Slonimer, sorry I could’t get back to you sooner. First, let me remind you and others that this is a hypothetical discussion. So, to continue, without getting too far into specifics, there are certain female characteristics that all agree constitute ervah and some that none (except the burkha nuts) consider so. There is a fairly broad middle ground between the two end points. It is in this middle ground that the controlling factor is community practice, supported by legitimate psak. For instance, I have heard a Rav, of whose bakius and yiras shamaim I am certain, opine that armpits are ervah and they only must be covered (that would rule out tank tops). You or I may disagree and, as you mentioned, we may not be allowed to daven in their presence but members of that community may, indeed, do so and are not sinning if they do.
Mitzvas HasShem are absolute and immutable but their application is, in large part, dependent on community standards and practices. Even the great Hillel is recorded as basing a psak on what he observed the general practice to be in the case in question.
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