I went to a sort of party last month and I didn’t know what to wear.

This has come up before, when I worked with a younger bunch of women, we used to go out in the evenings quite a lot and I’d mostly just wear what I wore to work that day out into the evening whereas some of my colleagues changed into more suitable nighttime going out clothes.

I’ve never had a wardrobe like that. And I think it’s because I got married ridiculously early and my social circle mostly consisted of my (now ex) husband and people we knew. So there wasn’t really an element of dressing up whether or not that was to attract a partner or not. It just didn’t happen.

But now that I’m single, the whole idea of it has come up again. Before that party last month I messaged a friend to ask what on earth I should wear to this thing? I didn’t think I had anything suitable. I can’t remember what my friend suggested but whatever it was, it felt reassuring. I took from it that I should wear what I felt comfortable in and what I felt looked good on me. So I did.

But after that night, I went online and ended up buying a few dresses, mostly little black dresses that I figured could (potentially) double as work clothes. Or… could be the start of my nighttime going out wardrobe that I never had.

I’ve been to another party after that first one wearing one of my new dresses with a pair of fashionable tights and I just felt so much better in it. There’s something about dressing up and looking and feeling good that I think I’ve missed out on by not going out when I was younger. By switching into this role of wife and mother too soon.

So I will go out again and soon. I might even practice wearing heels.

I don’t know though, let’s not go too crazy.