Being told off in public

When I came to the office today, I had my usual partners meeting with my business partner and reviewed the events that we attended yesterday. One of it was the final corporate Eid open house for this season in which we came in different cars. She arrived first with my senior associate and she was making the rounds nearly half an hour before I arrived. It was a stately affair as the host for the evening is one of the well-known state linked company which has 7 other subsidiaries (some well-known, some are not).

There were many corporate big-wigs in that event, top civil servants and top management of those companies and other companies. We were there more than for the food. We were there just to reconnect back with all of them and to reestablished our connections. It worked in a way as many of those we have not met for some times remembered us. Those who never met us got to know us.

I did said once in my other blog. My partner is a kind of my firm's secret weapon. Rarely people not notice her when she goes into a room. That evening she wore a red suit and pants with a dark blouse. The blouse was a bit low cut and that was the bane of her existence that evening.

When we finally met each other she did say something vague to this one VIP whom I was sitting with. I actually did not understand it. When I talked to her yesterday only then did I understand. She was actually very angry with the VIP as he was acting like an old man mentioning about how low cut was her blouse. She even called out a lady CEO of another subsidiary company and pointed out my partner's outfit as inappropriate. My partner was livid with that comment that when she went off, she did not even shakes hand with the man although he has a file in our office.

We were actually wondering, as much as an older person has the right to comment on a younger person's outfit, if it is at an event such as that, should such reprimand be allowed without any need to do it subtly? Isn't it a bit embarassing?