Debrahlee Lorenzana, 33, alleges that she was ordered to stop wearing pencil skirts, fitted business suits, tight trousers and high heels because her appearance was too much for her colleagues at Citibank to bear.
She has filed a sex discrimination suit against the bank in New York and is seeking damages for loss of earnings and emotional distress.
"My entire life, I've been dealing with this. People say, 'Oh, you got a job because you look that way'," Miss Lorenzana said. "Are you saying that just because I look this way genetically, that this should be a curse for me?"
Miss Lorenzana was hired by Citibank in September 2008 as a $70,000 per year business banker, based in the Chrysler Building. After her interview – to which she wore a black Armani wrap dress and Christian Louboutin heels – she claims a colleague told her that the branch was "pretty much known for hiring pretty girls".
