I am sick to death of being such a low scruffy, tatty neglected individual, so i have decided that...

[brokeoven]

I am going to buy myself a new wardrobe in the new year in the sales.

I wear 2 pairs of jogging pants that i bought about 7 years ago after having ds.
I own about 4 T shorts and was given a papir of jeans.
I have 2 jumpers.
That is it.
I dnt even own a nice winter coat.

Ive lost a stone, so now think its time to glam up a bit, might even buy a bit of tut...hmmmmm

Went to visit a friend today who has a cafe, even though she was at work, she looked nice, smart but casual in a minimum effort type way. I honstly felt embarrassed and a bit ashamed at how i looked.

How many of you suffer self neglect when it comes to your appearance and why?

It's surprisingly easy to get stuck in a style rut after having a baby. I went from very busy job where I had to dress smart casual (working in the arts so less formal and more lee-way for personal style) to being a sahm. I found that although I was lucky and fitted back into my pre-baby clothes very quickly, they were no longer suited to the 24hrs a day job of bf'ing and minding a new born. I spend an embarrassing amount of time slobbing about in my pj's or some velevt tracksuit bottoms.

I had a handful of things I wore if leaving the house. And that was fine for a while, but then that started to depress me. And so I started trying to figure out what to buy that suited my 'new life'.

It's bloody hard - firstly you don't have the disposable income if you have given up wrk to be a sahm, secondly you sort of loose touch with trends/styles etc, thirdly actually finding the time to go shopping can be a challenge.

I used to find that if I bought a new top it would be worn out and washed to death by the time I'd managed to get something to go with it. So I persuaded my family and dh to give me money/vouchers one christmas & birthday (they are close enought together) and my mum minded dd for a day and I made a list of what basics I needed, starting with getting a decent bra fitted, then I got about 4 or 5 long sleeved tops, a couple of cardigans, some trousers, a pair of jeans, a jacket (I greatly benefitted from the sales!) I got everything so it all sort of went together or contrasted but there was little effort required to 'put together' outfits. I had this as the core of my wardrobe for about 2 yrs and added to it whenever I could afford to. I simplified things by getting rid of any stuff I no longer wore - passed it on to friends or charity shops.

Now I am ok again, have a few nice bits and pieces for everyay and one or two 'good' things for the rare occassions that require dressing up.

Good luck with it - definitely do it for yourself - you will feel a million times better when you do. And if you can at all - get your hair cut/coloured too - you'll be like a new woman!!!

My top priority at the moment is to be comfy, clean and warm. I am 33 weeks pregnant. Although, I have always been a scruff bag (but have never worn jogging bottoms or leggings).

I hope to discover a new me in a few years time when I will lose some weight and start to give a toss before it's too late, then I will come on this topic board and see how things should be done from the wonderfully stylish ladies here.

I do have some pride though - always very clean and wear a small amount of make up so I don't look like the undead.

Poor you, nothing worse than feeling down on yourself.

If you are looking for inspiration Id recommend a read at the Wearing It Today blog , I love her style and she gives really good tips.

My favourite one is when buying new clothes to decide on 2 neutral colours (black & grey or navy&grey, or navy&camel for example) and buy all your basics in those colours then add a few items or accessories in a different, brighter colour (maybe red/pink or green or whatever you are drawn to) to add interest.

Ive been trying this out and find its so much easier to look well put together when most of my things work well together (Ive bought a few pieces of knitwear in grey, some grey,black and white plain or stripey tops and some red bits and pieces for interest)

Definitely make a list before you hit the shops and enjoy!!

It's not that hard...

depending on your style you might like to look at:

2 pairs jeans- skinny or straight leg- dark wash which look smarter
T shirts and tank tops or tunics ove
Casual skirt
knee high chunky boots
plimsoll type shoes for summer
ballet pumps
selection of jumpers and cardis
warm winter coat

I tend to stick to a colour scheme so that most things go with everything else.
I wear a lot of grey, blues, including teal,some black, neutral tapue/camel shades, and white long sleeved Ts or camis underneath.