Tracy Brabin’s ‘shouldergate’ dress reaches £14,000 in charity auction

The dress that Labour MP Tracy Brabin wore in the House of Commons, sparking a huge backlash on social media, has reached £14,000 in a charity auction.

The former Coronation Street actress was forced to defend herself when it slipped off her shoulder on Monday as she leaned on the despatch box due to a broken ankle.

The dress is listed on eBay with the description: “Black dress worn by Tracy Brabin MP in ‘shouldergate’ as widely covered across the media.

“This is an ASOS dress which has been flying off the shelves as a result of the coverage – and is now sold out!”

One Twitter user shared a photo of Ms Brabin wearing the outfit and asked: “Is this really appropriate attire for parliament?”

Thousands of people commented, including one which asked her to “put some clothes on love”, and others said she looked “drunk”, “classless” and like a “slapper”.

She hit back, tweeting that she was not “a slag, hungover, a tart, about to breastfeed, a slapper, drunk, just been banged over a wheelie bin”.

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Speaking on Sky’s Sarah-Jane Mee, Ms Brabin called criticism of the dress “everyday sexism”, and added that she would “wear it again”.

She added: “Whilst I can brush [these comments] off as sometimes part of the job, I think it was really important that I could call it out because there are women across the country and world in work who have to put up with this sort of judgement every day of the week.

“And certainly, young women who are subject to the male gaze and men feeling very free to comment on what they’re wearing and how they look.”

By Saturday afternoon, bids on the dress had reached £14,000.

The auction ends on Thursday 13 February and the money raised will go to Girlguiding, a charity for girls and young women in the UK.

(c) Sky News 2020: Tracy Brabin’s ‘shouldergate’ dress reaches £14,000 in charity auction