DEAR SOMEONE ELSE’S MOM: Since my boyfriend and I started dating two years ago I have had long hair. But every few years I want a change and last week I went for a super short cut. It isn’t a buzz, but it is pretty short, and I love it.

The problem is, I keep catching my boyfriend looking at me with a strange expression and he keeps making not always nice comments about how I look with the new style. Why do I feel like I did something wrong? --- SHORTER THAN USUAL

DEAR SHORTER: There’s nothing wrong with changing-up your look if it makes you feel good. So long as you’re happy with your new do, it’s pretty much too bad for your boyfriend. If he’s just in it for how you look, or at least how he thinks you should look, then you guys have bigger issues to face than your latest haircut.

DEAR SOMEONE ELSE’S MOM: My friend and I often swap clothes and accessories. It saves us both money, especially when it’s dressy stuff for special occasions.

I have my first business trip coming up and I keep asking my friend for the suit and blazer she borrowed to go on interviews before she got her job. Every time I mention I need them back, she says she will get them to me and every time we meet up she “forgets.” I have even gone to her place and asked for them and she told me they were at the dry cleaner’s.

What do I need to do to get my clothing back before I have to travel? --- NEED MY OUTFITS

DEAR NEED MY OUTFITS: It sounds like your friend may be giving you the runaround because she has something to hide. Since she’s told you the clothes are at the cleaner’s, tell her if she gives you the claim check you’ll go pick them up. If the items really are there, it may seem unfair for you to have to pay for her cleaning bill, but at least you’ll get your clothing back. If it turns out they aren’t at the cleaner’s and she doesn’t hand them over, you have a choice of either asking her to replace them or doing so yourself.

Whatever the case turns out to be, since you’re both currently employed, I’d say your sharing outfits days are over ─ or at least they should be.

DEAR SOMEONE ELSE’S MOM: When I was a kid I remember the older adults at family parties making off-color or what I considered insensitive jokes. It used to get me so mad. Now it seems we have gotten so hypersensitive everyone is afraid to say anything for fear of offending someone or losing their job. What is safe to say anymore? --- KEEPING IT SHUT

DEAR KEEPING: We do seem to have backed ourselves into a corner conversationally these days, regardless of your political leanings.

With civility in increasingly short supply, it’s getting more and more difficult to find havens for rational discourse. So, if you want to play it safe and maintain peace, my advice is to think hard before you speak, stay as topic-neutral as possible, and in extreme cases, consider following the time-honored rule of sticking to the weather and your health.