clothes that stay the distance when you have children

[tigermoth]

I've always loved clothes, even on a limited clothes budget. However, since I've had children I am prone to burst into fits of silent laughter whenever I view what's on the rails in most high street clothes shops.

70% of the stuff found in warehouse, karen millan, zara, french connection, jigsaw, etc etc would last about five minutes in its pristine state if I wore it out with my sons. Fabrics that need dry cleaning or careful ironing, knitwear that needs hand washing, pale colours that show every dirty finger smudge, fringing, embroidery, lacy knits, etc etc just don't relate at all to my lifestyle.

I have smart work clothes hanging in the wardrobe and a few going out clothes, for the few times I need to dress up to work or to go out. But the majority of my time is spent with my children, working alone, or slobbing around. I tend to wear variations of denim, cotton and fleece - hard wearing, easy to wash, don't show all the marks. I sometimes feel I should be shopping in Millets.

There is no shop I've found that caters mainly for someone like me. I feel like an aged imposter in H and M and Top Shop, yet buy most of my 'mum on duty' and 'working alone' clothes from these places. Surely this can't be right!!!

My favourite item of winter clothing is a pair of black fleecy trousers (9.99 from H and M). Easy to wash, quick to dry (unlike denim), hard wearing, comfortable, and they don't make my bottome look big, (I think). They fit my needs perfectly. I would love to buy more pairs, but can't find any other shop that sells them.

Sometimes I feel a total freak - am I so unusual? I don't want to look old and frumpy, yet I do need practical attire to get me through the day. So I just wondered if anyone else finds this a problem, do you think mums (working or sahms) are adequately catered for by high street clothes shops? do you have a favourite mum outfit?

Another M&S and Gap fan. I also buy quite a few things from Toast (www.toastbypost.co.uk). I generally wait for the sale as they always have lots of reductions.

I wear classic Levi 501's which still manage to fit even though my "bottome" is so much larger after having dd (well, she is only 6). I think you have to say "bottome" in a Peter Sellers Pink Panther accent to get the full effect. As for going out, anything that disguises my non-existent shape is good, eg. floaty bits below and long sleeved black tops above. I'm a great fan of coats, they hide most things.

Well I decided to smarten up last autumn and buy some niceish stuff that was good for work and kids. I found a long denim skirt, 2 pairs jeans (Matalan £15 each!), a couple of nice tops (not so kid friendly as they have dangly sleeve bits, so they get tucked up at home!), and some fantastic very high heeled cowboy boots. I am a huge fan of cowboy boots, I have a pair I bought 10 years ago in America and they are still going strong. I nearly binned them when they were so unfashionable, but they seem to be back in now.

I find New Look quite good, you can get tops under a £10 which work for about 6 months until they look worn! I also shop in Asda all the time, and Matalan. I find these three shops keep me going.

Goodie,a thread about clothes.Batey,I'm a recent fat face fan but haven't bought anything yet!My mother gave me one of their fleecy zip up tops as she didn't like the colour and it's brill-I wear it practically every day now.I sent off for their catalogue and haven't they gor some lovely stuff.But-like Crunchie I'm trying to smarten up a bit and decided I like skirts,with boots.Trouble is I'm looking for a patchwork skirt anywhere and have seen a gorgeous one at JoJomamanbebe.I'm not pregnant though-so do I get it or not?It's got d rings on it??I don't know what those are?

Somebody mentioned having 2 good pairs of black trousers to cover smartness requirements - pls can somebody tell me where I can get some with a minimum 34" inside leg, stretchy waist to accommodate my large middle, washable/easy care but not polyester (ugh), and all for no more than about £30 and pref less?

Oh - and available in Blackburn or Burnley! (Or Preston or Mancs at a pinch.) (I hate big shopping trips!)

Thanks in advance, all!

I got my black trousers from Peacocks, the first pair were £13, and the second pair(exactly the same)were in the sale so only £8, they fall realy well, wash well and if I put them over the radiator, don't need ironing !!
I don't know how they are for tall people though, as I'm only 5f 1, and had to cut off about 6 inches. I think Evans do things for tall people, they also do big shoes.

Glad to see I am not alone - since finishing work and having my daughter, I have lived in jeans and a variety of shirts/tops. I used to wear suits and business wear for work and so at times wonder if i should be wearing dressier clothes - more skirts, boots etc when going out. I tend to just puton a smart shirt with my jeans and coat and off we go.

M&S, H&M for clothes to wear around the house. Jeans are ones I have had forever from BHS.

Sobernow - my feet too got a size larger - now an 8 and I am in the flat secure shoe rage. I have no high heels anymore and the highest is about an inch!!

JANH i do know of a store down our way called long tall sally which caters for tall women. Do not know if there is an outlet up your way?!? Perhaps you could do a search??

I am off to check out New Look though - have not been in there yet!

jahn - M&S do good stretchy trousers in black every season a slightly different style, and they do all their trousers in short, medium or long, and sometimes extra long, too! Also - machine washable - good with sticky mits around.

JanH, Gap trousers in "long" length are at least 34 inches - not all ranges come in different lengths though and I think they're over £30 unless you find some on sale (I did ). I think Next do some trousers in long and extra long but in a limited range.

Debenhams.com do have 7 pairs of trousers in their "The Look - Tall, for women over 5'7" " range in their Spring catalogue. All are £30 or under but don't have elasticated waists! I have the catalogue but struggled to find them on the website without having the catalogue number.

I guess you can't have it all...

I mostly wear bootleg trousers of all descriptions although agree about the low waists just now. I tried a pair on in M&S Per Una and it barely covered the pubic hair (sorry) and the flabby belly spilling out the top was not attractive.

