Australian influencer denied entry to The Louvre by security because of her outfit

The prevalence of social media has confirmed one thing: that the young and beautiful rein supreme. Those who have won the genetic lottery are able to profit from advertisement deals just by posting a photo of their contoured and filtered visages, and us mere mortals lap it up, purchasing whatever product they promise will make us resemble them.

The influencer lifestyle does come with its downsides, however. There's the matter of documenting seemingly every moment of your life, and in some cases, it can even deny you entry to Paris' finest institutions.

Case in point: Australian social media personality, Newsha Syeh, claims that she was denied entry to the Louvre museum by a security guard because she was wearing a low-cut dress.

Syeh was visiting the French capital when she attempted to gain entry to the Louvre and found herself barred.

Following the incident, the influencer took to Instagram to express her disappointment, telling her 230,000 followers that she was "heartbroken".

"Yesterday at the Louvre, I was stopped at the entrance by a guard for my outfit," the 25-year-old captioned a photograph of her wearing the offending outfit. "There is no set dress code listed on the museum’s website, but its visitor regulations state that it is forbidden to ‘wear swimsuits or be naked, barefoot or bare-chested'."

Referring to the rule as "archaic", Syeh went onto allege that the guard made "the most disgusted and horrible gestures and facial expressions", and swore at her to cover up with "hate-filled eyes."

Syeh later shared a screenshot of the results of a Google search for the Louvre's dress code, which stated "There is no Louvre dress code, you can wear for visiting the Louvre what you want."

After posting about her ordeal, the influencer's Instagram was inundated with comments from people who were angered on her behalf, and offered advice on other places to visit in Paris.
"When I visited The Louvre with my sister a few years ago we wore winter clothes with boots and we got denied entry by security for being 'under dressed'," said one person. "They were so rude about it too and cussed us out until we had no choice but to walk away feeling embarrassed. Your outfit is beautiful," one social media user wrote, while another corroborated "We are in the 21st century and there are still people that are hostile about what you’re wearing and the way you wear it. I don’t know what to say, only that I’m extremely speechless."

Credit: Instagram / Newsha Syeh

Others, however, sided with the security guard's response, writing "The dresscode exists in any establishment. It would be correct to think what should be put on when you go to the museum. About hatred in a look and gestures - most likely a fruit of your imagination - but also to look at the half-naked woman coming into LOUVRE (!) with approval or with sympathy the security guard hardly could. Sorry, but I consider that the security guard has done right thing."

In any case, Syeh didn't let the experience ruin her trip, and later posted pictures of herself in another of Paris' famous art galleries, the Musee d'Orsay.

Whether you think that Syeh's outfit was inappropriate or not, it's certainly ironic that a woman was barred for displaying too much flesh in an establishment like the Louvre, which is flooded with depictions of naked, or near-naked, men and women.