Bethenny Frankel is calling out a Chanel boutique that seemingly only allowed her to shop when she wore designer clothes
Bethenny Frankel was told she could only visit a Chanel store with an appointment. But when she returned in designer clothes, she was allowed to shop.
Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images
- Bethenny Frankel says she was turned away from a Chanel boutique in Chicago on Tuesday.
- She said on TikTok that she believes her casual outfit — jeans and a T-shirt — was to blame.
- She returned to the same shop wearing a Chanel outfit on Wednesday and was allowed to enter.
Bethenny Frankel is not happy with Chanel.
The former "Real Housewives of New York City" star posted a TikTok on Tuesday in which she said she was turned away from the luxury brand's Chicago boutique.
She said an employee opened the shop's door just enough to poke his head out and ask if Frankel had an appointment, which she didn't.
"Am I not allowed to come in at 3:54 on a Tuesday? Evidently not," Frankel said in her video, which now has 6.4 million views.
"I didn't realize that we're not allowed to walk into stores anymore," she added. "I don't have an appointment. Gotta get a pap smear appointment and also to go walk in Chanel. No big deal."
Representatives for Frankel and Chanel did not immediately respond to requests for comment from BI.
People on TikTok suggested that Frankel wasn't allowed into the Chanel boutique without an appointment because Chicago has high crime rates.
But Frankel disagreed in a second video posted on Tuesday, which now has 1.3 million views.
She suggested her casual outfit was to blame and showed each piece she wore that day. Her casual look included a "raggy T-shirt," a cardigan tied around her waist, American Eagle cargo jeans, and a Chanel fanny pack at her hips.
Frankel noted that while many luxury stores in the area have security outside, it wasn't Chanel's guards that turned her away. It was a sales associate, she said.
"The first interaction with a brand or a store, it's like the bread basket at a restaurant," she said in her TikTok. "It needs to be warm. It needs to be herb butter. We need to have an experience. It is my first impression."
She found Chanel's employee "rude" and described the interaction as a "turnoff."
On Wednesday, Frankel returned to the same Chanel boutique while wearing a full outfit from the luxury brand.
"If they let me in because of how I look, Christmas is canceled," she said in her video, which has 6.7 million views.
In the latest TikTok video about the saga, Frankel is seen getting out of her car, walking to the boutique, and briefly chatting with security outside. She's allowed to enter the store almost immediately, which she does before walking right back out.
"It's important that I mention that the three gentlemen outside (not present yesterday) were lovely," she captioned her video.
Chanel's website says on the page for its Chicago boutique that store hours are subject to change. It also notes that "capacity may be limited" and tells shoppers to "please book an appointment."
Though appointments aren't seemingly mandatory, the same guidelines seem to apply to other Chanel stores across the US.
Frankel later returned to TikTok on Thursday and said that because no security guards were present when she visited on Tuesday, she could understand why an employee may have been hesitant to let her enter.
Still, she called out Chanel at large for seemingly "choosing rudeness over kindness and safety for its employees."
"If [employees] can't be nice to your rich and poor customers because they don't feel safe working there, then shut it down," Frankel said.