This dress wasn’t meant to be controversial. In fact it was advertised as quite the opposite.

In an email sent by the British clothing store Joy, the bird-patterned frock was described as the perfect garment to wear to your boyfriend’s house to “meet the parents” — all thanks to its “respectable neckline” and knee length trim, amongst other things.

Take a look at the full blurb:

View photos Email entitled ‘Meet the Parents’ upsets customers for its ‘sexist’ nature. (Photo: Joy Clothing) More

“Show your boyfriend’s mum you’re the girl to take care of her little prince in beautiful dresses that scream marriage material. Knee length skirts exude class while respectable necklines mean father-in-law won’t have a heart attack when you lean across the table for a second helping of roast potatoes”

Subscribers weren’t happy with the email’s approach. Despite possible satire, many took to Facebook to confront the clothing store.

“Your ‘Meet the Parents’ marketing email is incredibly offensive, outdated and ill-conceived. What were you thinking? You’ve lost me as a customer, and I’ve shared your email with my friends. Poorly played, Joy,” wrote one of the recipients.

“I’m unliking you and never buying anything from you again after the sexist crap you’ve got on your latest email. Disgusting,” writes another.

“WOMEN: HIDE YOUR SHAME (or you won’t get a husband, which is the only thing you’re worth),” was one interpretation that proved popular, receiving close to fifty likes on the Facebook comment.

After much backlash, Joy offered their apologies in the form of another email to Huffington Post.

“Our ‘Meet the Parents’ satire stemmed from a real-life occurrence in one of our stores which a panicked young woman came to us one afternoon stating she ‘had nothing to wear for her ‘meet the parents’ dinner,’” they explained.

“At the time we found the anecdote to be endearing, as we have all found ourselves to be in the nerve-racking situation of meeting our significant others family and loved ones.

“We wanted to share this with our other customers who may be coming up to the same dilemma, especially in the festive season.

“Over the years, our tone has often been tongue in cheek, much to the entertainment of many of our customers. However, we understand that we missed the mark with our terminology and apologize deeply to all our customers that feel offended as this was not our intent.

“We would like to reiterate the fact that this was not intended to cause any offense and we are incredibly saddened by upsetting our incredibly appreciated customers.”

Tell us what you think by tweeting @YahooStyleCA.



