A shopper has told of her fury after she was allegedly asked by a Sainsbury's worker to "pull her T-shirt down" because her hot pants were "too short".
Lauren O'Connor, a 33-year-old PR director, said she was approached by a staff member in the store in Staines, Surrey, on Wednesday, when the UK was hit by sweltering temperatures.
According to Ms O'Connor, the worker told her that a male customer had complained about the length of her shorts.
She said the sales assistant then added: "I think you need to pull your T-shirt down, as a gentleman doesn't know if you're wearing anything underneath."
Labelling the encounter as "sexist", Ms O'Connor replied that she was "entitled to wear shorts in 32C heat", adding there was no dress code to visit the supermarket, other than the face mask she had been wearing.
Speaking to the Evening Standard, she said: "I was at first flabbergasted.
"I actually didn’t know how to respond, I was so taken aback.
"The anger was rising in my stomach but I knew the staff member was a messenger, so I said ‘tell him (the customer) to f*** off’."
Ms O'Connor shared details of the incident on Twitter, adding: "All I wanted was ice lollies, and I get shamed in store for 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."
Ms O'Connor said others have messaged her and told of similar experiences.
A spokesman for Sainsbury's told The Standard: "We are speaking to the store to understand what happened and would like to apologise to Lauren for any offence caused.”
