Zara Shopper Discovers a ‘Disgusting’ Swimsuit in the Children’s Section. Then She Shares Her Outrage: ‘This IS Weird’
Children’s clothing can sometimes make shoppers question whether a certain style is right for younger kids. Swimwear can bring even stronger opinions, especially when it comes to bikinis.
Some people have no problem with children wearing two-piece swimsuits. Others think certain styles are too grown-up, especially when they are being sold for kids as young as 6 or 7.
That is what TikToker Bridgette Hartt (@bridgettehartt) questioned after finding a bikini at Zara. She was shocked to see the swimsuit available in a 6-to-7-year-old size, but many viewers did not see anything wrong with it. Her video has received 11 million views.
The comments had other ideas
“This is absolutely disgusting and disturbing,” Hartt says in the video while showing the swimsuit. She describes it as a “string bikini” before pointing out that the tag lists a size for children ages 6 to 7.
Hartt clearly did not see the design as appropriate for a child that young. She tagged Zara in the caption and wrote, “wtf is this?!”
Zara does currently sell bikinis as part of its girls’ swimwear collection for ages 6 to 14. On its U.S. website, the retailer lists several two-piece designs with 6-to-7-year-old sizing. Zara describes the category simply as swimwear for girls and says it includes “bikinis, swimsuits, and sets.”
What children should or shouldn’t wear has already caused plenty of disagreement online. Everything from the coverage of toddler swimsuits to clothing sold in girls’ sections has left shoppers with very different opinions.
Hartt’s comment section quickly filled with people who didn’t see anything wrong with the swimsuit. Some pointed out that children have worn bikinis for years, while others felt adults were the ones making the design seem inappropriate.
“It is cute. And you are making it weird what is wrong with it,” one person commented. Another agreed, writing, “the swimsuit isn’t the problem, it’s people.”
Others pointed to what they wore growing up. “What I begged my parents to buy when I was 7,” one viewer wrote. Another said, “I had this swimsuit as a child, what’s going on these days,” while someone else added, “acting like we didn’t wear bikinis as kids.”
One commenter also disagreed with Hartt calling it a string bikini. “we have different definitions of ‘string bikini’ … that’s a halter top bikini and full coverage bottoms,” they wrote.
But plenty of viewers were on Hartt’s side and were surprised that so many people disagreed with her in the first place. “Why are people disagreeing?? This IS weird…” one person wrote. Another commented, “the fact people are disagreeing with u scares me..”
Some were also frustrated by people telling Hartt she could simply leave the swimsuit at the store. “‘then don’t buy it’ that’s not the god damn point omfg,” one viewer wrote. Another made the same argument, “the people saying ‘dont buy it’ UGH like that’s not the point!!! the point is why us this type of merchandise being produced in the first place!”
With 11 million views, Hartt’s complaint has clearly struck a nerve. The comments show there is little agreement over where the line should be when it comes to children’s swimwear.
Zara has faced similar criticism over its children’s designs before. The Independent reported that in 2024, the retailer pulled a girls’ T-shirt featuring the phrases “the perfect snack” and “take a bite” after a mother called the wording sexually “suggestive” for children. Zara said the phrases were only meant to refer to the strawberry pictured on the shirt, but removed it from stores and its website and apologized for any offense caused.
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