Want to throw all my clothes away and start again, can you tell me what to buy?

[SunnilyEnough]

Most of my clothes are at least 10 years old, nothing matches, I have tons of skirts and dresses but no shoes to go with them so end up wearing jeans every day and old bobbly long-sleeved tees. Would love to just start again and get myself a nice streamlined wardrobe, not sure where to start.

I'm mostly at home - youngest dd is not in nursery yet: I have a part-time babysitter once a week when I can freelance (also from home). I love heels but really only for going out, though I wouldn't be adverse to mid-high-ish, platformy-type things for day to day. Currently only wear birks! I like wearing skinnies but never really feel pulled together, iykwim.

God, I need help.

More info needed please

Age, colouring, body shape, best/worst features, budget ?

40, pale (very), dark hair, 5'6, size 6 - skinny but with flabby bits. Best feature, legs. Budget - mid-range, I suppose. Can't go really expensive for everything but could for a couple of pieces. Doesn't need to be ultra cheap.

Really would like to just burn 99% of everything I have!

God I could have written your post Sunnily! I have recently had dreams about burning all of my clothes cause they are so old and don 't fit/suit me anymore. I havent really bought clothes since my DS was born nearly 6 years ago. I have had 2 more DC since then and I'm still wearing my maternity tops etc. I haven;t a clue where to start.

Glad I'm not the only one - hope the S&B crew can help us out! I'm so out of touch, have no idea where to start. And don't have any time to go shopping either! (Thank God for the internet).

I actually would like to lie down in a darkened room for two weeks while some fashion experts come in and measure me and then come back with an amazing all-season, all-occasion stylish capsule wardrobe. (This scenario would also include facials and massages and a general body overhaul.)

Me too.
Tbh I'd love to be Goked!!

Haha, me too!

In that case, have you thought about a personal shopper? Just once to get you sorted - they are mostly free. Loads of shops do them, Topshop up, but I would guess a dept store one wouldbe most useful.

I'm no help to you I'm afraid.

Inocently marking my place.

For some reason, I am organised with my clothes this summer and think I've put together a good basic wardrobe that should be versatile. It's the first time in several years that I've bought clothes, so went a bit crazy.

I am not setting myself up as a paragon of style, but here is what I've bought for spring/summer:

2 pair jeans (mid blue wash)
2 pair cream jeans
1 pair pale grey linen trousers
1 black skirt
1 copper skirt

Various colored t-shirts in v-neck and scoop neck style: white, cream, coral, bright green, aqua, berry, black, navy and lavender.

2 feminine blouses with soft, small ruffles around the neck - 1 white, 1 pale peach

sleeveless tops in white, cream and pale green/blue

1 tailored white shirt

1 pair white dress trousers

1 summer weight oatmeal coloured cardigan

Shoes: jute sandal with cork wedge, muted bronze ballet slipper, white/grey imitation snakeskin with small wedge (closed toe), brown leather wedge sandal

1 tan leather bag

gold tear drop hoop earrings with small turquoise bead

Haven't found any dresses I really like, but think I've spent enough so will wait for the sales, or until next year.

Thanks Earlybird, that was helpful. Where did you get your ruffly blouses? I particularly like the sound of them.

I second the personal shopper suggestion. I felt completely lost after I had my ds - I'd had no new clothes for ages due to being a student, pregnancy etc, plus my body shape had changed a bit since having a baby and I felt completely clueless. I went to John Lewis, who were great. There was no mimimum spent and definitely no pressure to buy.

Any department store with lots of concessions could be good if you've not bought anything new for a ages, because you get to try different brands without having to trail around loads of shops. I normally hate shopping because I'm usually pushed for time and hate queuing for ages for the changing room only to find nothing suits me. The personal shopper ran around the shop picking things for me and all I had to do was try them on and say yes or no. I came home with a couple of nice outfits and a lot more confidence in what to choose when left to my own devices.

Sunnilyenough - I bought most of it in February on a trip to America, so won't be easy to show you what I got.

But, blouses on this catalogue page are similar to the two ruffle tops - especially the gathered poet's top, eyelet tunic, and lace pintuck top (with sleeves).

www.talbots.com/online/browse/category_landing_galleryview.jsp?id=cat840042&rootCategory=cat70008&section=Regular&subCategoryIdUnderSale=&conceptIdUnderSale=

If you like them, perhaps you can find similar in the UK.

Agree with other that if you have not shopped for a while, an appointment with a personal shopper is a good idea. If you don't fancy that, then at least go and have a browse round a department store as this will give you an idea of what is about at the moment.

I would also go through what you have - decide what you want to keep, what can go to charity and what needs to go in the bin.

