Twitter

The PR director then added a photo of her outfit and wrote, "For reference, this is my outfit. All I wanted was ice lollies.

"[And] I get shamed in store doing so. So disappointed. When are we going to stop telling women how to dress?

"Especially when topless men frequent supermarkets, which I highly doubt are told to change."

Sainsbury's quickly contacted Lauren via Twitter after seeing her post, with a woman named Natasha responding to her.

"Hey Lauren,” Natasha wrote. “I'm so sorry about this experience you've had! Not what we'd expect.

“Could you pop us over a DM using the link below with some more info on what happened along with the name or a brief description of the colleague who approached you?"

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One Twitter user responded to Lauren saying, "That’s disgusting. Why do people love giving their unwarranted opinions?"

To which Lauren responded, "Because they don’t like women taking up space. So have to knock us down a peg. Especially when they’re the ones looking at us."

Another user wrote, "Telling women how to dress is sexist, if you liked those shorts and felt comfortable in them then you should be able to wear them without being shamed."

Lauren added, "I’m so livid about it. When are we going to stop giving the space for men who can’t stop being perverts? I am so tired of having to defend my existence and love of booty shorts!!"

She revealed the outfit that she had been wearing when she was at the supermarket. Photo: Twitter
She revealed the outfit that she had been wearing when she was at the supermarket. Photo: Twitter

However, some users were quick to share their thoughts, saying they believe Lauren was in the wrong.

"There’s a time and place . I have daughters your age and would be horrified if they went to a store dressed that way," one user wrote.

Another user added, "It’s not sexism, it’s called public [decency]. If you don’t want people complaining about your clothes then dress appropriately. And if you are so embarrassed with did you plaster this across Twitter??"

"I was at a loss for words,” Lauren told Femail.

“That A) someone felt the need to comment on what I was wearing and tell a member of staff.

"B) that the member of staff told me about it. I was mortified.

"I was wearing a mask but can imagine the colour my cheeks would have been.”

“It’s a humiliating experience to have that happen especially in this sweltering heat."

Lauren added that the experience had been "humiliating" and said there was a double standard between how men and women are allowed to dress. Photo: Twitter
Lauren added that the experience had been "humiliating" and said there was a double standard between how men and women are allowed to dress. Photo: Twitter

She added that she had previously seen men walking around the store topless without being told to put on clothes, describing the "double standards" as "absolute lunacy".

Lauren also revealed she had worked at the store during her teens and had never seen or heard of anything like this happening before and that there isn't a dress code at Sainsbury's.

"We are speaking to the store to understand what happened and would like to apologise to Lauren for any offence caused,” a spokesperson for Sainsbury's also told the publication.

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