Especially thanks to the pandemic, I have loads of super casual clothes, from athletic or quasi-athletic wear to jeans and tops and sweaters. I also have a handful of dressy dresses. But then the invitation to dinner at a nice restaurant comes (okay, not so much lately) or, say, a bridal shower or… you know, the in-between stuff. Last night we were invited to dinner at a friend’s country club. Not our usual arena. It was a warm and humid night, so I ended up wearing a summer cotton dress, not fancy but it ended up being an appropriate choice and I was comfortable. But I endured a fair amount of angst staring into my closet beforehand.

Summer tends to be easier for me because I have several summery dresses that can be dressed up or down. And I have some sandals that work well. But fall and winter are another story. I literally have ONE pair of black dress pants and I don’t even like them very much. I have a very hard time finding pants that fit because I’m short (5’2”) and pear shaped. I would love to find a couple of pairs of pants and maybe a couple dressier tops, too. I tend to like a slightly boho, arty look. Talbots is not me. More like anthropologie and sundance catalog, although I have never bought pants at either place. I like a lot of the clothes at Garnet Hill, too.

Any thoughts? Do my friends want to put together some outfits for me? What is your go-to outfit for occasions like this?