Banana Republic

I dont shop here and i never will. But ill just leave this here for you to decide. "so today I went into work at Banana Republic at the Westchester Mall and after the district manager (a white woman) popped in for a visit, I was told to go to the office to speak with my manager, Michael (Mike), who is a white man. I came in and he questioned me about the dress code and immediately, I thought there was something wrong with my outfit but he sat me down and questioned my hair instead. He told me that my braids were not Banana Republic appropriate and that they were too “urban” and “unkempt” for their image. He said that if I didn’t take them out then he couldn’t schedule me for shifts until I did. When I tried to explain to him that it was a protective style for my hair bc it tends to become really brittle in the cold, he recommended that I use shea butter for it instead. I have never been so humiliated and degraded in my life by a white person. In that moment, I felt so uncomfortable and overwhelmed that I didn’t even finish my work shift and ended up leaving. When my friend’s mom called the store to find out my manager’s last name (only been working there a month so idk it), he refused to give it to her. Box braids are not a matter of unprofessionalism, they are protective styles black women have used for their hair and to be discriminated against because of it is truly disgusting and unacceptable. Make this public bc they need to be exposed for their blatant racism and discrimination. There’s no reason why a white person should feel allowed to tell me that I can’t wear my hair the way that I want bc it’s too black for their store image. Banana Republic"
9 years ago (11-10-2017)

0 STARS Love this store but after hearing what happened! Wont be shopping at this store or any other location.
9 years ago (09-10-2017)

No interest in patronizing a store -- or a company -- that would discriminate against a young Woman of Color for wearing box braids. The systemic oppression of PoC includes seeing everything through the lens of whiteness, and we white people must boycott and speak out against companies that do this. It is racist to consider PoC hair "unprofessional," and cruel to humiliate an employee by implying there is something wrong with her for wearing her hair in braids!
9 years ago (06-10-2017)

These are some racist bastards! Destiny Tompkins is suing them for $1,000,000 for racism and should get every penny! She should've sued for more than a million! I hope this creates a domino effect with Gap & Old Navy and puts all those bastards out of business!
9 years ago (15-11-2017)

The management of this store discriminates against non-white employees through arbitrary interpretation of its corporate dress code. No one with a conscience should shop here.
9 years ago (08-10-2017)