Elegant Evening Wear

I have always enjoyed any excuse for dressing up on a night out or for a special occasion. Back in my university days and during my early 20's every weekend would involve a BIG night out which would require a new outfit or some new shoes. I used to love the whole process of going out browsing the shops on a Saturday for a bargain to wear out that night. It was that build up which was such fun and ven though I never had very much money, I could always find enough for something towards my evening out even if it was just a new lipstick or some underwear!

Of course back in my going out days of yester year circa the mid to late 1990's, my going out clothes were quite fashionable and even though I never had the best figure in the world, I did seem to wear some quite short and clingy dresses - I cannot believe I ever wore them now to be honest. Less evening wear more almost bare!!! My only excuse is that I was young and tanned and had a bit more confidence and could carry them off better with youth on my side!

(excuse the quality of the photo)

As I approached my 30's my attitude towards the types of dresses I wore out changed. Suddenly, it was less about baring skin and more about covering up instead, and rather than wear high end fashionable pieces when I went out, I opted for classic numbers instead. Buying elegant evening wear became a bit of a addiction for me. I would scan e-bay for hours looking for a bargain and bought several of my beautiful formal dresses from there, all of them had never been worn before and were such a bargain! Black dresses, long and short, fishtail, fitted and flowing, shift and maxi dresses: ones which would suit a variety of occassions and were timless pieces. They were more expensive than the outfits I bought back in my early 20's too but I felt they were good investments because I hoped that they would last longer because they would never go out of fashion, because they were not in fashion to begin with.

 I still have these classic style dresses but sadly I dont get the chance to wear them anymore. In fact one of them still has the tags on as I never had the opportunity to wear it anywhere before I got pregnant. The truth is, I just dont go anywhere posh enough to merit them being worn. I think that the last time I attended an evening black tie event was about 6 years ago! Yet I cannot bring myself to get rid of them and sell them on. I keep hoping that my so called investment dresses will get used again a few times in my life.

 So instead these beautiful dresses are currenly being kept in a suitcase in my wardrobe, waiting for an opportunity to wear them again.  I recently had a trying them all on session and I can fit into most of them again now, and when I finally shift the last bit of my pregnancy weight I am hopeful I will be able to fit into all of them comfortably. However, if I ever do wear them out again, I will definately need to wear my Bridget Jones-style -hold-everything-in-pants underneath! But hey if they work I wont be complaining! Ha ha if my pre 20 something self could read that now she would never have believed that she would wear such undergarments when she was older!!

Funny how things change, isnt it?


this is a guest post which I wrote myself