TikTok applauds stranger for randomly criticizing New Yorker’s outfit

A New Yorker took to TikTok after a stranger stopped her to criticize her ‘mismatched’ outfit, only to find the internet wasn’t on her side.

Steph, who goes by ‘step_by__steph‘ on the social media platform, was left stunned after a “strange” encounter on the streets of New York.

While walking through the busy city with a Starbucks coffee in hand, Steph was stopped by a random “dude” in the “middle of the street” who had some thoughts about her fit.

Thinking the unexpected comments were a joke at first, Steph recounted how the man said, “Listen, I just need to tell you this, but your shoes do not match your outfit.”

Unsure how to respond, Steph laughed and asked what the man meant – only for him to double down on his comments: “He’s like ‘No, no, no, I’m serious. Your shoes are too dressy and your dress is too casual.”

The pair then stared at one another in “total silence” for some time before Steph asked the stranger “why” he was talking to her. According to the self-appointed fashion critic, however, he just liked to “give advice sometimes.”

After another “staring contest”, the man walked away leaving Steph feeling “so disturbed”. She then showed viewers the fit in question, revealing a summery white spaghetti-strap dress and chunky black platform loafers with a decorative chain and handbag to match.

Despite thinking the outfit was “cute”, viewers quickly took to Steph’s comment section to praise the stranger’s stance on fashion: “That was the fashion police.”

“Heaven sent an angel to you,” one person claimed. Others compared the stranger to shoe designer Jimmy Choo, with one jokingly writing, “That’s literally Jimmy Choo’s brother Jamie Shoe. So listen to his advice.”

Following the original video ‘blowing up’ and the mass of comments supporting the stranger’s unrequested criticism, Steph posted a second TikTok pretending to throw the shoes away.

At the last second, Steph revealed she had no intentions of doing so, stating that she loved New York City as “You can be whoever you want to be” and asking viewers to show off their own mismatched outfits.

While many still stood by the stranger’s dislike of the fit, others said they could “see the vision” and encouraged Steph to “wear whatever you like.”

And as it turned out, Steph wasn’t the only one to have unexpected comments made about her outfit while traversing the city streets, as one viewer shared: “I was wearing a long blue maxi dress and a homeless man in LA told me he liked my hospital gown.”