‘She so fat come here and shop for what?’: Staff from Wheelock apparel store Subdued criticised for allegedly fat-shaming customer
New apparel outlet Subdued has purportedly received online reviews accusing one of its staff members of fat-shaming customers.
Since opening its first retail outlet at Wheelock Place on April 10, the Italian brand has faced allegations raised in several Google reviews, as well as in a TikTok video by user @lovettieee, who said she felt afraid to visit Subdued “because of this Louisa girl”.
“She’s so fat come here shop for what?” says lovettieee in her video, citing a Google review that claimed a staff member named Louisa made the remark about a customer.
“You so rude, work in retail for what,” comments lovettieee in response.
One of the reviews, which lovettieee included as a screenshot in her video, alleged that this staff member had “fatshamed [them] and [their] friend’s bottom under her breath”, before proceeding to ignore them when they required assistance.
Another review featured in the video claimed that Louisa responded rudely when asked if there were other colours available for a shirt she was interested in.
“She just rolled her eyes and said, ‘all the colours are here la,’” the review read.
The two reviews were not available on Subdued’s Google Reviews page at the time of publication.
“Girl, why is retail staff fat-shaming their own customers? Fat-shaming the same customers who are supporting their hourly paycheque leh,” lovettieee adds.
She concludes the video by comparing Subdued to Brandy Melville, saying the brands are similar not just in style, but also controversy.
Brandy Melville, another Italian fast-fashion brand, had previously been criticised for a toxic work environment, including alleged body-shaming of staff early last year.
‘Brandy Melville all over again’: Netizen says
Lovettieee’s video has garnered more than 160,000 views, with 9,900 reactions, and 40 comments.
Some users urged caution.
“We won’t know what’s the full story, but I 100 per cent know that regardless of the situation we shouldn’t condone cyberbullying,” said one TikToker.
“Brandy Melville all over again,” another commented.
One comment came to the staff member’s defence.
“Just to clarify, she wasn’t even working on opening day when the majority of the bad reviews about her were written… please don’t believe everything you see on the internet,” the commenter said.
“It’s quite obvious the people writing the reviews are trolls… either they have only 1 review which is that subdued review or 2-3 reviews and the rest were written in 2024/2025.”
Store says claims may stem from ‘personal matter’
In response to Stomp’s queries, Subdued Singapore said it had conducted a “rigorous internal investigation” following the online claims.
The company said the findings “do not corroborate with our operational records” and that the claims may have stemmed from “a pre-existing personal matter unrelated to our store operations or service standards”.
It added that it remains committed to maintaining an “inclusive and welcoming environment” for both customers and staff, and to upholding values of respect and inclusivity.
Editor’s note: This article was updated to include Subdued Singapore’s response.
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