Stina Auer

I read an interesting post from Stina Auer about the lack of 'dress up' opportunities in her home town.  The comments made for interesting reading as people discussed the reasons for the laissez-faire attitude that seems to prevail in most places.
For me, dressing up is as much part of a night out as the event itself, in the 80s, when we regularly headed to 'black tie' events, the glass of champagne in the bath, the smell of hairspray and heady mix of perfumes as the gang all got ready together, was as much part of a good night out, as the event itself. To be truthful, it was probably the sense of anticipation and Cinderella style transformation, that was the best part of the evening.
It all started to go a bit wrong in the 90s when effortlessly beautiful people adopted the 'grunge' look, perfect for flawless waifs, not so good if you are built like two ton Tess and need the structure of tailored clothes to look your best.
Glamour definitely came back to certain places in the 2000s, the arrival of the super rich and their super clothes in London, meant that in 'certain' places the dress code was back to OTT.  Cipriani, Nobu, Blue bar at the Berkeley, the Connaught bar, Zuma, Claridges, Mortons, The Wolsey all require a bit of effort.
But for everywhere else, be it in London or other cities in the South East, over-dressing is a big 'no no' anything more than jeans and a nice top in Oxford is seen as tragically try-hard.  I have heard rumour that in Northern cities you can really 'dress', but I am not sure if that applies only to 18 year-olds out clubbing.
And so there's a dichotomy, where thanks to the internet we have access to every 'look' under the sun and yet in the main we gravitate to a safe uniform of skinny jeans, shoe boots and ZARA sequin jackets, or is that just me?
I was going out to dinner at a friend's house last night and after reading Stina's post made a conscious effort to 'make an effort'.  Basically by looking at my wardrobe and thinking what would Stina wear?

The final selection was Chanel shirt (v old and inherited from mum, but still going strong), Herve Leger skirt (again v old, bought in the 90s, when after his 80s hey day, HL was well and truly off the radar and could be picked up for a song), Ash shoes (from Ebay £9.99) and Hermes cuff.

What is it like where you live? Do you get the opportunity to dress up for a night out or is the vibe more laid back and casual?

Orange hair orange scarf

I had another charity meeting so always make a bit more effort (ie wear lippie and brush hair). This is a hand me down Chanel from mum, bless her and her 'saving clothes for special occasions' as it is like new and about 25 years old.  The bag is an ancient Dior, scarf is mums, (although I am not sure she knows I have this, I think it was left behind by accident rather than gifted) so may not get another wear. Jeans are Missoni, 40 quid from Bicester Village a few weeks ago.  Hair going through a pink/orange phase, for the first time ever I am looking forward to the grey showing so that I can dye it again!

Charity and Chanel

I'm doing some work with a charity and we had our first meeting a few days ago.

I had to make the right impression but wanted to look like I meant business (not just to make the best of the champagne and nibbles).

The outfit below is, as usual, wrong on so many levels. Boots (Jimmy Choo) look woefully stunted, trousers (Asprey) fit in all the wrong places and top (Coast) shows too much flesh.

 Added my pilates top, still total fail (does sportswear never really translate into normal clothes?)

 So changed into an ancient, but classic Chanel shirt, I bought it for my mother about 20 years ago, and she has passed it back to me as I am now the demographic for silk Chanel shirts (just look at my roots!)

 Added a Chanel (err Monsoon jacket) and the effect is pure school teacher c.1982.

Changed into a super fitted Coast Duchess satin skirt (I swear by these, they go with everything and the fabric is better than most designer numbers) And a slim fit Top Shop cardi with Hermes boots. It's still a little school teacher-y but better that than aging socialite.
Much more on what we are up to with the charity later.

Terrible Terrible raspberry and black outfit choice

Like a child, as soon as I get something new I have to wear it immediately, even if that means pairing a tutu with wellies.  So when my new Great Plains Raspberry top appeared it was no exception.
I actually went out wearing this to meet some friends for coffee and a catch up.
The coated jeans were  a purchase from the Zara sale and I am really pleased with them, but put together with the two tops and too match-y shoes (Chanel c.1992), I can see that this is all a big mistake.
The sun may have been shining for a fraction of a second, but this top is definitely more 'real summer' than 'break in the gloom'.  I thought that I would wear it with white capri trousers and flat shoes and these photos are evidence that I should have stuck to that thought.  I was worried it might look a bit WAG, but my more successful clothing choices seem to be when I play dress up, so perhaps that is a worthy theme.
On a different note, I was given two items of clothing for my Birthday and I have no idea what they are for. I am wearing the black version here, the top  is very thin, no thicker than a pair of tights, I was given this black one and also a nude one. I am not sure what they are for or why you would wear them as they are too thin to offer any warmth and made of nylon so not supportive enough and a bit stinky for the gym.  Any ideas what they are? They came in a packet like a pair of tights, but the writing was an Eastern European language.