Bethenny Frankel returned to a Chanel location to see if their "elitist and exclusionary" decision to previously bar her from entering the store still applied if she looked "dolled up."
The former "Real Housewives of New York City" star attempted to enter a Chanel store in Chicago and was turned away, she said in a May 22 video posted to Instagram.
The reason the store's worker gave, she said in the Instagram post, was she did not have an appointment.
Frankel has a different theory. She said she was turned away because she was "in a sweaty T-shirt and not dolled up or looking wealthy."
Frankel seemed upset “to be treated like ... an interloper" for trying to walk into the store.
“I thought that’s what happened. I didn’t realize we’re not allowed to walk into stores anymore," she said.
Chanel’s website offers appointment slots for various services, but it does not indicate that an appointment is required to enter stores.
Chanel and Frankel did not immediately respond to TODAY.com's request for comment.
Frankel returned to the same Chanel store the next day and documented her trip in an Instagram post on May 23.
This time, she wore heels, a skirt suit and sunglasses. After being greeted by staffers, whom she said were different than the person who turned her away, she was let into the store. She did not indicate whether she had an appointment.
"I'm going into Chanel now dressed much differently than I was dressed yesterday," she said. "If they let me in because of how I look, Christmas is canceled."
"No problem today," she said as she walked out the store.
Frankel said in her first post that Chanel turning her away may have been a security measure, but disagreed with how it was executed.
"Crime is at an all time high and security is critical. I could easily call one of my salespeople and get on this list. That’s besides the point," she wrote in the caption.
"There are several ways to convey a message and this way was rudeness and elitist and exclusionary, which is also a crime," she continued.
She concluded by championing inclusivity and kindness.
"I would never want anyone to feel lesser than, particularly from a luxury brand making billions off of people buying into the hype. Chanel is a beautiful brand with timeless classic pieces. Being kind to customers of all socioeconomic backgrounds is also timeless and classic," she said.
Frankel's experience has been met with mixed reviews from social media users, with some seeing it as discrimination and others shrugging it off as Frankel getting a taste of regular life without privilege to shield her.
“The point is they told her it was policy you had (to) have an appointment they didn’t tell her it was policy unless you looked a certain way that’s discrimination,” one person wrote on her second video.
"So let me understand this: you were treated like everyone else?" one person commented on her first video.
“Imagine being born brown and experiencing this every day and at every place and in any designer outfit,” another wrote.
