Employee changes out of designer dress at work, suspects intern of stealing it: 'She posted a picture wearing my exact dress'

Author image for Ally Perry
Ally Perry • Writer and Editor
Feb 16, 2026 3:00 PM EST

Dressing fashionably in the office doesn't come without its downsides.

For one, plenty of companies have pretty strict dress codes that you may end up being in breach of when you try to express your personal style. Then there is the fact that even if management doesn't care about the outfit, there is every chance that some weird coworker can't help but make a disparaging comment about what you choose to wear. For many jobs, presentation is important. While it is possible to be stylish at work, it has to be done while taking into consideration the office culture.

It is also possible that somebody you work with may be a little too appreciative of your workplace fashion moments. A lot of coworkers will happily steal breakroom lunches and office supplies, so what's to say that they will stop at your outfits? Clothing theft is not exactly a common work predicament, but it can happen. Just like with anything valuable, it is important to keep a close eye on wearable belongings when you are at work. It is entirely possible that they may catch the eye of somebody who has no qualms about helping themselves to them at your expense. 

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  • a woman in business attire talks on her phone hands free while typing at a computer
    via Getty Images (Unsplash+)

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

  • In this story, a woman got stressed out when she wore a limited edition designer dress to take some headshot pictures for work, then found it missing from where she had left it in her personal storage space. She had changed out of it when she left for the evening, and realized that it wasn't there a few days later.

    Initially, she thought she had made a mistake and tried to retrace her steps. However, her suspicions were raised when she saw an Instagram photo of an intern who admired her style wearing the very same dress. She didn't want to overstep by accusing her of theft, but she also wanted her dress back. She wasn't sure how to proceed.

  • Would I be wrong for confronting an intern for stealing my dress?

    I wore a dress made by a very high-end European designer for headshots at my workplace.
    via cestoufquoi
  • Our intern told me that she loved it and asked who made it. Not to sound conceited but I'm prob the only fashionable person in my office and I get a bit of attention for it.
    via cestoufquoi
  • This particular girl has expressed to me that she admires my style and I think shes not too bad herself for a Gen Z so I share the info with her, eating up the compliment.
    via cestoufquoi
  • As I was going out after work that night and The Dress didn't suit my evening plans I changed into a different one and left The Dress in a bag in my studio cubby so that I didn't have to carry a big tote with it out the whole night.
    via cestoufquoi
  • I let the bag sit there for a quite a few days. When I finally brought it home, I realized that the Loewe dress was not inside.
    via cestoufquoi
  • I asked nobody at work as I thought it would be offensive to even assume at my intimate studio of <40 ppl that anyone would deign to take another person's belongings.
    via cestoufquoi
  • So I tore apart my closet. I interrogated my dry cleaner (could i have dropped it off & forgotten?
    via cestoufquoi
  • Could they have misplaced it? Eventually I gave up, accepting my own irresponsibility. I set search alerts on the RealReal, eBay etc.
    via cestoufquoi
  • a young woman sits on a staircase wearing a matching dress and earrings, balancing a laptop on her lap and taking a selfie with her phone
    via Daiga Ellaby (Unsplash+)

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

  • the following weeks, the Intern is now asking me for creative advice on her projects, requested me on linkedin, and recently, started following me on IG and I followed back.
    via cestoufquoi
  • I think she kinda looks up to me. But this weekend, I was shocked to see that she posted a picture of herself on her IG stories wearing my exact dress.
    via cestoufquoi
  • Now, I know for a fact that this designer makes every collections in extremely limited runs and that it was part of a collaborative capsule collection from nearly 10 years ago.
    via cestoufquoi
  • There aren't tons of them floating around the secondhand market. Even if there were, I have been checking everywhere on the internet religiously always keeping an eye out for my dress.
    via cestoufquoi
  • Not to imply that I have my eye on every used designer store in America, but this is not the kind of dress that one would stumble upon frequently and given that I am a savvier shopper with more expendable income than this intern, if both of us were making an effort to find this dress on the internet at the same time, I swear to GOD I would have found & purchased it first.
    via cestoufquoi
  • Now I very much want to delicately confront her about it. it would put my mind at ease to see a reciept to know that she went and sought out my dress for herself, that she's just a little copycat & not a thief.
    via cestoufquoi
  • If she took it I'd ask for it back and keep it between us. I'm friendly with her superior and could say something to him too, or to be safe just go to HR to keep it 100% kosher, but tbh to me that feels extreme.
    via cestoufquoi
  • What if it cost her her internship? And if she didn't steal my dress after all, it would REALLY embarrass me, not just her.
    via cestoufquoi
  • Am I petty? Sure. But if justice for The Dress is possible, I want it. It sounds silly but it had sentimental value to me, not just material.
    via cestoufquoi
  • rows of workplace lockers against a red wall
    via bady abbas
  • Beneficial-Way-8742 Idk if your TA, but you may not have a lot to fall back on. Depending on where you work, I have seen companies dodge any responsibility in matters like this by saying that you should not be storing personal items in the workplace anyway. It s ks, but that tends to be the corporate response I've seen in similar situations And I guess I would strongly recommend you don't leave personal items like around the office
    via Beneficial-Way-8742
  • cestoufquoi Original Poster's Reply That's one reason why I am a bit wary to confront her or anyone about the situation. I do take ownership of the fact that I was not the most responsible with my belongings, and until i had reason to think somebody else was involved i blamed no one but myself That said this studio is filled with tons of valuable art and equipment that make my stupid dress seem like bupkis, all of which just sit openly with practically no security. Everyone keeps their belonging
    via cestoufquoi
  • Only-Breadfruit-6108 Go to HR. You want to handle this carefully. NTA obviously
    via Only-Breadfruit-6108
  • Odd-Quantity 4815 NTA she definitely stole it based on this description. Make sure to take a screenshot / capture evidence of her with the dress BEFORE confronting her. I think it's generous to even not involve her boss if she gives it back to you- thats a serious integrity issue.
    via Odd-Quantity4815
  • Loud_Ad_9187 Take a screenshot of the dress and then send out an email saying your dress is missing and you will contact the police if the person who took it doesn't return it
    via Loud_Ad_9187
  • Winged Jedi Does your work place have security cameras at the entrance? If yes, speak to HR or your security team/contractor about securing the footage (so that it doesn't get automatically deleted or overwritten after a while) and ask them to review the footage for the days after you wore the dress. If you need to narrow it down, you can focus on the time that most employees and your intern usually leave the office.
    via WingedJedi
  • VanillaChunkyStomper Surely mentioning that you saw her on Insta in a dress just like yours would be fairly innocent? You should learn a bit from her reaction. And ask where she got it as you are desperately looking for one
    via VanillaChunkyStomper
  • AmbitiousEdi When someone steals from you, you call the police. Let them deal with it.
    via AmbitiousEdi
  • AnnieJack "I see from your post on Instagram that you borrowed my dress that I had left here in the office. Please bring it back. tomorrow." Any response other than yes results in you going to HR and the police.
    via AnnieJack

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