In other news:

I think that’s part of being British, we love everything being in neat little categories and if anything is left ambiguous we just can’t deal with it.

Your linked article is great. Their half-hearted adjustment of mortality data by education as a proxy for poverty is sloppy work.

She was young enough to be my daughter. But point taken and apology made.

My point is that “sticking out” for wearing something different from everyone else in the room shouldn’t mean that I get reprimanded for my style of dress.

Keeping in the vein of saltly, pork rinds chopped up. Either plain or flavored.

Back a year or two ago I had a co-worker who regularly dressed inappropriately. I don’t think she was doing it on purpose.... she was the youngest person at our job and I think was just legitimately unaware of how to dress professionally. She also had very large breasts- and as a large breasted woman myself I…

I work for an impossibly large, very fictional company, and our dress code requires floppy troubadour hats, DayGlo rollerskates, and nothing else, punishable by death.

I WANT this letter to turn out to be, “the co-worker wants to be taken more seriously but she dresses like Molly Weasley got caught by a tornado in a Laura Ashley outlet mall, and it’s hard for some people to see the BAMF under all the princess-cut calico ruffles. How can I suggest that she dress more Pulp Fiction,…

I was told off by the boss (not HR) for not dressing work-appropriately when I was wearing a black and white striped dress and a hot pink sweater and heels because it wasn’t “business-casual” enough. I think the problem is that men can wear khakis and polos to work because it’s considered business-casual but there is…

If he’s not her supervisor he has no right to ‘sit’ with an employee and tell her she is out of line.

I agree, if it’s not your place to manage her, it’s not your place to manage how she dresses for work. If her attire is really inappropriate, as in revealing too much or too tight, talk to her manager or HR about your concerns, otherwise, say nothing at all. No comments. Not a “gee, that sure is a nice dress, Jane.”…

The open parasol really ties the look together.

TL:DR: “I want to avoid HR, but tell my coworker to stop dressing like a ‘ho.”

It’s super weird to use a euphemism when writing anonymously to an advice column. Say what you mean. It makes me not trust Mr. Dress Code’s judgment at all.

One of the most insufferable conversations I’ve had the displeasure to overhear during dinner, in the next booth over, was some guy who had very strong opinions about everybody’s dress code. He said, among other things,

I think it depends on the company culture. This guy could certainly be a complete asshat, but maybe taking the issue to management or HR could make it worse for her, or for both of them, and maybe he’s trying to avoid that. Maybe the company is a boys-club. Maybe a client said something and maybe that’s a much…

In my experience as a manager who deals with these issues on occasion, lately people seem to use the word “nice” as polite-speak for increasingly tight, revealing outfits that might be vaguely styled as business attire.

Tbh you may be reaching a bit assuming that the LW means that she’s dressed like a slut - your words, not mine. THAT SAID, I agree with your advice. Even if she’s overdressed, too elegant and formal for a casual attire office (or event) it’s still not LW’s business to interfere. So what if she’s too formal? She makes…

Why do people think they need to sidestep HR? HR is there to keep the company from being sued for sexual harassment when they take it upon themselves to tell a co-worker she’s just too sexy for this job.