British clothing company JOY is being criticised for sexist email marketing.

The company calls itself a 'unique fashion and lifestyle brand' and has more than 25 stores across the UK. In their latest email newsletter, the store shared a ‘meet the parents outfit’ which was described as the perfect dress to wear to ‘show your boyfriend’s Mum you’re the girl to look after her little prince’. The ad in full reads: "Show your boyfriend’s mom you’re the girl to take care of her little prince in beautiful dresses that scream marriage material. Keen length skirts exude class while respectable necklines mean father-in-law won’t have a heart attack when you lean across the table for a second helping of roast potatoes." Naturally, would-be-customers were quick to jump on Facebook and let the store know exactly what they thought of the campaign.

JOY told the MailOnline that the ad was intended to be satirical.

“We acknowledge that we missed the mark with our phrasing and apologise deeply to all our customers who feel offended, as this was certainly not our intention. We treasure and value our customers greatly,” said the store. “We would like to reiterate to all our customers that this was not intended to upset you or to demean anyone in any way, and we are deeply saddened to have inadvertently promoted a misogynistic view that we do not stand by nor follow.”