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Woman writes an open letter to Victoria's Secret after a 'sales assistant's comment about size' upset her

Woman writes an open letter to Victoria's Secret after a 'sales assistant's comment about size' upset her
Woman writes an open letter to Victoria's Secret after a 'sales assistant's comment about size' upset her Woman writes an open letter to Victoria's Secret after a 'sales assistant's comment about size' upset her

A young woman has penned an open letter to a Victoria’s Secret after a comment that a sales assistant apparently made left her feeling embarrassed and unwelcome.

Abbie Walsh-Greenfield, 20, visited the Victoria’s Secret store in Cardiff and looked for an item in an XL size, when she says she was asked by a member of staff if she was aware about the sizes the store caters for.

She wrote: “In all honesty, having not even looked at the VS website before, let alone going to the actual store, I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect. I’d definitely seen ‘plus size’ Victoria’s Secret hauls on YouTube, but had never actually clicked on a video.”

(Ian West/PA)

Nevertheless, she continued wandering round the lingerie store without allowing herself to get phased about the lack of sizing available to cater to her.

She wrote: “It’s the same with any store, when they don’t have your size, you forget about the item and move on. Which I was very happily doing at this point, may I add.”

Abbie soon noticed a pair of lacy, pink bed shorts and this time, was determined to find her size. She scoured the rack unsuccessfully, before picking up a L, after which she was approached by a sales associate.

She wrote: “The sales assistant, a very important looking and tall lady, walked straight past my friend and stood a metre or two away from me.

“I turned around with the large lacy, pink, baggy, elasticated bed shorts in hand, and went to head for my friend to show her my ‘might-fit-me-might-be-tight-but-worth-it’ bed shorts, when..

“‘Hi.. Are you aware of the sizing in this store?’.”

Abbie shuffled away, placing the item back on the rack, admitting the woman had made her feel like she didn’t actually want to help at all.

Although she realised that the comment had just been a result of the staff member herself, as opposed to the Cardiff store or Victoria’s Secret as a brand, she struggled to understand the saleswoman’s intentions.

“I don’t actually know what the sales assistant meant by her comment, but surely there’s no two ways about it. I can’t even imagine another sentence that she could have tried to say.”

Abbie went on to spend £100 at Ann Summers later that day, where she said the staff were “lovely and kind” and didn’t question her size once.

“I am more than happy with myself, although there are some things that I would like to change, I’m in no particular rush to look any certain way,” she said.

(Ian West/PA)

A Victoria’s Secret spokesperson told us: “Victoria’s Secret expects that all customers be treated with respect. We are reaching out to the customer and will take the appropriate actions as we’re committed to ensuring that everyone feels welcome in our stores.”