Topless GQ cover irks Lands' End customers

Lands' End thought it had a swell promotion going, sending free magazines to customers.

The copy of July's GQ showing Emily Ratajkowski, nude from the hips up except for a flower lei, was far from  well-received by some customers of the catalog giant, as detailed in the New York Times.

The mother of a "disturbed and fascinated" 14-year-old said the cover was "absolutely OBSCENE." Hers was one of "dozens of complaints" on Lands' End's Facebook page. There are irate references to "trash" and "smut" and "pornography" and even a "horrified" child.

Ratajkowski, perhaps best known as the model in Robin Thicke's "Blurred Lines" music video, also shows a lot of skin, minimally covered with carefully placed arms or sand, in a feature calling her "The Bombshell of Summer."

There are also comments on Facebook from the amused and confused, like this one, like this one from a Debbie Harris:

"Really, get over it. What, you think your kids have not seen this stuff. It is hard for me to imagine that in this day and age we have that many Mother's that are such prudes that this is a big deal."

"It could have been worse. You could have sent a Newsweek," wrote Mike Sanford, who was more concerned that "impressionable young minds are exposed to blood, gore, war, religious extremism, bigotry, hatred, and violence with every click past a network news channel or daily newspaper cover."

Heike Jo Stoffregen Dodge‎ was among those who were offended but forgiving:

"I was quite upset ... But thank you for immediately sending an honest, humble apology. I believe in redemption (Praise Jesus, my Savior!). You are forgiven."

To see the whole range of comments, scroll down the left column of Lands' End's Facebook page to find "Posts to Page," then click the right arrow. Then wait, as the pop-up page keeps loading and a slider at the right appears. Scroll and keep waiting as more and more posts load. Or simply check out 10 pages of comments we downloaded to a pdf.

Contact staff writer Peter Mucha at 215-854-4342 or pmucha@phillynews.com. Follow @petemucha on Twitter.