clueless about style and fashion

[IShallWearMidnight]

OK, I'm having a break from being out and about for the next 6 weeks (foot operation) and am taking some time to evaluate my life.

Where do I start with clothes and makeup and what colours and styles suit me? I don't like shopping (trying on clothes/getting undressed in changing rooms) or hairdressers (inane chatter about my holidays) and have no idea what colours actually suit me. Plus my budget is £0, although I know I need to buy some more stuff in the summer, as last year's T-shirts are faded and shrunk. And I'm growing out my hair dye and embracing the grey, so I'll need to start wearing makeup to hide the shiney red cheeks and forehead which will be more obvious once i'm all silver round my face.

I know I need to lose weight/tone up, so that's a great excuse for not actually doing anything. Will start doing somethign about that as well.

Any free online resources for a starting point, as I have plenty of sitting on the sofa, laptop at the ready time lined up . Then I can make a list of stuff to ggo and look at/try on after April.

Also any quick fix/big impact suggestions? Drinking mroe water, getting more sleep will improve my skin I know. Anything else?

what age group are you in? that will help with regards to clothes.

Red, Purple and Brown top/dresses look really good against silver/grey hair - as long as the foundation is good

just turned 40. Love purple actually, but never sure whether it loves me. i'm generally a jeans and a top kind of person, but I also have a lot of long skirts which I never seem to wear. Are long skirts in or out fashion wise? Would I look like a mad old hippy this summer?

I'm just having a massive confidence crisis I think, and need some baby steps to get me out of it.

VG article in todays sunday times style
That basically said it's best to be true to yourself and not follow fashion.
Cited pix of Jennifer Aniston trying to be sexy looked awful as actually what works for her is being Rachel - i.e. preppy girl next door with the occasional pencil skirt.

But baby steps work and hope the op goes/went well.

OK, 5'6, lumpy size 14/16. Hair was dark originally, dyed light red/copper, now three inches of silver roots at front, grey/dark at back. Currebtly a chin length bob with some layers (but it's goign shorter later on today to get rid of soem more of the dye). Skin - think "ruddy complexion" would describe it - I used to be very freckly, but they've mostly faded, and now I have red cheeks, nose, chin and forehead. Burn very easily, don't tan (Scottish blood ).

I always think of myself as having a fat round face, but actually it's oval, there's a hint of a cheekbone, but generally plumpish. Eyes - a sort of bluey-grey/green colour with bits of brown, a real mixture. They tend to pick up on whatever colour I'm wearing, so blue with blue, green with green.

Does any of that help?

I'd guess, from your description of your natural colouring, that you're a 'winter' - but it is just a guess, based on your 'Scottish/Celtic' colouring of pale skin contrasted with dark hair, and tendency to 'high' colouring.

If this is the case, you should wear silver rather than gold jewellery, you can wear black and white next to your face, and you are lucky to be able to wear lovely strong, jewel-like colours (emerald, ruby, etc.)

You don't say how old you are, but 'winters' are generally lucky in that their hair goes grey beautifully, so they don't need to worry about covering it (unless they feel like it, obv).

You say your shape is 'lumpy', which I take to mean you consider yourself as overweight - but you could be one of several shapes and your clothes need to flatter that shape, whether you're over- or underweight.

So, hourglass, inverted triangle, pear, rectangle - which do you think?

Long skirts or 'Maxy skirts' are very much in. But best to were ones that almost tthe floor and are tight fitting. New look do fab animal print ones.

It sounds to me as if you want to know what suits you, which is more important to my mind than knowing what's 'in' - although you do have to keep a weather eye on this to avoid looking totally antiquated.

A naff-sounding but really useful book for this is called 'The Science of Sexy' - excerpt here.

Looks at all the different possible shapes women can be and pinpoints styles and shapes to suit each one.

Eg as an hourglass, I could never wear a tight-fitting maxi - would look like a sack of spuds - but a tight-fitting above-the-knee skirt with a kick-pleat, or a nicely cut mini would be fab.

Determine what suits you first, then look at what's in fashion and edit what you buy accordingly.

hmm, yes, i do prefer silver to gold jewellery (sp?), and the DDs tell me I look OK in stronger colours.

Body shape, well I was looking at this site earlier, and the body shape D is most like me. Except with more belly and hips, and slightly less thigh.

bestmamaderwelt - I saw those skirts the other week I think, but I'm not sure that I'm tall enough (school run is along dog poo central so anything which might trail along the ground is out). Could take up the hem a bit though, and New Look is definitely my budget at the moment!

That looks like a pear shape to me.

If you google 'dressing a pear shape' you'll come up with loads of sites to trawl through - or you could just buy that book!

Amazon have it for quite cheap, so I'll have a think about it while i'm in the hospital tomorrow (lots of waiting around if last time was anything to go by, and no mobiles, so no MN ).