to wonder where exaclty IS suitable for 40'somethings to shop for clothes?

[MilliONaire]

So. If Boden, Joules, jigsaw, Whistles etc are too 'boring & middle class', H&M, topsho, primark are too cheapy and 'trendy' (for the most part) & designers are too expensive - then where is left for a 40yr old to buy clothes?

Just wondering......

LK Bennet, Isabella Oliver, Reiss and Biba are my current favourites. Boden clothes are good quality but some of the winter stuff looks a bit Marks and Spencerish.

I think you should just shop wherever you want to and buy whatever you like and whatevery suits you!

I am in my mid-thirties and still shop at all the shops I shopped at in my early twenties; New Look, Next, Primark, Peacocks, Dotty P's etc. I just buy things that aren't (quite) as revealing/short/extreme as I used to.

Doh! Should say whatever suits you not whatevery

i like white stuff, Boden, John Lewis's own label, Wallis (sometimes).

used to like Principles for their trousers but now it is at debenhams as they do not fit me.

Per Una is ok but overpriced and a bit predictable.

bought a knitted dress thing yesterday from White Stuff which is quite short but it can be worn with leggings or thick tights and boots. always seem to end up with blue items.

I like to look up to date but not in competition with my teenage daughters i.e a bit muttony

I like Next, Debenhams,Warehouse but have a nose in most shops for things that take my eye. Only shops i avoid that i used to go in are shops like Jane Norman overpriced cheap tat !
In the summer i ordered a Red Herring dress from Debenhams . When it came i really thought it was far to young for me but i liked it !
It was a grey jumper dress with a cream netting skirt real fashion victim stuff Anyway i could not be bothered to send it back so took a deep breath and wore it to our local fete along with a lovely sparkley headband. I got more compliments than i have done for years with people saying i looked younger ! So my message is where what you like.

Monty I've got six trendy cardigans(and I love them so) but why should we always have to buy a cardi that goes instead of a dress with sleeves?

I reckon if someone set up a website called dresses wot only have sleeves dot com they'd be a millionaire!

Don't see anything wrong with 40 plus women being trendy. Some of them look a lot better in Primark etc clothes than some of the teens and twenties I've seen who haven't a clue how to put an outfit together or think a micro mini on fat, bare, white legs is a good look .

Cos rocks, Jaeger have some amazing stuff these days and I buy tonnes of Paul Smith off ebay.

This is all nonsense of course.
It doesn't really matter where you buy but what you buy.
Past a certain age the things that are ageing are shite fabrics and poor cut. You can get these anywhere, just look at moschino or cavalli. Equally even miss selfridge or h&m are capable of producing good tailoring and decent fabric cut well.

I buy basic bits from lk Bennett, nicol fahri, whistles, day birger , Paul smith and some designers. Then I mix that with decent fashion items from the high street. It works for me.

I am nearly fifty but I have good arms and torso so I can wear pretty dresses and tops but I need good tailor ing around the arse. The full skirt, kitten heels thing has been working for me.

You can have a fab figure at 40 plus. But just because you can wear skinny jeans and a t-shirt doesn't mean it will look good on everyone. Jeans can work at any age but nylon and cheap polyester are really really ageing.

wynken -congratulations on the weight loss! And best of luck with the new wardrobe, how very exciting! I think if I were you I would save like mad whilst loosing the rest of the weight and then book a day with a stylist in one of the big shops, that way you can be a bit pampered, try on everything and anything to see what you like and what suits you and then kick start your new wardrobe. Keep us posted how it all goes!!

I agree with you all that it is possible to shop pretty much anywhere & I certainly don't want to have that M&S 'Mumsey' look but sometimes it is a pain in the ass having to trawl through shops that are full of stuff that is just not suitable. I have to admit I very rarely bother with places like H&M, topshop, primark anymore as I find the quality very shoddy and I just can't be doing with cheaply cut clothes anymore. It has become all about quality rather than quantity for me these days and I buy very selectively. I am working on trying to get a capsule wardrobe going where things are easy to put together & I look good most of the time.

My dd started school this year and I think seeing how many of the mums have really let themselves go has spurred me on a bit. That sounds bitchy and I don't mean it to be, I completely understand how having children, not having much money or time for yourself can lead to lack of attention to how you look, and indeed, it just may not be a prioirty for some. But for me - I don't want to slip into the big but comfy jeans & sweatshirt and runners 'look'. I turned 40 this year and it made me more determined to make the most of what I have!

As for 'jeggings' I would have said work of the devil UNTIL I found the French Connection skinny denim jeggings - they are very pricey but have absolutely changed my life!! I never wear them without a long top/tunic/cardigan and I tuck them into brown leather knee high boots but they are the business - try them and see!!!!

