18-year-old calls out 17-year-old sister for wearing a corset to a baby shower, calls it 'inappropriate' for brunch: 'She started to blow up about how I am supposed to wear bright blue to the baby shower'

Author image for JR Atkinson
JR Atkinson • Writer and Editor
Jan 28, 2025 4:00 PM EST

I'm all for dressing unconventionally. We have free will, and not enough of us use it. Unless you're at an event or a job that requires a specific dress code, I say go all out. It expresses our individuality and sense of self. As someone who was made to wear a uniform for much of my childhood, I can definitely appreciate the chance to dress however I please. It can help you feel good about yourself as you go about your day. 

You know this if you've ever left the house in an ensemble you didn't like. It can really mess with your self-image, messes with your mood, and might make you miserable. Clothes aren't just clothes, they're the way we telegraph to the world what type of person we are, and when someone else tries to step in and control that, it can feel like a slap in the face to our identities. 

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    Cheezburger Image 10460306432
    via June Andrei George

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

  • That's what happened in this situation when two teenage sisters had a disagreement about what to wear to a family baby shower. But what lurked beneath the surface was a bigger question about sibling jealousy. And what indeed is appropriate to wear to a baby shower? Read on for the details and see what you think. 

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    AITA for wearing a corset to a baby shower?

    For some background context, my sister, J (18), and I (17) could not be any different. Just to name a few examples she is the sporty one while I do theatre, she is extroverted while I am an introvert, and while her sweet 16 was spent on a yacht with all her friends mine was spent with my tight circle. Not
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    only that, we even look completely different. J dresses and keeps up with trends while I personally like to dress more gothically. We are so different in fact that when our parents divorced she went live with my mom and hour away and I stayed with my dad in our small hometown. Another thing about J also likes to take every chance she gets to belittle me and make me feel horrible about myself.
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    Anyway, today is our cousin's wife's baby shower. As I mentioned before, my closet is more gothic and I do not have bright and fun colors (the only bright thing I had in my closet was a pair of pink cargo pants but the baby is a boy so it wouldn't work out). So, I decided I would just dress how I usually do. I wore a pair of black bell bottoms, doc martens, a long sleeve forest green blouse, a black hat, and a corset belt.
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    When I walked into my bathroom to do my hair, J walked in and immediately told me to change as soon as she saw what I was wearing. I asked her why and she started to blow up about how I am supposed to wear bright blue to the baby shower. I told her to just mind her own business and that I didn't wear bright colors and there wasn't a dress code at the baby
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    shower. J, upset with not having her way, asked our dad for his opinion and ge said I looked fine. She then went on a rant about how it's inappropriate to wear a corset and too dressy for a brunch. When I told her that everyone wears corset belts to brunch she
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    went into her room and called the mother-to-be to try to tell her that I was wearing a corset and that she should univite me. Mind you, this is all happening 20 minutes before the baby shower even started. But I went to the party a little bit earlier than what J had planned and she said that if I would still be an a h le if I go to the baby showerz
    via u/Clean_Capital_6437
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    I am now in my car, mustering up the courage to go into the small event space where the baby shower is being held. But still, am I hole? the a
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    CH 00000000
    via Unsplash+ (Andy Quezada)

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

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    Commenters weighed in on whether or not he sister's arguments were valid.

    Unhappy-Quail-26... 17h ago NTA. I have never heard of dressing a particular color for a baby shower. The mom to be has enough on her mind. and doesn't need the pettiness of your sister. You're fine. Do you!
    via u/Unhappy-Quail-2645
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    elGrimshaw16 · 17h ago You're sister is a major a-he
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    TemptingPenguin... • 18h ago NTA. I've never heard of a dress/color code for guests at a baby shower, and if the invitation didn't specify that you should wear blue, or that you should wear something else specific, your sister shouldn't have gotten involved with what you're wearing.
    via u/TemptingPenguin369
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    SnooPets8873 17h ago . I think it would be more startling/distracting for you to suddenly show up in a pastel sheath dress to an event than wear what everyone already knows you wear on a daily basis. I don't expect guests to switch their personalities to match my decorations. If you matched the formality level, it's fine. NTA
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    LadyLightTravel • 16h ago Have you considered that your sister is an emotional ab_er? She's trying to pull you down to build herself up. That's toxic to the core. She's unhinged.
    via u/LadyLightTravel
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    Antique-Zebra-2161 16h ago NTA. And your sister sounds like a pill. If I were the mom to be, I wouldn't appreciate someone calling me last minute to squabble over something so ridiculous.
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    Firm-Molasses-49... • 17h ago NTA Of course you're not man stop paying attention to your sister's nonsense she obviously knows which buttons to push
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    Cheeseoholics • 17h ago NTA- not at all. Your sister ain't a nice person. Stop listening to her for your own. sanity. You do you!
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    • Top_Diamond5312 15h ago NTA, but your sister sure is. Honestly, your outfit sounds cute and not all that goth, just a little urban edgy. Your sister is only a year older and your wardrobe isn't really her business. I'm guessing she's a teensy jealous because you looked a little better than she did and overall you might be
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    growing into a more interesting or more attractive person. All that being said, as a somewhat unconventional dresser myself and a mature woman, it's always a good idea to have one simple dress or silk pantsuit tucked in the back of your closet that you can have on tap. Add
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    interesting shoes and accessories and you can always be ready for any occasion and be true to yourself. Obviously, this may have to wait until you have a little more income. Just be you.
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    Inallea 17h ago • Oh I hope you went in. Honestly at my baby shower I did had other things to be concerned about then going around checking the attire of attendees. Never one to wear corsets/gothic look myself but it sounds great.
    via u/Inallea
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    At baby showers it is you that is wanted there and it isn't like you suddenly decided to turn up in something inappropriate for the occasion. If you cousin hadn't have wanted you to turn up in your normal attire she would have mentioned it to you..
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    Feeling_Wheel_1612 16h ago . None of this makes any sense. There's no reason you can't wear pink to a baby shower because the baby is a boy. But there's also no reason you can't wear your normal clothes either.
    via u/Feeling_Wheel_1612
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    • KelpieMane 15h ago Are you wearing a corset belt like this with a t-shirt, dress, or blouse that appropriately covers your chest or are you wearing a full corset like this over a blouse? I'm assuming, because you wrote corset belt and mentioned a blouse and because your dad said you look fine, that your sister is overreacting.
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    You're a teenager, even if it's a little bit inappropriate (which it likely isn't) that's par for the course for teenagers at an adult party. In other words, NTA and your sister is a major one (especially because the shower didn't have a dress code).
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    That said, if you're actually wearing some kind of half corset that pushes up your br ts/ makes your forest green blouse highly revealing and/or a very attention getting hat (or something like this half corset and calling it a belt), it's more of an everyone S ks here situation. Even if
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    you were dressed highly inappropriately your sister shouldn't be policing what you're wearing and, at the same time, it probably makes sense to own one or two outfits that are a little less gothic for the few occasions in which it makes sense to have to dress a little differently.
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    In other words, your outfit sounds perfectly appropriate for this shower, and, for the future getting a plain heather grey skirt or slacks, flats, and a lighter colored blouse and sweater just in case there comes a day when you do have to do something last minute that requires something other than your usual wardrobe is probably not the worst idea ever.
    via u/KelpieMane
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    You certainly don't want to have to borrow from your nightmare of a sister if something does happen that requires you to dress more "mainstream" at the last minute.
    via u/KelpieMane

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goth aita fashion AITAH sibling rivalry sibling memes siblings reddit story family feud style clothing family clothes sibling sister baby shower reddit thread Reddit
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