A reader writes:

My current office’s dress code is business casual, and I wear black, knee-length dresses almost every day. I typically wear a neutral, light colored cardigan with the dress, and I always have a navy or black blazer on hand in case I need to step up the look unexpectedly. I don’t wear bright colors because I don’t like how I look in them.

My coworkers usually make snide comments about my clothes like “there goes Morticia, wearing all black again,” and it’s getting to me. My makeup, hair, and jewelry are tasteful and in line with what others in my office wear, so I can’t understand where this is coming from. Its not like I’m a walking Hot Topic advertisement—I just like professional looking black dresses. These comments come every day, though, and I’ve even overheard people gossiping about me and taking bets on what I will wear to off-site work functions because I wear a lot of black in the office.

The culture at my company has gotten so bad that I have gone home and cried almost every day for the past month. I am actively applying out, but I’m also worried my attire is a professional blind spot. Is this a case of toxic work culture getting to me, or do I really need to reconsider wearing a black dress every day going forward?

Your coworkers are jerks.

It’s really not terribly unusual to wear a lot of black. It’s an incredibly common color, especially for professional wear. It’s not like you’re wearing hot pink from head-to-toe every day; you’re wearing a really normal, neutral, business-y color. And you’re not even in all black — you’re wearing light-colored cardigans.

And you know, even if it were something like daily head-to-toe hot pink, your coworkers’ behavior would still be crappy. It’s one thing to give you a little good-natured teasing, but this sounds well beyond that. They talk about it behind your back and take bets on what you’ll wear to events? These people are seriously asses. They sound like the type of people who would make snide comments about someone’s boobs not being to their liking.

So yes, this is a case of a toxic work culture. (Although is it possible that this is just a small handful of jerks, and no one else in your office notices or cares?)

Now, in general, it’s true that if the way you present yourself doesn’t fit in with your office’s norms and culture, you might need to make some adjustments if you want to be taken seriously there, get higher-profile assignments, get promoted, etc. But I really don’t want to encourage you to change to please these snots, especially since you’re already working on leaving. However, if you wanted to stay there, I’d say, “Okay, this is silly, but since what you’re wearing is standing out as odd there, there’s some benefit to shaking it up.”

But really, it sounds like you’ve found yourself a work uniform — a basic outfit combination that works for you that you can replicate every day, so that you don’t need to spend much time thinking about your clothes. Men have been doing this for decades, and an increasing number of women are starting to do it too. So I say good for you.