Texas Woman Asks To Try On a Top in an Italian Boutique. Then She Is Allegedly Body-Shamed in Front of Her Friends: ‘Leaving the Amalfi Coast’
Scarred for life.
A Texas woman is sparking fresh outrage after sharing a humiliating experience from a shopping trip in Italy, where she says store staff told her she was “not skinny enough to shop there.” Erica Wall, @erica_wall on TikTok, revisited the alleged incident in a reflective video that’s resonating with thousands of viewers. The story, which happened three years ago on the Amalfi Coast, has reignited conversations about body shaming, retail discrimination, and the pressure of beauty standards.
Wall’s video recounts the moment she walked into a small boutique with three of her best friends. She spotted a crocheted top she liked and asked the store clerk if she could try it on. The response left her stunned. “No, no, no, no,” the clerk said, before telling Wall the top was “too small” for her. When Wall allegedly pushed back, insisting she could at least try it, the clerk took the top out of her hands and refused to let her purchase it.
The rejection was so abrupt that Wall said she didn’t even know how to react. “I just walked out,” she said in the video. “I was mortified.” The situation escalated when Wall told her friend who was outside what happened. The friend stormed back in and confronted the clerks, who allegedly admitted their boss only wanted “skinny girls” wearing their designs.
Her best friend didn’t hold back
She threatened to leave a scathing review and tell other tourists to avoid the shop. “She said, ‘You guys are horrible people,'” Wall recalled. The incident left Wall shaken, and three years later, she still thinks about it. “You’re just having such an enjoyable day, and then this thing happens,” she said. “I don’t know. It was so… I was so taken aback.”
Wall’s story has struck a nerve, particularly among women who’ve faced similar treatment. Comments on her video flooded in, with many sharing their own experiences of being body-shamed while shopping.
One user wrote, “EXACT same thing happened to me in Positano last year. I wanted to treat myself to a €200 dress, and they were so awful to me. So I walked down to the boardwalk and found a €30 dress that was cuter, the shop owner was way nicer, AND it fit me.” Another recalled being humiliated at a T-shirt shop in Italy at just 17 years old. “I was buying a medium T-shirt,” they wrote. “A T-SHIRT SHOP.”
The video also sparked a wave of sympathy from Italian users, who acknowledged the country’s problem with fatphobia. “Unfortunately in Italy, we have a huge fat phobia, it’s unbelievable,” one commenter wrote. Another added, “The racism and fat phobia in Italy is absolutely egregious and shocking.” One user even asked for the name of the store, saying, “I’m there right now. I don’t want to give them my business.”
Wall’s experience isn’t an isolated incident
According to the New York Post, in 2025, a plus-size model in France launched a petition to make fatphobia a crime after she was publicly ridiculed by a bakery. Harmony Albertini, who has over 675,000 TikTok followers, ordered a birthday cake for her partner, only to later discover that the bakery owners had made cruel comments about her weight while preparing it.
In a since-deleted video, the owners were heard calling her a “fat potato” and a “sperm whale,” and asking, “Aren’t you ashamed you still eat cakes when you weigh 23 stone?” When Albertini tried to file a complaint, authorities told her they couldn’t act because the remarks weren’t directly addressed to her.
Albertini’s frustration led her to create a petition demanding that “fatphobia” be added to France’s Penal Code as a form of discrimination. Currently, the law prohibits discrimination based on physical appearance, but the term “fatphobia” isn’t explicitly mentioned.
“In theory, this covers discrimination against overweight people,” her petition states. “But in practice, the word ‘fatphobia’ doesn’t exist in the law.” Without it, she argues, victims don’t recognize themselves in the legal system, institutions minimize the issue, and society continues to trivialize the harm caused by weight-based bullying.
The petition defines fatphobia as “any remarks, behavior, unfavorable treatment, or incitement” related to a person’s weight or body size. At the time, Albertini hoped the campaign would push lawmakers to take the issue seriously, even if it didn’t immediately succeed. “Maybe we won’t get 100,000 signatures,” she had said. “Maybe even with that, it won’t lead anywhere. But every attempt, whether individual or collective, is an act of reclaiming our dignity and our freedom.”
The incidents showcase how people are calling out fatphobia in everyday spaces
For many women, shopping while plus-size can feel like navigating a minefield of judgmental stares, unsolicited comments, and outright rejection. Wall’s story, in particular, underscores how quickly a fun outing can turn into a humiliating ordeal. “I still think about it,” she said in her video. “It’s three years later, and I still think about it.”
The support Wall received from her friends is commendable. “Make sure you surround yourself with good people that stand up for you,” she advised in her video. For women who’ve faced similar treatment, that solidarity can make all the difference.
One commenter shared a story about being body-shamed at Forever 21, where an employee told her high-waisted shorts “weren’t really made for people your size.” The commenter wrote, “I was by myself and didn’t know how to stand up for myself, so I said, ‘oh okay,’ turned around, and left. Cried in my car the entire drive home. I still think about that to this day.”
Wall’s video ends on a defiant note. “If you’re a curvy girl, you’re stunning,” she said. “And if you hate on curvy girls, then I hope you slip on a banana today.” It’s a small but powerful reminder that no one should have to justify their body to exist.
(Featured images: Erica Wall @erica_wall on TikTok)
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