Get the right look for that dinner date – the appropriate colour suit blazer, the trousers and shoes to pair with the wine and the wallet that pays for itself. Award yourself a Michelin star .

Well, look at you, with your two-person reservation at [insert impossible-to-book-Michelin-starred-hotspot here]. Presumably you’ve spent months on a waiting list, or had to call in a favour, or even done the trick where you call up and pretend to be your own assistant so you seem important enough to be granted a table. Kudos to you. Unfortunately, you’re not just several fistfuls of banknotes away from the culmination of your latest culinary fantasy, you also need to pick out something decent to wear. You can’t guzzle back that pile of meat fruit or snort asparagus cocaine wearing a battered pair of jeans and a moth-eaten sweater, can you? No, of course not – all great dinners start with a certain sense of occasion, which is why we suggest you dress accordingly…

First rule of high-end dining: don’t go overboard, suit-wise. Yes, you want to look smart, but wearing a black or grey suit makes it look like you’re out on a business dinner or, worse, that you don’t frequent eye-wateringly expensive restaurants all the time. This Hardy Amies blazer comes in a deep green hue, which delivers an appropriate amount of grandeur to your outfit, but is unstructured with patch pockets, so also seems nice and relaxed. Wear a white shirt underneath, but make use of your napkin to ensure the amuse-bouche doesn’t end up splattered all over it – that’s definitely a faux pas.

Yes, the lower half of your body will be hidden under the table for most of the evening, but that doesn’t mean it should be anything less than spectacular. Try a crisp pair of dark-brown mohair and wool-blend trousers from Prada, and wear them with a pair of Tricker’s Derbies. This burgundy pair in particular are a suitable match for all the red wine you’ll be served up via the pairing flights that are three times more expensive than even the exquisite food itself.

What’s the one thing that is an absolute requisite for fine dining? Yes, that’s it, a wallet stuffed full of credit cards and/or money. Because at the end of the day, you’ll be leaving your chosen establishment a few hundred pounds (or dollars) lighter. Best to play it down, though, when it comes to crunch time, and whip out something refined and subtle, like this “Pelle Tessuta” (that is, woven leather) wallet from Ermenegildo Zegna. A stylish pair of glasses, meanwhile, will come in handy when you’re peering at the final total, saying things like, “The bread roll cost HOW MUCH?”

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