Rachel Taylor turned tears into triumph recently in an Old Navy store.
On Friday, the Louisiana photographer posted a picture of herself wearing a flag tank top in an Old Navy dressing room to the company’s Facebook page. In the post, Taylor thanks Old Navy for “having adorable clothes for all shapes & sizes” and describes what she says was an upsetting incident she witnessed in the store.
“Today I was shopping in Old Navy, standing in between a teenage girl and her mom,” Taylor wrote. “The girl picked up a plus-size tank top, showed it to her mom and said, ‘Look! Me and So-and-so can fit in this tank top!’ Her mom laughed and said, ‘Yeah, you could! That thing is huge!’
“I couldn’t help it; I started crying,” Taylor added.
She went on to say that the tears continued after her husband walked her out of the store, but she decided to go back and buy the tank top to wear for the Fourth of July, as she looked “fierce” in it.
“Be kind,” the post concludes. “Think about others before you speak. And if someone hurts you, you have to move on.”
The posting has been shared more than 11,000 times and received more than 236,000 likes. It moved Old Navy to respond on Facebook, “Rachel, you are amazing. We want to celebrate your fierce style by sending you a gift card. Please keep an eye out for a message from us!” Others have also applauded Taylor for her stance against fat-shaming.
But not everyone was blown away by Taylor’s selfie. A few have questioned whether the incident actually happened, and some say it is much ado about nothing.
Taylor defended herself on Facebook, saying her posting was not an invitation to be criticized or an attempt to receive free merchandise. She merely wanted to “share my story with Old Navy because I love my new top and appreciate them having cute clothes in all sizes,” she said.
“Now I’m refusing to delete it because people should know that they are not alone in their struggles, and even if they seem silly to someone else, their feelings are still valid,” she wrote. “As my Mama always says, ‘If you can’t say anything nice, then don’t say anything at all.’ “
