In a dowdy manner; in an unfashionable, dull, or drab way.
From dowdy plus the adverbial suffix -ly, which turns adjectives into adverbs describing how something is done.
Adverbs with -ly are so common we barely notice them, but they're one of English's most useful word-building tools—'dowdily' instantly tells you about manner and implies judgment!
Adverbial form of dowdy. Encodes feminine appearance-policing by suggesting a woman's way of dressing itself constitutes improper behavior.
Replace with neutral style descriptors. If analyzing historical gendered fashion criticism, explicitly identify it as gendered judgment.
["in an understated manner","conservatively"]
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