SOCIAL STUDIES: Totally Unsolicited Opinions are Worse than Puberty

They're found in every walk of life, from the dressing room to the dining room, from the movie theater to the mall...

...the dreaded giver of unsolicited opinions.

We all have a friend who was raised to know the importance of honesty, but not of tact, and thus feels free to offer his or her two cents on anything and everything, whether or not you wanted it, whether or not it's necessary, especially if it's somewhat harsh. Somehow this friend never reminds you, for example, of how great you look in reds, but s/he is right there telling you your last haircut flattered your face more completely.

This friend is, most times, barely tolerable - how much worse, then, when the invasiveness posing as honesty comes from a total stranger.

Recently I was trying on a half-dozen or so dresses at my hometown TJ Maxx with my mother, when the lady one dressing room over decided it was high time she let us know that

"That color just does nothing for you."

I was told about the poor fit of another number, the fact that a third "really makes you look flat," and that a 6th, unsurprisingly the one that screamed country-club mother of 3 to me, was "gorgeous. You just HAVE to get that one."

Thanks, lady.

Children, it's important to be honest. It's also important to bite your goddammed tongues once in a while. Err on the side of the latter.

-Posted by Jilly