A furious mum was booted out of a pizza restaurant because her crop top was not 'appropriate'.
Emma Prince, 34, went to visit her local restaurant on the hottest evening of the year wearing a crop-top - but was "barred" from entering.
The mum, who was with her young daughter, claimed the woman manager of the eatery confronted her and said she was not welcome inside because the white crop-top she was wearing was a bra.
However, a furious Emma maintained the piece of clothing was definitely a crop-top which she had chosen to wear because she was boiling in the 30 degree heatwave last Friday evening.
The mum was forced back to her car and put on a shirt which she wore instead and was allowed into the beer garden in Wolverton, Buckinghamshire.
She and two-year-old daughter Penelope ordered their food but after waiting more than an hour, stormed out because the meals had still not arrived.
Speaking at her home in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, today Emma told of her upset at being publicly humiliated in front of other diners at the Stonehouse Pizza and Carvery for wearing clothing which she said was "quite appropriate" and which she said she bought from ASOS.
She said: "The female manager said I couldn't come in because I was wearing just a bra. I explained to her it was a crop top, not underwear and it was 30 degrees outside.
"She told me 'this is a restaurant and it's our policy' so I asked to see the policy and dress code where it says no crop tops.
"She didn't show me anything but she just kept looking me up and down and saying, in a very patronising way, 'that is not a top'."
Emma, who owns The Vanity House beauty salon in Bletchley, had a friend with her who was also wearing a crop top.
She said: "The manager said that was okay because it had thick straps. Mine had thin straps.
"However, it was still a crop top, purchased from the clothing section rather than the underwear section!"
Fortunately Emma had a shirt in her car and she was made to put that on, despite the heat, to walk through the restaurant to the back garden.
"The manager was saying loudly 'that's not a top, it's a bra, and everyone was looking at me. It was really embarrassing."
Once in the garden, Emma was told she had to keep her shirt on. She ordered food for herself and daughter Penelope, who was hungry after being picked up from nursery.
"There were men in the garden with their shirts off. I couldn't understand why I was being discriminated against for wearing a top that showed my stomach. It didn't seem fair at all.
"People were coming up to me and sympathising, saying how harsh the manager had been.
"I was boiling hot in my shirt but I was afraid if I took it off and sat in my top I would be kicked out - and I did not want the confrontation in front of my daughter."
Emma and her friend ordered food, including macaroni cheese for little Penelope, who was starving hungry. She ordered at 6.20pm but by 7.30pm the food had still not arrived.
"People all around me were getting their food but ours did not come.
"My friend had hers and her son's food brought out but my daughter was getting increasingly hungry and upset. In the end I gave up and had to take her to McDonald's instead."
Afterwards Emma questioned the Stonehouse restaurant anonymously in its Instagram page, asking for details of its dress code.
The reply came saying: "The dress code is to wear whatever you're comfortable in."
Emma said: "I am beyond annoyed and disgusted the attitude of the manager and the service I was given.
"She discriminated against me and my attire. I want to speak out on behalf of other women as I believe we have the right to wear a piece of clothing without being judged, looked down on or sneered at."
She added: "Obviously if I was going to a very smart restaurant, I wouldn't wear a crop top. But this was a glorified pub with a beer garden on a sunny day!"
Stonehouse Pizza and Carvery is owned by Mitchells & Butler.
Asked why Emma had been confronted by the manager, a spokesman said: "Any decisions on dress code are down to the discretion of the restaurant's manager.
"We would like to apologise for the delay experienced with our service. Due to the weather, we had an incredibly busy day and our team was a lot busier than usual."
