Woman Bullied For Outfit At Wedding Hopes To Spread Positive Message

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- A Minnesota woman who made national headlines for a dress she wore is using her Internet fame for good.

Liz Krueger posted this photo of a dress she wore to a wedding on Instagram. In the post, she said she was bullied by a group of women at the wedding for her outfit. That post went viral.

Now, she's trying to change the conversation from criticism to kindness.

"Leaving the house, I had no idea this was going to happen," Liz said.

Liz says she wanted to wear a new dress as a friend's date to a wedding reception in St Paul. The outfit got her some attention on the dance floor.

"I felt somebody come up and slap me on the butt," she said.

Liz turned around to see it was a woman, who said it was a dare from her friends, and that Liz was the target.

"I still get that sinking feeling in my stomach, because I'm a 31-year-old female, and I just didn't think that happened," she said.

Liz says someone else spilled beer on her. Embarassed, she and her friend left the party early. When she got home, she posted a photo of herself in the dress to Instagram, telling the story of what happened. The post -- about women bullying women -- went viral.

"They were commenting, 'Good for you! You do you, Liz!'" she said.

Not all of the comments were positive. Hundreds criticized Liz, a fitness trainer, her body, and the dress. She decided to use her internet fame for a new campaign called #KruegerKindness.

"[I wanted to] bring awareness to this," she said. "[It] still happens, and I want women to empower each other."

Women are posting their own pictures in outfits that make them feel beautiful with the hashtag. Liz says she hopes her story will inspire women to be kind, but also feel confident in their own skin.

"Better things will come of it if we can all just band together and do some good," she said.

Since Liz posted the dress on Instagram, her story has been featured on bridal blogs, in People magazine, and the Huffington Post. She says despite the negative feedback from some women, she would still wear the dress to be who she is.