No Shirt, No Shoes, No Diplomatic Reception

In a column published today, Miss Manners weighs in on the issue of dress codes and diplomatic venues. She takes up a letter from a government employee who occasionally leads official delegations to foreign countries, and is peeved that one U.S. embassy overseas attempted to dictate the dress code for an event the employee was hosting at the facility. Miss Manners refuses to pass judgment without knowing the exact provisions of the dress code in question. But, she coyly adds, "Certainly a U.S. embassy can insist that people entering it not be dressed in such a way as to undermine the dignity of the venue."