I buy quite alot of stuff in Per Una mind you and find their cotton tops good value, I like Next but mostly in the sale and good old George at Asda. I have two pairs of the M&S stretchy black trousers and love them, the newer pair of the two has a control panel at the belly, very handy, just don't do what I did one day and put them on back to front, it took until about lunch time to work out what was wrong.

star D rings will be to alter the size of the waist band for pregnancy.

tigermoth, I also bemoan the lack of lightweight fleeces, at the moment I am Gap, Gap, Gap. I even tried Boden for a fleece (not really my style but I like the kids stuff) and it was the most horrible cut, short, wide and not suitable for anyone over 5 foot. I like the trendy Diesel tops that my dp has but the womens ones are all tiny and SHORT, my personal bugbear as I am tall with a L-o-n-g body. If you find any nice ones, let me know!

This subject is a bit depressing at the moment as at 30wks pg nothing fits and I am living in a couple of pairs of M&S jogging trousres at home and not looking much better at work! But do plan wardrobe overhaul after baby appears so this thread is v interesting. I like Gap and M&S if you have a good sort through. Think I need to do a Trinny and Susannah and rethink along the lines of more fitted/more v-necks for cleavage (not for a few weeks yet!) so may venture to New Look (always looks scary and young). Jigsaw always seems to have nothing for anyone under about 5ft 10. Are we all condemned to fleeces and jeans forever? Can I just put in a vote-ette for Boden? Very expensive tho so best in the sale (online is best).

I don't think I dress much differently to my pre-child days although I had a period of despair when none of my clothes fitted. For work I wear mainly shirt/trouser suits from the Next outlet with similarly sourced blouses or sometimes a skirt and jumper. A lot of these clothes were purchased prior to my pregnancy.

However I do find that my casual clothes wear a lot quicker now. Firstly the knees on my trousers (esp jeans) are always fading and wearing out. Then all my other clothes get washed so regularly (due to being covered in sick/porridge/baked beans/mud) that they quickly end up out of shape and bobbly (this is the main problem with fleece IMO).

Enid, I was so desperate for a lightweight fleece that I succumbed and got a boden one in the sale - it's like a round necked long sleeved 't'shirt. Is that the one you are referring to? Absolutely no offence taken. It is definitely shapeless on me and I do feel I look more than a bit mumsy in it, but the colour is OK. Some clothes like this make me feel so depressingly drab for no good reason, yet I still crave sensible clothes. So many things are either one thing or the other. Totally agree that so many fleeces (and a fair few t shirts) are just too short. Look awful, especially if I try and team them with hipster trousers (have to be very careful with those, too). If I sit down the resulting band of back flesh is not a pretty sight.

star, that patchwork skirt sounds nice. If it was me, I'd order it, try it on, D rings and all, then make a final decision. You can always send it back - are returns free?

large bottome, non existant shape? CAM - judging by your elegant and svelte appearance at the meetups, I think you are not describing yourself at all accurately here.

If you are looking for lightweiht fleeces try Uniqlo, very good and cheap

Long Tall Sally do mail order and internet shopping, I think, janh. I'm 5ft 11" and their clothes are on the whole too long for me! I think their standard leg length is 34" and possibly also 36" (sorry, can't find their catalogue just now).

You beat me to it Tigermoth - CAM do you have a mirror at home ??!

For those of you have not encountered her, she looks like she's on a day trip from Paris and would still look good wrapped in a bin liner..

Thanks, everybody, for Long Black Trouser suggestions - M & S sounds like the most likely source though for extra long I'd probably have to go into Mancs (I'll see if I can find a stray daughter to escort me.) Soupdragon, I'll try to look in Gap and Next at the same time but they sound tight to me! (The trousers, not the shops.)

Caroline and eidsvold, I have tried Long Tall Sally but like Caroline they tend to be too long for me (they generally start at 36", and I never wear heels - bad enough being slightly over 6' when you're a slob, imagine being 6'2 or 6'3 in heels and still looking a slob!) (Conspicuous? Moi?)

jac34, I will look in Peacocks too but somehow doubt they'd be quite long enough - trouble is I get so used to not finding things I tend to stop looking anywhere. (Though have just spotted clary's post about Jigsaw not having anything if you're under 5'10 - where do I find them, please?)

I've been enjoying the big bottome posts - I have one of those too!

um - Jigsaw - just googled it in Manchester - suggets it's a Beckham kind of shop. Not me, then!

Aargh, hipster trousers and short tops. Am I the only person who does NOT want to be confronted with someone's belly (and they're not usually well-toned) every time I walk down the street? Put it away! It's winter for God's sake!

tigermoth, thanks for the tip. jigsaw is one of my hangouts, had assumed all the cords there were low rise without even trying!

i'm surprised boden doensn't figure more in this list. i'm not keen on a lot of their stuff myself, but have seen some plain basics (including high waist cords - hooray!) that i might get. it seems expensive for what it is imo and some of the stuff is very easily identifiable when you see it out and about...

tinker, if you are tall, like me, you are condemned to hiking trousers up and t shirts down atm - even the tops that are not actually cropped are really short in the body... it's so unflattering on a rather overweight post childbirth body...

I am definitely Gap for basicas and H&M for the fashionable stuff taht will not last as it's so cheap. Work clothes, I used to go to Next and bought suits in Italy were the're cheaper and better quality.

Going out is a huge problem, fashion only caters for size10 girls, with long legs.
I remember I had to go to a wedding when dd was 2 months, still breastfeeding, so was wearing those horrible feeding bras that I needed to hide, had a lovely black skirt but could not find anything anywhere to wear on top that wasn't too short, or see-through (that would have been chic with my maternity bar), or super tight. In the end I had to buy a shapeless blouse from a older women range, thanks very much.