OK, so a very first world problem, but causing me stress. A genuinely lovely neighbour held two parties last year, and the dress code for both was black tie for the men and ball gowns for the women. We went to both parties (hiring the clothes as it’s not something we own) and although the same people were invited to both, the number of people who were at the second party was considerably lower than the first. Having spoken to a few people, the reason appears to have been the cost of hiring the outfits. Today we have received an invitation from the same people to another function and guess what the dress code is? Yea - black tie and ball gown. I would hate to let them down, but realistically it’s £200 for the 3 of us (dh and dd) which is tough. Do I decline (with the reason and risk upsetting her) just decline or accept and bite the bullet? She’s so lovely I couldn’t bail out on the day. Aargh!