Woman kicked out of a mall for wearing what women wear in warm months

Another day, another woman scolded for wearing clothes.

A Grand Rapids, Michigan, woman says she was asked to leave a local mall on Saturday for wearing what any woman might wear on a sweltering summer day. Hannah Pewee shared a photo of her outfit and a rundown of her experience at Michigan's Woodland Mall.

"Apparently some anonymous person reported me to MALL SECURITY for inappropriate dress and I was kicked out," she explains. "Never mind that within a one foot radius there were plenty of girls dressed just like me, since it's NINETY degrees outside. I am so angry right now I'm shaking. I felt so embarrassed I almost cried. All because a stranger didn't like how I dressed."

She goes on:

The Woodland Mall should be ashamed of themselves, as well as that anonymous complainer. It's my body, and it's hot outside! I'm not going to show up in jeans and a sweater, sorry. Don't like it? Look away! I was out having a fun time with my sister and next thing I know, I'm out on the street. Slut-shaming how girls are dressed is deplorable and outdated, and it needs to stop.

More than 650 comments and 7,300 shares later, Pewee's post becomes the latest example of dress code policing that tends to disproportionally target women in warmer months.

The Woodland Mall's code of conduct states only the following in regards to customer dress:

Appropriate attire, including shirts and shoes, is required. Clothing with inappropriate words, phrases or graphics is not permitted and is subject to mall management approval.

Excluding attire worn in accord with religious practice, tradition or significance, deliberately obscuring the face is prohibited.

As Pewee noted in a second Facebook post shared later on Saturday, the code has no policy stating expectations for length of shorts.

If there is such a strict policy, that needs to be *public information*, not something security officers spring on unsuspecting customers. Especially with summer coming around, there's going to be a lot of girls like me, going to the mall and not knowing their breaking some secret dress code.

Pewee has since spoken with Woodland Mall management, and has received an apology for the way she was treated:

The mall also issued a public apology to Michigan Live:

We apologized to the shopper and the public for the way that this was handled.  We've already spoken to her and are working to make things right.  We work to create a fun and safe shopping and dining destination but failed to deliver on that message for this shopper. We're working internally to make sure we fully deliver on excellent experiences at our Mall immediately.

Pewee tells Mashable that retailers should be aware that "times have changed."

"Style has evolved and they need to be aware that people are going to dress how they want to dress," she said. "If public malls want to have a dress code, that's their choice, but consumers need to be made aware of this dress code so we can decide whether or not we want to shop there."