How to look more chic/polished

[Luggagerackistopheavy]

I'm short and fat. Most of the time I look quite scruffy and I go for comfort above looks.

How the heck do I start to look more chic/polished/tidy as a short fatty?

Lose weight, take more exercise. Get your hair cut at a really good hairdresser. Go to John Lewis and ask for a personal shopper, or take a friend who has good dress sense. Go to a good make up counter and ask for make up advice and a free make over. Ditch your current clothes and make up if you can afford it and start over. Don’t keep things ‘for best’. Get your nails done and have a facial.

I should take my own advice.

Also look at yourself in the mirror before you leave the house and be honest with yourself. Look at Susan Calman. She has lost loads of weight after getting a personal trainer and looks SO much better.

I do lots of exercise and I've lost nearly 3 stone. A few more to go though.

I can't afford a whole new wardrobe but can afford some new clothes.

I always think wearing black and white looks quite chic. One of my work outfits is literally just a black and white stripe tshirt with some slightly cropped black wide leg trousers that show a flash of ankle. In the summer I've been wearing them with white trainers. Some red trainers might look good with it for contrast.

Lord knows where I got the idea from, but I was hankering after a nice sweatshirt for a while for comfort and I found a bright blue M&S one in a charity shop, so I now drape it over my shoulders with the above outfit.

I think sometimes, for me anyway, there's no point trying a to buy a wardrobe of 'smart' clothes as that just isn't my style, but spending more on neutral casual basics and splashes of colour seems to be working. I also do make sure I 'scrub up well' for the occasion with some (not expensive) dresses that fit me really well in colours that really suit me.

I am also quite careful about how and when I wear patterns and size of patterns as they can become harder to coordinate.

I wear a lot of white and cream. It automatically looks more fancy as people don’t wear it as they think it’s high maintenance

Everything I buy is machine washable so it’s not high maintenance. I also only buy silk, linen, cotton. And I iron them. And I buy everything second hand as I’m cheap.

White fills me with dread as I know I'd get it dirty within 5 minutes.

Get your nails and eyebrows done professionally. Keep the nails low key. Wear lipstick and decent jewellery (doesn't have to be expensive but for example simple gold/silver studs/hoops just make it look as though you have tried a bit more).

Well done with the weight loss!
Don't totally buy a new wardrobe now if pp have said when you've got more to go!

Buy a few smart staples . Work out which colour suits you ('get your colours done')
And get about three summery outfits (eg blouse to wear with leggings, shirt or top and a plain dress, try Uniqlo) to tide you over summer. Throw away or recycle any bobbled clothes.

Concealer over spots , keep hair touched up if you dye it and blow dry your hair properly.

Whiten teeth if you can.

Always have clean shoes. Wash or replace them.

File and buff your nails if you don't keep up pained nails well enough. I do this now as I couldn't keep my manicures not chipped for long enough and don't want to have permanent gel nails.

I bought some smallish dumbbells and started doing weighted squats, also bought a foam roller that i put under my lower back to do leg raises, that’s helping strengthen my core and legs, i do that every morning for however long i can manage, more walking, very slow going and have lost 2 stone (taken over a year as haven’t cut out food)
i also don’t eat breakfast, first meal is lunch.
i use nail wraps so my hands look nice and my hair is always straightened, those 2 things alone make me feel better.
decent clothes, v neck, cinched in waist dresses

No patterns on new clothes

Sorry cross post, well done on the weight loss that’s great!

I'm a big fan of buying more than one of the same thing especially if its white.

So, two of the same white top - choose a fabric like cotton or linen that can be washed with whitening powder on 60 or 90 degrees.

I've put on a lot of weight on recent years, and no amount of money or resources will make me look polished or chic. I've very much come to the conclusion that body shape is a big factor in this. Well done on your weight loss!

John Lewis personal shoppers only help small thin people as they only sell small thin clothes.

Firstly, rid yourself of the presumably ingrained idea that comfort and polish are diametrically opposed. People aren’t stupid - those who care about looking polished are also perfectly capable of choosing clothes that fit well, in natural fabrics - so they’re also comfortable. (Only on MN have I encountered this strange belief that comfort can only mean ten year old jersey dungarees picked up for thruppence in a charity shop.)

I’d start with your hair - whether shaved, bed head, or hip length plait, if it looks ‘intentional’ it’s the first thing people will notice.

Buy and use a decent iron and ironing board.

Polish your shoes.

Do your hair, iron your clothes, polish your shoes if they need it. Put on a bit of makeup, earrings. Wear clothes that fit well. Find some photos of the style you're after and analyse the wearer. Most of it is down to looking "groomed".

Dress for your body shape. I'm short, fat and slovenly too. But I look taller and slimmer and put together dressing for my body shape vs not - night and day difference. In fact I'd even say I look great. Look up body shape on the concept wardrobe website, and their dressing recommendations.

Also go for comfortable but luxurious looking fabrics.

Go for more permanent/semi permanent solutions like paying for a good haircut, eyebrow embroidery, eyelash extensions, etc so you don't have to do daily styling and grooming. I should take my own advice on this count.

This is my life long quest as a fellow hobbit. I still clearly remember in my early 20s meeting my mate to go shopping and I turned up in old trainers and touseled hair. She had polished boots, a coat that fitted her properly and swishy hair. Both outfits cost the same, she looked so put together and I looked like a swamp monster.

i say jewellery. Even cheap stuff (I like H&M) makes things look intentional. Make up that suits you - I realise recently that strong lipstick regardless of colour doesn’t suit me so I am better with a softer colour. For nails I recently got a nail treatment from nails inc that has a sheer rosy glow. Doesn’t chip but brings a touch more finish. Go up a size if you need to.

i think maybe spend time on yourself like a project. I have sort of revived Sunday bath night as time to do nails, deep condition hair, remove other bits of hair I do t want etc. put time aside to shop so you aren’t rushed.

I've no idea what eyebrow embroidery is and have never done eyelash extensions. I don't even wear make up very often.

I don't think it's very common in the UK - it's kind of only on chavvy orange fake tan types in the UK. Not sure. I'm from another country originally but live in the UK. But most (non chavvy looking!) British celebs will have had it done, subtly enough to always look gorgeous. It's obvious if you look closely

Small changes will make a difference

A lot of the advice here is useful but I think the number one thing for not looking frumpy or scruffy is not to wear baggy clothes. You can get away with this baggy oversized look when you're young, thin and tall but as Ive discovered, looking 'floaty' just looks like Im wearing a nightie or someone elses clothes

So I make sure I get the smallest size I can get away with, wear belts to give me a waist as I havent got one, slim leg trousers, although I have got some wide leg trousers but the cut has to be quite specific because I dont have any hips or bum and if the cut is wrong I just look like Im wearing trousers for gardening or something.

Eyebrow embroidery is pretty much just another name for micro-blading.

OP my (somewhat controversial - judging by MN S&B "rules") tips would be (a) don't rule out pattern and (b) not all polyester is the spawn of the devil.

Well done with the weight loss and enjoy your evolving style 🙂

Consider five things: clothes, hair, makeup, shoes, accessories. To look polished you need to make sure three out of these five are polished enough, so if you are not wearing makeup or accessories, make sure you have nice hair, but if you are wearing nice makeup, styled your hair, and have good shoes on, whatever you wear would look polished.