“Had Me in a Chokehold” — Woman Says Boutique Owner Body Shamed Her Repeatedly While Shopping

A woman who went clothes shopping with her friend claims a boutique owner repeatedly body shamed her. Ali Hunt (@alihuntt) documented her experience in a viral TikTok clip. In it, she says that the worker cautioned her against ripping the clothes whilst trying them on.

Ali begins her video by speaking directly into the camera, recording the social media post from the interior of a car. A young child can be seen resting in a car seat behind her as she relays her story time.

She begins by stating that her and a friend decided to visit a clothing store located in Florence, Ala.

Upon visiting the establishment, the TikToker states that she and her friend were greeted by a store employee, who turned out to be the store's owner. Following this exchange, she began to peruse the store's wares and spotted a pair of pants that she liked. So she swooped them up with the intent of trying them on.

Before doing so, Ali wanted to show off the find to her friend, who agreed that the pants were chic. So chic, that she wanted to get a pair herself. However, the owner inserted herself into their conversation and began talking about the cut, fabric, and fit of the pants.

The worker said that due to the material the pants were made out of, they may be a tight fit. Consequently, the pants may "warp" on the wearer's body, resulting in an appearance that isn't all the satisfactory.

Ali didn't really pay that much attention to the woman's comments, intoning that she simply thanked the store worker for her heads up.

Afterwards, she decided to check out more of the store's wares until she happened upon a dress that caught her eye. Following this, she approached the store owner and informed her that she would like to go to the dressing room and try the clothing on.

The worker told Ali, "Yeah, that's fine," so Ali went on her merry way to put on the clothes. However, right as she was about to enter the dressing room, the worker stops her and asks that if she begins to try the clothes on and they feel a little tight, if she would mind not persist in trying to force them on as they might rip.

Ali replied to the worker that she wouldn't do so, but the inflection in her voice indicates that she was taken aback by the woman's commentary. "I read the sizes, I read the tags. I picked the ones that were my size. I knew, I knew what the size said on the tags. So I was going off of that."

Going on, Ali said the interaction left her fighting back tears while she was in the fitting room, as the store worker made her feel self conscious about her body. To make matters worse, she says that the boutique owner did this in front of several other shoppers inside of the store.

First, she tried on the pants, and Ali said that "they fit fine" and "were loose like they were supposed to be." She also tried on the dress that caught her eye, and that too, fit well. During her fitting room session, Ali said that she exited the room for her friend to assess how they looked.

She said that both of the items fit her well, and that her friend encouraged her to buy both of them. But the store worker still had more to say, telling Ali's friend to tug on the back of the dress to see if it isn't too tight, again cautioning that it might rip.

Ali's friend assured the owner that the dress fit just fine and the TikToker headed back into the dressing room to change. Ultimately, the experience dissuaded Ali from wanting to buy the clothing and she waited for her friend to make her own purchases.

It wasn't until they got in the car that Ali revealed how the business owner's comments negatively impacted her emotions. She went on to state that the owner was praising another customer with a slimmer build who was trying on clothing. Then, "in the same breath" turned around and cautioned her to not rip the items.

Ali capped off her video by stating that the store owner should be more mindful of the words she was choosing. "Refrain from making comments about people's bodies. Refrain from saying things that could potentially hurt someone's spirit and damage them."

Consequently, Ali said that her and her friend "ended up going to a thrift store down the road." And she briefly states that she had a much better time there than she did at the other business. "I left feeling very confident again and feeling good about my body."

Ali then returns to speaking about her negative experience at the other establishment. "But, she had me in a chokehold for about 30, 45 minutes. What's wrong with me? Why don't I look good?"

Furthermore, she said that her initial response to the store worker was to offer up some sort of justification. "In my head, when she made the first comment, I wanted to turn around and be like, 'Well, I just had a baby so ...'"

The TikToker then says she caught herself thinking this way and questioned why anyone should explain why they look a certain way to another person.

Numerous commenters who replied to Ali's video decried the owner's actions, with some posting what they say is the name of the boutique along with its owner.