I bought 2 gorgeous tunic style tops/dresses in Noa Noa sale yesterday and I will wear them with the above mentioned jeggings and boots & a lovely jersey scarf from (the dreaded) boden - perfect comfy but more stylish than tracksuit everyday outfit!

Where do you all buy jeans? I have 3 pairs from seven for all mankind (there is an outlet near my parents house which is very handy) and I find them to be the best fit of any jeans I have ever had!

I tried on an allsaints tunic yesterday and I swear it made me look like an actual sack of potatoes, it was quite shocking! I can't seem to manage to do that 'drapey' style at all

I am 51 next year, 6 feet tall and size 14.
I love skinny jeans, boots, tunics, leggings.
I struggle in the summer with what to wear more than the winter.
I shop in Esprit, Fat Face, Mint Velvet (lots of grey in my wardrobe!)
Would love some new shops rather than chains.

I buy from H & M, Top Shop, Kew, Boden, Jaeger outlet, Gap, Hobbs, Kaliko and the odd T shirt from Sainsburys (oh the shame ). If I see something elsewhere that I like, I buy it, think its down to having a fashion conscious daughter as an alibi to go in anywhere....

PS Have just had a look at Mint Velvet - oooo thanks, right up my street

All Saints outfits are made for tuberculoid anorexics with the sort of colouring that suits sludge. Their clothes are pointless challenging - don't beat yourself up about it.

Agree with pagwatch about good fabrics and cut.

I am not much bigger than I was as sweet young thing, though of course with less definition and thicker around the waist. I still could not wear what I wore then - it just looks wrong.

What about Benetton? Also, i am a jeggings convert - haven't tried fcuk but Wallis are good. I also like Jane Norman trousers and bardot jumpers. Next can be good, cheap t-shirts at new look for layering.

I like clothes and I think you must all take a good look at Toast. It's a bit expensive (but yummy) and I think their sale starts tomorrow. I also like Whistles, Zadig & Voltaire, J Crew and M&S Limited Collection.

Everyone needs to start weaning themselves off the jeggings in the spring and move on to Chinos (what about these by Current/Elliott or something similar from Gap/Banana Republic).

Wallis, New Look, H&M, yes some M&S too. Office for shoes.

Boden.. way too twee for me.

I think the simple answer is to forget about your age! Fashion and shopping has nothing to do with age- it's about how you put together a few items of clothing.

I have seen 60 yr olds in clothes that would barely suit a 14yr old with a perfect figure, so it's all about knowing your body chape, maximising your assets and disguising your bad bits.

"Age wise" I ought to be in Alexon, Kaliko and CC but have some stuff from Top Shop, as well as the usual high st culprits- White Stuff, White Company, Boden,Kew, Jigsaw, etc.

They aren't al boring- don't really know what you mean by that.

If you want something trendier get yourself to Top Shop.

Jeggings.. >>

Zadig and Voltaire stuff always looks nice but the only stores I have been into seem to have the style of assistant that thinks they should be allowed to decide who comes in. The one time I picked stuff up to buy the girl was so rude I put it all down and walked out.

Was I just unlucky?

I think what is really scary about this thread is that so many women seem to think that being 40 or over is old!

If you look after your figure and your face, get a decenthari cut, look after your teeth and are groomed ( that's not to say made up like B Cartland) then you can wear pretty much the same clothes from 30-60, if you shop carefully.

Skinny jeans, tunic tops, leggings ( only on anyone under a size 14 imo), knee length stragith skirts with flat boots and opaques....

and add either some quirky jewellery or soemthing more classic to suit your taste.

I actually like M&S - I avoid the Per Una stuff, have bought the odd jumper in there but it's too Audrey Roberts (corrie) for me - and my mum buys it. Per Una Roma fit jeans are good as they sit on the waist. The ordinary ranges are good, mix with slightly funkier bits from next/new look. If I had the money (andcould afford the dry cleaning bills) I'd shop in phase eight or jigsaw.

Work clothes = Jigsaw
Casual clothes = Gap
All black, charcoal, silver grey or dove grey.
Don't care. Might possibly care more if it was ever summer again.
Would try Boden except that I never buy stuff I can't try on, because I am a peculiar shape (waist is noticeably smaller than hips which apparently makes me a freak of some kind).

I don't think I dress hugely differently from when I was in my twenties/early thirties. There are some items I dismiss as being way too young for me eg very short skirts,or very baby dollish dresses but otherwise I haven't changed my style hugely. I do think I've got better at knowing what suits me and have more confidence in my taste and am not as anxious to look like everyone else as I once was. I've also got much better at casual dressing and don't feel I have to be super well dressed just to go to the supermarket (I suppose I've copped on to the fact that no one is really looking at me .

I will be 45 next birthday and am at this moment wearing a Boden denim mini (not really short) and a primark jumper.

If you like it and feel good in it, it shouldn't matter what age you are.