Please help me find a party outfit (after years of jeans and trainers)

[Diagnosticdigressions]

Any ideas much appreciated - invite says dinner and dancing. I'm aged 44, size 8, 5' 6ish. Generally very much a white t-shirt and jeans / shorts sort of person but the invite suggests this calls for a bit of glam. I have a few really quite old dresses, otherwise I tend to just do black trousers and a top for anything smart. So am up for either a zingy top to wear with trousers, or an actual dress...

At size 8, you have a lot of choices. I'd be inclined to go with a dress with a skirt length that's on or slightly above the knee (you could totally go full mini but based on your normal style choices, not sure if you're comfortable with that).

Hi OP have a look at somewhere like SilkFred and see what appeals to
You . People on here can help you narrow it down if you give a budget and any other preferences .

If you like trousers how about a
Jumpsuit ? So easy to wear !
I failed to work out how to link on SilkFred but this comes
In lots of colours - any good ?

@Triffid1 thank you knee-length would def work - you're right that minis aren't up my street. I quite like midi dresses but wonder if they'd look a bit frumpy without heels

@Shinyandnew2022 Hadn't come across silkfred and have now spent some time trawling jumpsuits on there. I really like the one you showed a picture of but I think black might make me look a bit peaky (I'm v pale). Wasn't massively fond of the other colours.

Also liked this one but not quite sure on the mid calf length - any thoughts:

Also, is polyester a terrible idea and if so why? People seem to take against it a lot..

Re budget, haven't bought anything in ages so I'd be happy to go quite a bit higher than those prices i.e. up to £150 if it's something I'd wear quite a lot

Hi @Diagnosticdigressions glad you found SilkFred helpful even if you just screen shot a few things you like the look of .
I like the one you linked to - at
Size 8 you probably look great in everything!

Where do you normally shop?

For slightly bigger budget I would look at whistles / Reiss / Sezane I also love Wyse
Am trying not to buy dressy
Things myself so am probably not the
Best person to advise.
There are so many sales at the moment too it's a great time to be shopping !

Re polyester my gripe is it is quite a cheap fabric so often can't justify the prices - I would rather pay for a more natural fibre