Why is it considered not a good idea to compliment coworker's clothes?

[Anonymous]

*I asked this question already but posted in wrong topic*

My coworker complimented my sweater yesterday, said it has really cool patter and that it suits me and the comment made me so happy (We aren't great friends and he's never done this before but we do have occasional friendly chats outside of working hours). I rarely receive compliments so this one made my day and I saw absolutely nothing wrong or unprofessional about it.

I however googled whether it's common for coworkers/guys to compliment or just comment on other girls' clothes and I just got bunch of questions and threads about how it's never good idea, especially when it's man to woman and in work environment, because it may be even considered as a form of sexual harassment and I was like? since when is it considered sexual harassment to give compliments? I mean sure If you say stuff like "your tits look good in this dress" but If you give nice compliment about the clothing itself and that the person looks good in it, it's just a simple compliment and I actually think we should do this more often?

[DrPepper12]

And this is what PC societal prisons hath wrought.

Blanket statement: it's a bad idea to do or say anything to any coworker of any gender at any time. HR would love to have a conversation with you...

Unfortunately there's no human that can adhere to this. It's in our nature to be social and collegial as well as have emotions. I just think that any discretion or discernment seems to have gone out the window and I don't see it returning. Some people just like everything completely sterilized and orderly.

[BetaBucks]

It's fine to compliment clothes if they aren't revealing. I only compliment guys, so that's never an issue for me.

[CupcakeTheDestroyer]

It’s all relative. You took the compliment for what it was so it’s not an issue

[Lliam]

I agree with you. A mere compliment is not sexual harassment. That's where some people drove #MeToo off the rails.

Why in the world would it be wrong to give someone a nice compliment?

And it's funny that a girl complimenting a guy would never be considered sexual harassment unless she commented on his bulge or said he had a really tight ass.

[Anonymous]

Let me ask you this: How did your tits look in that sweater?

[Anonymous]

Never heard of that before.