Anyone for an arty party?

Here's the problem: it's a Thursday night and I'm fed up with the TV but pubs/bars/clubs aren't having the same intoxicating allure either.  

So what do I do?  The sum total of my sporting prowess was a hole in one at crazy golf in 1995.  So joining a sports club is an option I don't particularly want to consider - ever. 

But when a friend invited me to a private view in an art gallery in London, I was pleasantly intrigued.  Especially when coupled with the magic phrase: free drink! 

Because that's what it essentially is: a kind of party in a gallery where people can mingle over a drinkie (or 2) surrounded by beautiful pieces of art.  

So obviously my first thought was not about the logistics of how I was going to get there but the more pressing detail of what to wear (of course). 

The only private views I'd ever been to were for end-of-term shows we put on when I was an art student.  I'd never been to a proper one before; by that I mean one where the art on show was for sale and the asking price upwards of £3500 - gulp! 

A cursory look at the blurb on the invite told me that the works of art on display were sculptures. The gallery was just off Oxford St in London's West End.

So armed with this info I tried to work out the type of people who would be there, and more crucially, what they'd be wearing. 

Would such an event attract the hip, arty types of Hoxton and Shoreditch? Or would its more mainstream location draw in the conservative connoisseurs who view art more as a business investment than for its aesthetic qualies? 

Well, of course I had to wear black; it's derigeur for any art enthusiast don't you know!  And this gorgeous dress from Boohoo.com ticks all the boxes: obviously it's black, the PVC panel adds an edgy touch but the contour-hugging tailoring is both sexy and sophisticated: perfect for an evening soirée.  

But what to wear with it: it's September and the weather has turned a bit chilly so I'll need a jacket.  I don't want to wear all black; It's too obvious.  But this longline jacket from River Island adds a splash of colour yet is still cool enough to rub shoulders with the arty elite.

And these boots, also from River Island, are amazing too.  Cool, sexy and bang on trend. 

So fast forward to the evening of the do, and we're standing in a long, white room lined with beautiful sculptures - fragmented female faces with doleful expressions hinting at personal sadness and inner traumas.  

And we were the only ones there, apart from a couple of others, a man and woman both dressed almost identically in denim jackets and cargo shorts. 

Did I feel overdressed? Hell yes! 

Was I bothered?  Definitely not! I'm always overdressed - in fact I reckon my epitaph should read "Never knowingly under-dressed".   I really don't do casual, it's not a word in my vocabulary.  

However, fast forward an hour and the room was buzzing, the drinks flowing and the fashions a heady eclectic mix of Chelsea designer chic and punky art school cool.  

And then there was me dressed head-to-toe in my high st finery but of course - always with glamour! 

For a different social experience get on the mailing list for your local gallery and get invites mailed to you for private views and exhibition opening nights.  

I went to Lionel Smit's Fragmented at the Rook and Raven Gallery in Central London. For more information visit their website at www.rookandraven.co.uk