A woman on TikTok tried to return a swimsuit from Burberry, only to say she was “financially profiled.”
Brittany Bowen (@brittanyybowen) , a TikTok content creator with more than 159,000 followers, posted a video describing her experience with Burberry. In the video, Bowen recounts her attempt to return a $900 swimsuit from the luxury clothier in 2021.
The video has generated more than 529,000 views, with commenters split on whether Bowen was justified in calling out the company years later.
What happened with this Burberry swimsuit?
Bowen originally purchased her $900 Burberry bathing suit for a trip she was taking to Puerto Rico.
Before purchasing the swimsuit, she asked an employee whether she could return it. She was not a big fan of the fact that the swimsuit was a one-piece, as the store did not have any two-piece options available when she went to make her purchase.
“ He said, ‘As long as you return it with all the tags on it, you can get your full money back. You just can’t wear it.’ Like, OK, cool. [I just had to return it] within 30 days,” Bowen told her viewers.
She went home to try on the one-piece and realized she did not care for it. She later stopped by Burberry while running errands to return the item. Bowen clarified throughout her video that the swimsuit had “all of the tags on it,” making it eligible for a return based on what the employee told her.
However, when she approached an employee to process the return, they called a manager over.
What was Burberry’s issue?
Bowen ended up speaking with the store’s manager about the return. “ The manager comes over… She looks at it and she goes, ‘Yeah, [you] can’t return this. It’s clearly been worn.’ OK, so first of all, how in the actual [expletive] are you going to wear a bathing suit with tags still on it? Because the tags were still on it,” Bowen said.
Bowen said she repeated that exact point to the manager, emphasizing that the tags were still attached and that she had never actually worn the bathing suit.
Bowen believes her treatment in the Burberry store directly correlated with how she was dressed at the time. She had just left the gym, so she was wearing sweatpants and loungewear. According to her, she looked “like a mess.” She said everything, from how the manager packaged the item to how employees spoke to her, indicated they were judging her for attempting to return the suit.
She mentioned that, at the time, she could buy “84” of the company’s swimsuits and still be financially stable. Regardless, she said she was upset that the company ignored her request to return it.
Bowen also explained that she did end up wearing the suit but later sold it on Poshmark for $500. She lost around $400 in what she described as “the worst decision” of her life.
“ My hometown did not have a lot of designer stores. I didn’t know what the [expletive] they were on, but let that be the last time. I have not bought anything from Burberry since.” Bowen said.
@brittanyybowen someone needs to teach that lil girl that the brokest looking people are usually the wealthiest. #burberry #desinger #storytime #profiled #badexperience ♬ original sound – Brittany
Commenters add their thoughts
While many people agreed that Bowen should have been able to return the swimsuit, others thought her approach and general demeanor warranted questioning.
“You do seem rude unfortunately,” said one commenter. Bowen replied, saying, “[Because] I stand up for myself? Heaven forbid lol.”
“Belittling other people for how much money they make is gross behavior regardless of the situation you were in,” wrote another viewer. “If you had sooo much money and could buy 84 more [swimsuits], why is it such a big deal when you didn’t take it seriously to begin with?”
Despite some criticism, many viewers urged Bowen not to take the comments seriously and to hold her ground. “You should go into… stores dressed how you want. They need to stop thinking that dressing flashy equates to having money,” added another viewer.
Many people also questioned whether Bowen kept the hygiene strip on the bathing suit, something she has not clarified in the comments.
The Mary Sue reached out to Bowen and Burberry to ask for more information about the situation.
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