A woman who was sent home from work for not wearing high heels in an incident which attracted global attention has donated her shoes to a museum.
Actress Nicola Thorp, 27, was sent home without pay when she arrived to work as a corporate receptionist at PricewaterhouseCooper’s Embankment offices in flat footwear.
The company said the dress code was not its policy and that the Hackney resident was employed by corporate reception services Portico.
Ms Thorp said she was left “upset and confused” by the incident and also claimed she was told to wear make-up for the receptionist role and supplied with a colour chart of “acceptable shades”.
The decision sparked a huge backlash with just under 150,000 people signing a petition set up by Ms Thorp to make it illegal for firms to require women to wear high heels.
Last week, Ms Thorp attended a parliamentary home affairs select committee after the petition triggered a Commons debate.
Now, the shoes which she had been chastised for wearing are to go on
display at Hackney Museum for a new exhibition which celebrates female activism.
Ms Thorp told the Standard she received the request “out of the blue” following the whirlwind of publicity since she made her stand.
