One of the nicest things about going on a summer holiday is being able to cool off in the water. But Pretty Little Thing seem to have missed the memo by creating a bikini that is strictly for “poolside posing only”.
Yup, that’s right. PLT is selling a bikini that shouldn’t be used for swimming or even a quick dip. To add insult to injury, it costs a whopping £60 for the set.
One customer found the no-swim rule out the hard way, when she wore the bikini at a spa – and ended up covered in blue dye. Alisa, whose tweet about her experience has since gone viral, told HuffPost UK: “My hands were stained blue like a smurf.”
She tweeted as a warning to other potential shoppers, calling the set in question “absolutely laughable”, with photos of the bikini bottoms in a sink full of water that had turned blue from the dye.
She also included a screen grab of a conversation with PLT’s customer service team, where she was told the bikini wasn’t swim safe and offered a refund.
“I was shocked as I didn’t know that bikinis that were not water safe even existed,” she told HuffPost.
“It’s also mad how Instagram influencers have led to these sort of products being produced in mainstream fashion. It’s opened my eyes to fast fashion and I wouldn’t buy from [PLT] again.”
Still, it didn’t stop Twitter users totally rinsing the brand. “How can they sell a bikini that’s not meant to be worn in water? I’m dead!” wrote one user. “Where the fuck are you supposed to wear it then?”
“Look at what Instagram culture has done,” wrote another.
[Read More: InstaDebt: How Instagram Is Causing Young People To Spend, Spend, Spend]