Luxury Gone Wrong
Financial profiling sounds like something banks do. Actually, it happens every day in luxury retail stores. A sales associate makes promises, a manager breaks them, and suddenly you're holding a swimsuit nobody will take back.
What Is Financial Profiling?
Financial profiling happens when retail employees make snap judgments about your wallet based on how you look, what you're wearing, or the color of your skin. It's that moment when a sales associate follows you around the store like you're planning a heist.
Financial Profiling (Cont.)
Or, when they assume you can't afford the $900 handbag you're literally holding in your hands. Research from Case Western Reserve University found that 80% of middle-class Black shoppers reported experiencing this exact type of discrimination. Unlike credit checks or actual financial assessments, this is a pure assumption.
Brittany Bowen's Background And Platform
With over 159,000 followers on TikTok, Brittany Bowen built her platform sharing lifestyle content and calling out customer service failures. The Dallas-based content creator uses the handle @brittanyybowen and specializes in storytelling videos that resonate with audiences tired of corporate double-speak.
The $900 Swimsuit Purchase Details
Burberry's swimwear collection sits at the pinnacle of luxury beach fashion, with pieces ranging from $400 to $1,200. Bowen's $900 one-piece featured the brand's signature check pattern and was crafted from Italian stretch nylon—the kind of swimsuit you see on yachts in the Mediterranean.
Why No Two-Piece Options Mattered
The store's inventory that day limited Bowen to one-piece swimsuits exclusively, forcing a style compromise she wasn't thrilled about making. Personal preference matters when you're dropping nearly a thousand dollars on swimwear. This inventory gap created the entire problem.
Why No Two-Piece Options Mattered (Cont.)
If her preferred two-piece style had been available, she would have bought it and never needed to attempt a return. Limited selection in luxury retail often pressures customers into purchases they're not fully satisfied with, banking on the assumption that return policies will serve as a safety net.
The Employee's Verbal Return Promise
Before Bowen handed over her credit card, she asked the sales associate point-blank about the return policy. The employee assured her that as long as all tags remained attached, she could return the swimsuit for a full refund within 30 days—a verbal contract that would later prove worthless.
Burberry's Written Return Policy
Burberry's official policy states customers have 14 days from delivery or purchase to initiate a return, with an additional 14 days to ship items back. The fine print gets specific: items must be unused, undamaged, with original tags attached, and "any hygiene strip intact" for products like swimwear.
Burberry's Written Return Policy (Cont.)
Incomplete or worn returns "will not be accepted and therefore sent back to the customer," according to their website. The policy allows managers discretion to determine if something has been used, creating a subjective judgment call that can vary between employees.
The Hygiene Strip Controversy
That little piece of adhesive film attached to the crotch area of swimwear bottoms is called a hygiene strip or hygiene liner, and it's the silent killer of countless return attempts. Retailers require it to remain intact and unremoved as proof that the garment never touched bare skin.
The Hygiene Strip Controversy (Cont.)
Bowen never clarified in her video whether her swimsuit's hygiene strip was still attached, and commenters immediately jumped on this omission as the possible real reason for the denial. Amazon, Target, and virtually every retailer selling swimwear have identical hygiene strip requirements—remove it, and your return is toast regardless of tags.
Home Try-On And Immediate Regret
The moment Bowen got home and actually put on the one-piece, she knew she'd made a mistake. Standing in front of her mirror, the swimsuit just didn't feel right. It was not the style she wanted, not flattering in the way she'd hoped when imagining herself on Puerto Rican beaches.
Return Attempt Timeline
Obviously, Bowen headed back to Burberry while running other errands, likely within days of the original purchase based on her account. The return attempt happened well within any reasonable interpretation of return windows, not a last-minute day-30 scramble, but a prompt decision to reverse a purchase she regretted.
Manager-Customer Confrontation Details
The sales associate processing Bowen's return paused, then made the call every customer dreads: "I need to get my manager”. When the manager arrived and examined the swimsuit, she delivered the verdict with confidence: "You can't return this. It's clearly been worn”.
Verbal Vs Written Policy Conflicts
Here's where retail gets messy: the sales associate promised one thing, but Burberry's official policy says another. Employees often aren't properly trained on exact return conditions, leading them to give overly generous assurances that managers later refuse to honor.
Manager Discretion In Luxury Retail
Store managers at such brands wield enormous power to approve or deny returns based purely on subjective judgment calls. Unlike chain stores with rigid computerized systems, luxury retail empowers managers to interpret "worn" or "damaged" however they see fit. This discretion actually exists to protect brands from return fraud.
Why Appearance-Based Judgments Happen
Retail workers develop mental shortcuts after seeing thousands of customers, unconsciously categorizing people by clothing, age, race, and perceived wealth. Behavioral economists call this "heuristic judgment"—the brain's way of making quick decisions with incomplete information. These snap judgments happen in milliseconds.
The Viral TikTok Video Strategy
Bowen waited until December 2025 to post about her 2021 Burberry experience, a strategic delay that let emotions cool while the story remained relevant. She used specific hashtags like #burberry, #profiled, #badexperience, and #storytime to maximize algorithmic reach. Her video format followed TikTok's winning formula.
Poshmark Sale Solution
Unable to return the swimsuit to Burberry, Bowen turned to Poshmark, the popular secondhand luxury resale platform where designer items sell for 40–60% of retail. She photographed the still-tagged swimsuit, wrote a description explaining it was unworn, and priced it competitively to move quickly.
Poshmark Sale Solution (Cont.)
A buyer eventually purchased it for $500—decent for secondhand swimwear, but a painful markdown from the $900 she'd paid. Poshmark takes a 20% commission on sales over $15, meaning she netted around $400 after fees.
Luxury Retail Discrimination Case Studies
Bowen's Burberry experience isn't isolated. It's part of a documented pattern in luxury retail. Barneys New York paid a $525,000 fine in 2014 after being caught racially profiling Black customers. Also, Versace faced a lawsuit over the "D410 code"—allegedly a secret signal employees used when Black customers entered stores.
663highland, Wikimedia Commons
How Hygiene Policies Vary Across Retailers
While Burberry requires intact hygiene strips on swimwear, policies differ wildly across the retail landscape. Amazon completely prohibits swimsuit returns if the hygiene liner is removed or tampered with, processing partial refunds or outright rejections. Target and Walmart follow similar protocols, using the strip as non-negotiable proof of non-use.
Consumer Rights In Return Disputes
No federal law requires retailers to accept returns unless products are defective or misrepresented, giving stores broad authority to set their own policies. However, states like California mandate that if retailers don't conspicuously post restrictive return policies, customers automatically get 30 days for full refunds.
Lessons For Future Luxury Shoppers
Before dropping serious money at luxury retailers, get return policies in writing. Always verify hygiene strip requirements for swimwear, undergarments, or any intimate apparel before removing packaging. Try items on carefully at home over your own undergarments, keeping all tags attached until you're absolutely certain.
