What do you do if people at work constantly comment on what you wear?

20 comments

1. I just smile and say thanks. Sometimes they ask me where I got them and then I’m happy to tell them where.

2. “Thank you”, if it’s positive

3. Thank them. On the rare occasions it’s negative I’ll find out why they don’t like the outfit and troubleshoot a solution (don’t wear again, maybe wear with a bra, etc)

   Sometimes I lose sight of the line too

4. edit: if its in a negative way

   I think you should start by telling them directly that you are not comfortable with them commenting on your outfit and that it is highly inappropriate for them to do so. If they don’t stop even after warning them about it, then you should contact HR or your manager.

   if its positive and you dont mind it, then say thanks.

5. What kind of comments?

6. Are you referring to compliments? Or negative comments?

   Does it bother people when someone says something positive about your outfit?

7. If it’s negative I say “thanks” with a giant grin.

   If it’s a guy that does it and it’s obvious it’s about my physique, I then pretend to press my phone to my ear and say “yes hi, HR? Can I speak with you about something”

8. If it’s negative, start commenting them back 🙂

9. Are they positive comments or negative comments?

10. I work with children so they always have something to say about what I wear. “I like the way they feel on my body and I’m happy with the way my body looks when I wear these clothes. I wear clothes for my body, which I am in charge of. But I do listen to people who know more than me if they tell me that I’m going to be hot or cold or wet because it doesn’t make my body feel good when I am hot or cold or wet. I can find clothes that feel good on my body and I like the way my body looks that are also going to keep my body comfortable and dry.”

    It is never too early to start them on body autonomy with a side helping of viewing their parents as advisors on Team Them.

    If the adults had the audacity to comment, my response would be, “You might not be aware but that inside thought just became an outside thought.”

11. depends –
    if it’s negative, i’ll straight up tell them to stop making comments like that. i hate when people feel the need to make negative comments about what someone is wearing.
    if it’s nice, i will thank them and even tell them where i got it from, to be friendly and nice.

12. If negative comments, then flippantly tell them that they can buy your clothes next time

13. Double down. I’ve been called slutty bc of what I wear. Or tell them they’re dressed like your grandma. It’s mainly jealously from what I learned. Still hurts tho.

14. Smile and say “thank you!”. If it’s positive, great. If it’s negative, it makes them realize they can’t get to you.

15. Depends on the demeanor really but I tend to think of it as sexual harassment tbh. I’m here to do my job not walk in a fashion show. Leave your opinions at the door.

16. Well, it really would depend on the situation, person commenting, tone, body language/facial expressions, etc. And, regardless, just say, something like, “Awe THANKS: I appreciate your comment!😁😁😁!!!”, with a polite smile on your face, and keep it moving. That way, they’ll either, truly appreciate your heartfelt reciprocity; ORRR (depending on what you intuitively pick up from their energy), it may anger or frustrate them, that you didn’t fall for whatever type of baiting/bullying/abuse/other nonsense that they were trying to attack you with. 🙏🤷

17. Really depends on what they are saying if you could clarify

18. Become very uncomfortable. I dressed up a lot more at my previous job, and got positive comments. I actively disliked them from the men. Most of those who commented also sexually harassed me, including through comments.

    I didn’t mind the ones from women as much, but honestly I didn’t want those either. It made me feel like people payed close attention to what I wore, which was uncomfortable to me. I didn’t want to stick out I just wanted to wear what I felt like.

    At my current job I don’t dress up because I’m afraid I’ll be sexually harassed by men again. I have learned that you can know them for a year, nice normal men, and then suddenly they start looking at you differently, staring at your body and comment on your looks.. Doesn’t matter that they’re married with small kids nor grandkids. So even when I’ve worked with people for years I still don’t want to take the chance.

    Because when it first happens I don’t know what to do. It’s usually so small things that you can’t nail people for it. The problem isn’t that they call me pretty. It’s the way they look at me while doing it. It’s how often they slip it into conversation where it doesn’t belong. However yelling at people for calling me pretty, looking at me weird, etc isn’t easy. I have gotten the tip of pretending not to hear what they said, so they have to repeat. Or more aggressively asking what they mean.

19. [removed]

20. “Thank you,” if it’s positive. “Thanks! I got dressed today hoping my outfit would annoy you!” 😏