Tops that do all these things...

[beanandspud]

Right, we are going away with some friends next month to a forest lodge type place and I'm having a wardrobe meltdown.

Bottom half will probably be jeans and boots/converse but I need some tops that I can wear out and about during the day (visiting local attractions, parks etc.) but that are smart enough to wear in the evenings (smart pub type places) without having to bring a change of clothes as we will probably be out all day.

Any suggestions please? My friends are all quite slim and trendy (and I'm apple-shaped and generally frumpy) so I don't want to be the one in mum-boots and a fleece all day.

I think I'm looking for "effortlessly-comfortably-classy-casual" if such a thing exists

[ujjayi]

Layers will be your friend.

Knitwear, long sleeve tees, scarves.

[specialmagiclady]

Oh the magic of a scarf! You can be wearing any old shite - practically - but if you accessorise with jaunty scarf in a colour that makes your eyes pop, people will tell you how good you look all day!

[ujjayi]

Sorry, posted quickly as dog demanding to be walked and not giving a jot about other people's style crises.

For a warm but stylish look I always go for:

Long sleeve tee - loose but not baggy and needs to be a good length in the body.
Jumper over the top with sleeves pushed up slightly so that tee is exposed at wrists and also beneath bottom of jumper; Or a slouchy cardigan (as an apple you probably want fitted though to streamline your top half).
And yes, the scarf . ( Mostly because I am nesh and suffer with chronic neck pain made worse by the cold).
Worn with straight leg or skinny jeans, converse or boots.

A smarter than average tee (try Zara's linen tees) with say a nice pendant looks fine for an evening in the pub and can be layered beneath your daytime warmer jumper option.

Helpful at all?

[CambridgeBlue]

I second the layers and ujjayi's list above sounds ideal. I've just ordered some smartish t-shirts from Next for a similar occasion and am hoping they will look stylish but not too dressy. I also ordered a bib necklace because I've seen people wearing them with casual clothes and they seem to really smarten an outfit up but I am not sure I will be able to carry it off - we shall see!

T-shirts are these - I got navy, white and grey. They've also got linen ones as mentioned above but I didn't fancy them.

And necklace is this one

[beanandspud]

Brilliant, thank you, I have somewhere to start

Any recommendations for longer-length t-shirts in slightly thicker material gratefully received! I like the look of the Next one in navy (and also the linen one) so will order that. I'm also searching for scarfs and jewellery.

Thinking of sticking to mostly navy and cream/white - I have red converses which should look ok (a bit worried out being rather too nautical for a forest lodge but I'll take that chance).

[ujjayi]

Glad to be of assistance :)

H&M long sleeve tees are good but I try to get the ones without elastane - that's just personal preference as I don't like the stretchy tight fit style.

Seasalt have the softest and best quality tees IMO. They are very warm too. Boden also have a good selection but often reviews say fabric a bit too thin.

Another option is to wear a slim fitting lightweight knit underneath a shirt. Sounds odd but for example, I wear a bright blue version of this (although mine is closer fitting) underneath a navy & white check shirt. You feel cosy without feeling like you've got your jumper on....again!

Tops like this one are also great for layering and still feeling smarter than jeans and jumper. You could try a long sleeve tee beneath or a vest top and cardigan.

Sticking to a colour palette is a great idea. Last year I used a colour palette for the first time ever (am usually a random throw it all in kind of packer!). Worked very well. I used navy and white but added too it with magenta and bright emerald (not in same outfit.....obvs!)

Jewellery and scarves - again H&M have a great selection.