I am in a pickle. My boyfriend's company Christmas do is less than a week away and I have nothing to wear.

Obviously that is not strictly true but if you are a girl or know any, then you will understand what I am getting at. There is literally nothing in my wardrobe that I want to wear to meet the people that my boyfriend works with. You might think that this is ridiculous and that there are people starving all over the world and I am worried about a dress, but it is all relative. In fact as I type this I am wondering whether I should be donating my Christmas dress money to a suitable charity and stop being so selfish.

Sadly, I really want a nice new dress and am feeling selfish.

I am a tad nervous about meeting his work colleagues and so in order to feel confident I would like to be all sparkly and new. I also want my boyfriend to think that I look nice and be proud to have me on his arm. I am sure that he will be, regardless of what I wear, but if I turn up with a sheep skin rug wrapped round me with a piece of string as a belt, he might not be so pleased that he invited me.

Boyfriend, if you are reading this, then don’t worry I have no intention of wearing a sheep skin rug with a piece of string as a belt. But if it is raining, then be assured that I will be wearing the blue raincoat with the umbrellas on, that looks like it belongs to a child and that you hate. Pray for clear skies.

I feel like I have been in every shop in Brighton and found nothing that I like, or that isn’t like something I already own (and don’t want to wear) or that costs the earth.

This is my current dilemma. Utterly trivial and banal?

Yes.