Erm You Might Want To Reconsider Getting Into A Pool With A Pretty Little Thing Bikini On

"Great to hear that you love the bikini but on the website it does say that the set shouldn't be worn in water."

As we edge closer and closer to summer, holiday plans are being finalised, the summer wardrobe is being rolled out and you can almost taste the first Mai Tais of the season.

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For 22-year-old Alisha from Swansea, it signalled the perfect time to purchase some new swimwear pieces. She told BuzzFeed News: "I ordered the item back in April as I am going to Greece and Italy this summer and I always like to get a new bikini for holiday season."

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Her choice was a teal embellished two-piece from popular online retailer Pretty Little Thing, but after one wear, she quickly discovered that her £60 purchase wasn't exactly what she hoped for.

Pretty Little Thing

She explained: "I wore it to the spa at my gym. I had a shower in it before entering the sauna and noticed the dye running down my legs, luckily I was the only one in there. I was stained blue and it destroyed my towel."

Twitter

After reaching out to the company, Alisha was advised to hand wash the swimwear. She shared the results on Twitter. "I think the pictures speak for themselves. The dye smelt awful, [it] really opened my eyes to the effects of fast fashion and the chemicals used," she said.

The company responded to her complaint by pointing out that the site explicitly warns against wearing the stylish two-piece in water as "the colour may transfer."

Twitter

In a statement to BuzzFeed News, the company said: "PrettyLittleThing does advise customers on the styles which we do not recommend be worn for swimming. These are highlighted as ‘pool side posing’ only and are designed for day/evening wear holiday dressing/pool side posing. If customers are unsure, our customer service team are available to advise further on which styles cannot be worn for swimming."

The brand describes some of its swimwear, including the item purchased by Alisha, as fit for "poolside posing only."

Twitter

Alisha said the phrase was "cute" but did not explicitly state the item was "not water suitable."

"It’s sad to see the effect that social media has had on the fashion world. I love a poolside selfie but I also love swimming," said the 22-year-old.

She went to say, "Instagram influencers have led to fast fashion brands creating products that can’t be used for real life activities. It’s incredibly disappointing and sad to see a company insinuate that its buyers merely want to pose in their clothes as opposed to enjoying them during their everyday lives."

Her tweet capturing the moment she attempted to hand wash her bikini and the response from the brand has been shared more than 25,000 times and generated hundreds of responses.

Twitter

The decision to call the brand out on Twitter was prompted by the advice of a friend as Alisha admitted to not being a big fan of social media. She said: "I keep all my accounts on private but I decided to make my twitter open so I could warn other girls. I’ve had a lot of people say they’re sending theirs back or will be cautious in future and read the small print like I epically failed to do."

Naturally people were confused.

twitter.com

twitter.com

While the brand maintained that it customers had the information displayed, a quick search for the item brings up an error page, suggesting that it is no longer available for purchase.

Pretty Little Thing

Alisha has since been offered a full refund with customer service assistants citing the product as "faulty." In addition to getting her money back, the brand offered a 40% discount on her next purchase.