Glamorous London party - help me!

[andthebandmarchedon]

Hi all,
I’m going to what will be a rather glamorous party in London in mid September with old uni friends. I see them often and they are all absolutely lovely and non-judgemental. However there will be a more extended group going to the party, some of whom are extremely polished and used to moving in celeb circles so always very well dressed and flawless. The dress code is smart casual but the birthday person is wearing a very beautiful satin long evening dress.
I’m not feeling my best - tired, menopausal, and even though I have plenty of lovely dresses, most are slightly on the tight side so not working. I am a size 14, in proportion and 5’ 6” but large bust and hate feeling matronly. I’ve bought a gorgeous pair of gold platforms which should go with most things but reluctant to buy a dress as well.
Would appreciate your advice on what to wear. Dresses are always my fallback but I also have a gorgeous pleated Munthe skirt I could wear. I don’t want to look over the top but want to feel good.
I have this dress but have worn it all summer so doesn’t feel special and not sure if too bland but it fits well and is comfortable https://www.thewhitecompany.com/uk/Shirred-Waist-V-Neck-Dress/p/A04866?swatch=Navy

All advice welcome!

Labour Day is not A Thing in London. 🙄

There’s no labor day in London. Hth

Stopping to wear summer/beach fashion in September is a thing, Labour Day is a convenient cut-out date

It s been lovely to see so many petty people come out of the woods just to be unkind
I wish you all a heavenly day and especially for the ones around you :)

I had to google Labour Day and it's the 1st may?! I've loved all the fashion suggestions, crazy and safe. Have a super time op.

Labor Day is the first Monday in Sept and is a public holiday/ long weekend/trad end to the summer in the US but has zero traction on this side of the Atlantic... probs as we have no summer at the best of times.

I guess it’s like going back to school day! However we don’t change what we wear based on a date. More in tune with the weather. We do of course wear summer clothes regardless of a cooler summer though. Personally I’m glad it’s not been 40 degrees! Therefore the dress is just fine for September. The op wouldn’t have worn beachwear anyway!

That's more usually called May Day in the UK.

Labour Day either means (a) nothing at all in the UK or (b) another one of those US holidays Brits have heard of but know nothing about or (c) the first Monday in May more commonly known as May Day or International Labour Day.

Altering what is worn by reference to a date is not a UK thing. Generally because we don't get much of a summer, in my experience summer dresses come out as soon as the temperature makes them feasible and stay out for as long as it's feasible. To borrow another Americanism, Indian summers are not unknown and wearing summer/ lighter dresses into September is very much a thing.

(Google is unhelpful as to whether "Indian Summer" is still acceptable. UK used to refer to a Saint Martin's summer but to me that suggests warm weather as late as November to reach Martinmas on 11th November)

“Indian summer “ in the uk refers to a late summer, usually in September. For us, the saying almost certainly comes from India. Pre Raj, wealthy Indian rulers moved from the hot plains to the hills in the Indian Summer. The Brits thought it made sense and followed. So I cannot see how it’s offensive. It’s purely a description of a weather pattern.

The derivation isn't India. It's referring to the indigenous people of North America.

Whom the Brits basically didn’t know about. They knew about India. They started trading with India in 1599 and the East India Company was established. We weren’t influenced by native people in the USA. That’s not to say Americans were not. What you read for an American audience is not the same as the longer history between the uk and India.

The expression Indian Summer has nothing to do with India and its use in UK English did come from America.

In British English, the term is used in the same way as in North America. In the UK, observers knew of the American usage from the mid-19th century onward, and The Indian Summer of a Forsyte is the metaphorical title of the 1918 second volume of The Forsyte Saga by John Galsworthy. However, early 20th-century climatologists Gordon Manley and Hubert Lamb used it only when referring to the American phenomenon, and the expression did not gain wide currency in Great Britain until the 1950s. In former times, such a period was associated with the autumn feast days of St. Martin and Saint Luke.

Indian Summer

Or The Met Office's explanation.

Met Office Indian Summer

The 1950s??? That’s not right. Just accept the English and others in India knew about an Indian summer (from Sept to Oct and coming after the monsoon) well before Victorian times. That’s the exact months when the uk gets an Indian Summer.

Er no. I'm not going to accept that because the expression "Indian Summer" has nothing to do with India.

I can't find any references supporting the idea it refers to summer in India.
Here's Encyclopaedia Britannica's entry - that was in response to "does Indian Summer have anything to do with India"?

Encyclopedia Britannica Indian Summer

Not a fan of high fashion. I like the dress you posted.

Those are "lounge pants for yoga"! Not at all suitable.

That is gorgeous!

This article is by an Indian.

Indian Summer - know your English
The Indian in the expression has nothing to do with people from our country. It refers to the ‘Red Indians’ in America — ‘Native Americans’

I never knew that thank you. I might stop using the term now.

The Indians didn’t use the term. Anyone can look up someone’s opinion but knowledge of uk history tells a different story. It’s not offensive to anyone if you accept it’s about India! No one here ever thought for a nano second about USA native practices!

You can think it's about India as much as you (personally) want but that's not the origin of the expression.

Here's an article from The Guardian explaining its use.

Manchester Guardian Indian Summer

Yes that's opened my eyes thank you

I like the big yellow skirt and I would definitely wear it, although probably with a t-shirt or some sequins 😊

I have still yet to understand how a shirt can be 'crisp' and why anyone would want it to be. And why this ridiculous term is never applied to shirts that are any colour other than white.

Starch, @SocksAndTheCity, starch. Sprayed on while ironing. It gives cotton and linen items a satisfying structure - which means when you wear your shirt it stands away from your body, giving a defined silhouette, rather than just hanging limply around you.

Don’t know about the phrase - starch works just as well on colours.