If you plan to walk into a high-end store dressed in pajamas or a worn tracksuit and expect to be greeted warmly, you might be disappointed. Some netizens say appearances can determine whether you’re welcomed inside or turned away at the door. One woman from Los Angeles, who may not have realized how much stores expect shoppers to follow an unspoken dress code, felt brushed aside during her shopping trip in San Francisco. She later shared the experience on TikTok, captioning it, “I guess racism still exists in America.”
The woman said in the video that she never expected to feel so disrespected while visiting major luxury stores downtown. According to her, she tried entering four or five shops but was either denied entry or ignored. “I got kicked out of two of them, and the other two didn’t serve me. The fifth one didn’t even open the door,” she recalled. The content creator stressed that she had money and credit cards to spend, comparing her experience to Julia Roberts’ character in Pretty Woman. What confused her most, she added, was that she thought San Francisco was “a democratic state, and everybody’s welcome,” but her experience suggested otherwise.
The woman also admitted that she had gone for a casual look, wearing a hoodie and with her hair messy from the wind, which she thought might have played a role. Still, she wondered aloud whether her treatment had to do with her background, describing herself as a Gypsy. “Either way, it really hurt and left me feeling so upset,” she said, before asking others if they had ever experienced something similar.
Netizens React to San Francisco Woman’s Shopping Incident
Many viewers said that her treatment had less to do with racism and more to do with her appearance. One person wrote bluntly, “It’s not racism you’re 100% wrong… It has nothing to do with racism zero.” Another echoed the same point, saying, “This has nothing to do with racism… they assumed you didn’t have money because of the way you were dressed.” A third added, “To be honest with you and [sic] it has nothing to do with racism.”
A few others thought it had to do with store policies and the theft crisis in the city. “It’s not racism it’s a dress code and it looks bad for business,” one person argued. Another remarked, “No, it’s because you’re in San Francisco. They get robbed every day. lol.” One netizen also wrote that maybe the staff were on “full alert” and feared she might be part of a larger shoplifting attempt.
Another group of netizens joked that she should take a more unconventional approach. “Get really dressed up and go back the next day and don’t buy nothing 😂,” one comment suggested. “The only thing you had to do is flash that money and the credit cards and shown that you had it 💵,” said a viewer.
