The borrowed outfit can make an important occasion possible without becoming part of the photograph’s story.

Occasions have costs that the pictures never mention. A dress, a suit, or a coat borrowed for a day can be the thing that makes attending possible, and afterwards it goes back to whoever owns it while the photograph keeps only the evening. That silence is usually a kindness, since nobody wants their presence at a wedding annotated with their bank balance. Worth remembering, though, that the ease you see in other people’s occasions was often assembled out of favours.

If you have something suitable sitting unused, tell one person it is available. Offer it plainly and let it stay between you.