Question: I’m getting married in a few weeks, and we have a formal cocktail dresses code. I talked to my cousin today and asked what she was wearing. She said she was wearing a shirt and pants. Everyone will be in suits or tuxes, so I asked if she had a blazer or suit jacket, or if I could buy her one for the event. She responded that wearing a blazer would make her incredibly uncomfortable and stressed, and she could not do it; and that wearing a dress shirt and pants was already making her uncomfortable.
I’m incredibly confused by this. It’s just a blazer. I’m not asking her to wear a dress, just to follow the dress code and offering to pay for it.
Am I allowed to ask her mother to try and convince her? Or do I need to accept that this is just my cousin’s odd comfort level and she cannot follow the dress code AND enjoy the wedding?
I would feel uncomfortable and stressed going to an event I was underdressed for, and I’m not sure she truly is understanding the dress code. — Cousin
Answer: Drop it. You tried, she resisted, one person will not ruin anything, and as a host, your priority has to be the comfort of your guests vs. conformity to your theme. If you can have a blazer handy to provide if she asks (i.e., not to offer), it would be kind.
Question: A “good” friend moved down the street from us with her family last fall. I put “good” in quotation marks because, although we’ve been friends since elementary school, she can be snarky, judgmental and passive-aggressive. It’s just tiring to deal with, and I’d rather spend time with people who just do not do that, rather than trying to “fix” this relationship.
However, she lives down the darn block. Our husbands are friendly. Our daughters play together. We have this 20-plus-year history. How do you suggest I save my sanity by limiting our interactions without making things too uncomfortable, or ruining things for the other family members who do get along? — Neighbor Frenemy
Answer: Why don’t you just keep interacting with her as your history, proximity and families demand, and simply not take her crap? Kindly and plainly.
When she’s passive-aggressive, ask her to say what she means. When she says something snarky or judgmental, say there’s no call for that — or just, “Really?”
Not to “fix” anything, but to get across in a friendship-friendly way these habits of hers annoy you and you’re not having them anymore.
She might surprise you by catching herself.
Old habits with old friends go both ways, and she might be reverting to an outdated version of herself she’s more than happy to leave behind, once you make her aware of it.
If instead she responds by calling you too sensitive, keep on the calm path. “Maybe so. I just find life easier when people are kind and direct.”
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