Now that I’m in my thirties, I thought I had an outfit to match every occasion and dress code, from “creative black tie” to “casual dressy” to “festive.” (In a nutshell: black is always acceptable, and when in doubt bring extra shoes.)

That’s what I thought, at least until this week, when one invite had me stumped. I was pysched to be invited to be part of the audience at the taping of Manor of Speaking, Ernie Manouse’s fun Downton Abbey recap show that airs each week directly after the costume drama. I was planning to just head to the studio in my regular work clothes until I read the e-mail instructions.