For someone who loves fashion, I’m surprisingly bad at dressing up and wearing my favourite pieces.
I have dresses hanging in my wardrobe that have seen daylight once. Blazers I’ve somehow convinced myself are too much for everyday. Jewellery still in their boxes and somehow, these pieces I love most are the ones I wear the least.
But if I’m honest, it’s not really the daytime I’m saving them from. I’m waiting for an evening that feels worthy of them: a dinner booked weeks in advance, birthday drinks, a rooftop bar or one of those rare spontaneous nights out. Somehow, those plans feel deserving of the good dress in a way an ordinary Friday doesn’t.
I know I’m not alone. Many of us own clothes we’re saving for future versions of ourselves. One where there are more plans, more dinners, and somehow more reasons to wear the things we already own. We treat our clothes as something to preserve rather than wear, and that same mindset often extends beyond our wardrobe. The handbag that stays in its dust bag. The perfume we’re trying not to finish until our wedding day and the frames that somehow make every outfit feel better but spend more time in their case than on our face. It’s the same excuse every time.
Why Did We Stop Dressing Up?
Though at the same time, dressing itself has changed. The rise of hybrid work, activewear and casual dressing has made comfort the default. Getting dressed up is no longer woven into everyday life in the way it once was. Somewhere between an off-duty model and working from home, comfort unintentionally became the dress code. We became so good at dressing down that dressing up started to feel like effort.
The evening still feels different, though. There’s something exciting about deciding what to wear once the sun goes down. The sneakers come off, the heels and earrings come out, and suddenly you’re looking forward to the night before you’ve even left the house.
Perhaps that’s because getting dressed for the evening has never really been about the clothes but rather about the ritual and the anticipation. The feeling that something is about to happen. Even if it’s just dinner with friends, taking the time to dress up signals a shift: the workday is over, obligations have eased and the night belongs to you.
Maybe that’s why getting dressed for the evening feels so different. Ask most girls and they’ll probably tell you that getting ready is half the fun, and sometimes better than the night itself. Even if it’s only dinner with friends, choosing an outfit, doing your makeup and putting on your favourite perfume becomes part of the plan rather than something you do before it.
Why Does Getting Dressed Make Us Feel Good?
I’ve always believed in “look good, feel good.” It sounds like one of those sayings people throw around without thinking, but there’s more to it than that. Psychologists call it ‘enclothed cognition’, being the idea that what we wear influences how we think, feel and behave. I don’t think anyone is arguing that we should all wear heels to the supermarket, but maybe we’ve gone a little too far in the other direction.
That’s why the details matter. A well-cut trench. A great pair of boots. A signature accessory. Even eyewear has become an extension of personal style rather than simply a necessity. Brands like Oscar Wylee have helped shift the perception of glasses from something purely functional to an accessory that can define an entire look. The right pair of frames can do what a favourite handbag or piece of jewellery does so effortlessly; make you feel instantly more put together.
Stop Saving Your Favourite Clothes for Special Occasions
Without really noticing, many of us stopped letting ourselves have that experience. Instead, we’ve become experts at waiting. Waiting for the wedding. Waiting for the girls night out. Waiting for the fancy dinner reservation. Waiting for a reason that always feels just out of reach.
The irony is that while we’re busy saving these pieces, life continues to happen without them. The best parts of life rarely come with a dress code, and the moments we spend waiting for are often no more meaningful than the everyday ones we overlook.
I realised I knew exactly what was hanging in my wardrobe, but not what it actually felt like to wear half of it. Some of my favourite pieces had become the ones I knew best from the hanger. Looking at my wardrobe now, it’s obvious I was never short on clothes. I was just waiting for reasons to wear the ones I actually loved. So I recently cleared out the things that no longer felt like me. Not because I wanted a smaller wardrobe, but because I wanted one I’d actually wear. One where I throw on the blazer for work, reach for the earrings just because I feel like it, and my frames become part of my everyday life.
But I’ve also stopped believing that beautiful clothes need an extraordinary occasion. Sometimes the occasion is simply that the sun has gone down. That I’ve finished work. That I’m meeting people I love or spending the evening with myself.
The funny thing is, nothing else has really changed. My days still look the same. I’m still going to work, meeting the girls for dinner and grabbing a drink on the weekend. What has changed is the way I approach the hours after work. I’m no longer waiting for the perfect event to wear the things I love. Dressing up has become less about where I’m going and more about how I want to feel when I get there.
Maybe what we’ve really lost is the habit of making an effort simply because it feels good. The music playing while you do your makeup, the outfit changes covering your bedroom floor and that final look in the mirror when everything finally comes together are often just as enjoyable as the night itself. Getting dressed after dark has never only been about the clothes, but the way wearing something you love can change your mood before you’ve even left the house.
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