Member-only story
That Time A Store Refused To Sell Me A Dress
The story I’m bringing you today is from late autumn 2012. At that time, I was a Managing Analyst at the firm in the City that I worked for (Investments sector) and hadn’t become the manager of my department until about six months later. Not to brag or anything, but my salary back then meant that I didn’t have to worry about money. That’s bragging, isn’t it? Sorry. What I’m trying to say is that I could afford to buy a £100 dress from a little Bangladeshi-owned “boutique” (that’s what they liked to call themselves) in Whitechapel, East London. I already owned several ethnic outfits in that price bracket. The navy one in the photo below is one of my absolute favourites!
The shop was called Keya Fashion. They’ve closed down since then, so I can name them! My older sister and I were walking home from an hospital appointment (the Royal London Hospital in Whitechapel) and as we were passing Keya, a dress in their window display caught my eye, so we went in. This boutique only sold one piece of every item, so you might like a dress in there, but if it wasn’t in your size, you couldn’t buy it and take it home right away. You’d have to order it in your size. Plus, they didn’t want you to touch the products…
