'Tis the season of parties and all of the minefields that come with them.  I felt very old at work when I felt uncomfortable wearing fancy dress to work - after all, it is work, the very anti-thesis of 'fun'...So, I thought I met them half-way and wore something rather fancier than average (and in red), only to find that only 1 person (other than the organiser herself) had worn fancy dress...felt so much better, that at least if I was miserable, I was amongst friends.

The invitation said ‘fancy dress’: she shuddered.   Etiquette already requires wearing a sociable mask and playing a part: why do we hate being ourselves so much?