DEAR MISS MANNERS: My daughter is to be a bridesmaid for a bride who is buying everyone shapewear, which they are expected to wear, and her mother is buying everyone "a good bra."
This seems to me to be a bit excessive, but as a woman in her seventh decade of life, perhaps I am just behind the times. How might one best handle this expectation?
GENTLE READER: If only Miss Manners could assume that members of the wedding party weren't going to be checked, airport security-style, to see if they were wearing the issued undergarments, you would be right up with the times. Airports are now banishing these invasive X-rays. Unfortunately, bridal dictators do not inspire such confidence.
Still, if your daughter does not want to wear the underwear, she needn't. If asked why not, she can simply say she tried it, it was uncomfortable, and she is happy to offer it back -- only slightly used.