to never buy anything from this store again?

[Cupcakemum79]

Last weekend my husband, daughter and I went shopping for winter coats. I was really looking for a nice trenchcoat or ideally a woollen winter coat.
We walked past a luxury brand store that is known for really nice coats. Husband knows I love their coats and suggested we went inside. Normally I wouldn't even consider buying such an expensive clothing item, but husband insisted that I try on the coat I liked. He wanted to treat me if I ended up loving it, as he said it was a timeless item and he wanted to buy a nice Christmas/birthday gift that he knew I'd enjoy for years.

We asked the shop assistant for a size up in the coat I liked. It just didn't fit very nicely. Shop assistant then suggested I try on a couple of other (much more expensive[ coats. Those were really straight fitting coats though and I told her I preferred the other coat because it had a waist belt and didn't look so baggy.
She then told me "that coat maybe it was for you 20 years ago, now it's not for you".

My husband and I found this incredibly rude, but were too shocked to say anything. It ruined the shopping for me though, so we left immediately and husband told her that we didn't want a coat anymore. He was really angry. I am now 44 years old and tried the size 14, which fitted but pulled across the chest. Surely that's not incredibly old or fat to deserve a remark like that? Also what's with the '20 years ago' I really don't even look that old!

AIBU that I found this incredibly offensive and also I think that had I looked really rich she would never have said anything like that? Also I really don't want a coat from that store anymore...

Oh god I had the worst experience there. I asked for one coat and the awful assistant got me a completely different coat and insisted I try that on. I looked like Inspector Gadget. He wouldn’t bring me the coat I wanted. I left and got a coat elsewhere!

I feel like she must have been foreign, British people generally aren't that direct/rude. She was either foreign and a bit clumsy/unaware of British culture, or just a bit thick.

You beat me to it.😄

@Fifireee actually LOL'd at Inspector Gadget

Personally ouldnt be seen dead in Burberry you've dodged a bullet there

Really, how strange, what exactly are you tittering about? I thought the below definitions might help you out with your tittering:

articulate - adjective

having or showing the ability to speak fluently and coherently.
"an articulate account of their experiences"

pronounce (something) clearly and distinctly.

You’re bizarre. The sales assistant isn’t there to share her sartorial opinions, she’s there to fetch and gather and fucking sell clothes. 😂 she was rude as shit. As you well know.

YOU are as rude and profane as they come. In my opinon she was NOT rude - I am expressing an opinon as the OP ASKED in her original post.

Thing is, how many 24 year olds can even afford a Burberry coat? At the very least she needs to understand the company's target market.

Bloodyel, I wouldn’t refer to anyone as foreign as such…
But, I do have a couple of Russian friends who are very direct when speaking, and are picked up as rude all the time.

Maxmara is a few doors down. Stunning coats albeit eye watering prices now. Service is always uber polite in my experience

Ageist. Complain on that basis. A disgusting way to treat a customer. Imagine it being said about any other protected characteristic. Surely by now anyone can wear anything.

And your body is normal. I'm the same size. I now have the bust I'd have killed for in my early 20s and yes it makes coat buying trickier. But there's absolutely nothing unusual about having a bigger bust and the belted style sounds like it would have made sense - size up for your bust and use the belt to cinch in again.

I know half the designers want women to be completely straight shaped aren't skilled enough to cut for curves but I wouldn't expect that attitude from a shop assistant.

YANBU! How bloody rude! If your dp doesn’t get a reply then send another email to head office

That’s awful, and good on your husband! I’d consider tweeting at them personally.

I would make a complaint against the sales assistant and state that you won't be visiting the store again! Please tell us which store!

I once had a PW experience long before PW, I'm really old. It was clear that a shop in St Anne's Square Manchester didn't want me in there, I'd been travelling for 24 hours in a car and wasn't looking my best to be honest. I left the shop and went elsewhere, probably as expensive, bought what I wanted and returned to shop 1 with a few carrier bags and asked them to show me some scarves to match what I'd bought, I didn't really want a scarf and when the shop assistant had about 15 on the counter I left!

That must have felt very satisfying! I don't know who these snotty shop assistance think they are.

There are polite ways to try and steer a customer from a purchase that you think they may regret and this was not that way. She was incredibly rude and insulting.

I can relate to this. A similar thing happened to me when I asked to try something on in a little beach-side boutique on holiday this year. It would have fit me fine. I could tell just by looking at it on the hanger. The lady said “no that’s too small for you” (as she held it up against me and pulled at it to suggest it wouldn’t fit my hips) and “you would be better looking at these” (as she gestured to much older, baggier styles). I’m only 37. I carry some extra weight as a result of grief eating in the last few years following the stillbirth of my daughter and sudden death of my father (not that anyone should have to justify their weight or size) and am now a size 14/16 ish.
I felt so violated and embarrassed, and utterly, utterly crap about myself, that it spoiled the rest of my holiday. I tried to tell myself to let it go, but this sort of thing can cut really deep.
You most certainly are not being unreasonable and you have my sympathy xx

That sounds horrible OP. I know it's hard when wounded and we women are conditioned to be apologetic and retreat in the face of criticism, but I really do think we need to become more angry when this occurs, and firmly demand what we have asked for - after all, as customers the power sits in our wallet, so to speak. I'm going to keep this thread in mind in future.

It was probably a sales tactic that backfired, to get you to spend more money and buy the more expensive coat.

Burberry?

Mumsnet Style and Beauty couldn't function if we weren't allowed to name brands.

So it was Burberry?

Checked macs and accessories?

She confirmed it were Burberry very early on in the thread and subsequent responses make it clear too.

Hobbs has some really nice wool trenches this year, some same colour as Bleurghberry, others rich deep jewel colours. Your husband sounds fab, the assistant was probably furiously jealous!