I suggest the following basics:
Slim fit dark rinse jeans - can be worn casual for day or with heels for a night out
mid blue jeans - I have a slouchy pair that I wear rolled up for a casual day time look.
Linen trousers - navy is a good colour choice
Denim knee skirt - very versatile - can be worn in winter with navy opaques or with wedges and bare legs in summer

I would get a selection of tops to go with these:
white T, navy stripe T, blue T, vests in various colours, a blouse - Topshop have some nice pussy bow blouses, a couple of V neck cardigans in white or cream, a breton is also a no brainer

a knee length summer dress or a maxi dress

a trench coat, a black blazer

shoes: flat sandals, wedges, heels in tan or navy, pumps

a tan leather bag and a straw type bag

Accessories: scarves, beads etc...

Go tailored with a jacket and some chinos. Camel is a good timeless colour.

So would go with
1 pair of chinos,
maybe 1 pair of peg legs,
1 pair of jeans,
Some plain t-shirts,
a blazer,
a classic white shirt
moccasins,
a really nice leather belt
and a really nice jumper, maybe form Toast.

Those are the basics and when in doubt keep it really simple and classic but make sure you get some thing jujjy as well!

Thanks again Earlybird, I like those tops, will keep my eye out for similar that I can buy online.

Meggles - ok, I have dark skinny jeans - practically live in them. Also have two denim knee skirts - a lighter denim one that's easy to wear in the summer, and a dark pencil one that I like a lot but never know what to wear with in the spring/autumn/winter. Navy opaques and what shoes? Bearing in mind am SAHM.

Any nice trench coats I can buy online. (I live abroad and in the sticks, which also rules out the personal shopper idea, though I'd love to do it).

Bristol - think tailored is a good idea to feel more pulled together - any particular jacket suggestions?

I like all these ideas, thank you!

I hate to divulge this secret but...

wearingittoday.blogspot.com/

She's been a big help with my wardrobe woes...

If you are wearing a denim skirt with opaques in the winter, flat tan knee high riding boots look good. In the summer I would wear with flip flops, clogs (I have a pair of blue Dr Scholls that look good with mine), sandals etc... Try tucking a breton top in to it and adding a belt.

M&S Autograph had some nice trench coats in when I last looked and I think they deliver abroad

Good point re colours and type - I think you've guessed right, everyspring, will start thinking about personal style, which is a little haphazard tbh.

Will check out M&S trench coats now Meggles, thanks. They do deliver.

What kind of budget do you have? I love asos.com as it caters for a wide range. I would love to go shopping and help you with this - am dying for a friend to come up with this dilemma

I would get some basic l/s and s/s t's from Gap in plain and stripey colours to start you off with a capsule wardrobe.

A couple of light jumpers and cardigans in a linen or cashmere mix - wrap online is great for this, as is hush.

Two decent pairs of jeans in dark and medium wash- spend as much as you can, my current favourites are a £200 Hudson pair of dark rinse slim fit jeans that I picked up for £29 from TK Maxx!!

Some cargo trousers and a couple of pairs of linen trousers, I wear oatmeal and grey the most, with white for high summer.

A couple of pairs of tailored shorts - Gap again, or Fat Face are good.

Decent underwear to pull it all together - get measured in JL or M&S

Zara is good for floaty blouses atm, as are Warehouse, Topshop and Next, surprisingly.

A beachy dress from Accessorize - to be worn over a bikini as underwear on holiday. Nice flip flops.

Next also good for basic wedges and summery shoes. I'd get a pair of neutral converse too.

Decent tan/ other neutral coloured leather bag and a summery beach bag/shopper style.

Hope this helps! Ebay is always worth a go if you know what you want - I get loads of bits on there when I can't find exactly what I want in the shops.

I am in the process of a wardrobe overhaul. Am selling off 90% of my stuff on ebay and getting ready for back to work in August.

My mantra is quality not quantity and I'm going for really good basics which I can accessorise.

So far:
I have got 3 basic long sleeve T shirts from Isabella Oliver 365 (non maternity) which were £33 each in a sale. But I figure as I am still wearing ebay bought maternity IO t-shirts the quality of the jersey is worth the cost.

I'm waiting for the sale to look at some more of the IO 365 stuff.

Considering a pair of Taupe patent LK Bennett shoes with a low heel.

Looking for a plain shift dress with 3 quarter length sleeves

Then I have a stretchy fitted white shirt to find - best quality cotton I can find though.

Oh God, carly, I wish you were here and could just take me bloody shopping! Thanks for your ideas.

I dream about doing this! I'm just replacing things gradually though.

My advice would be, wear natural fabrics, cotton, silk, wool and cashmere.

I avoid anything polyester, nylon or viscose. Even if it's expensive to buy, it nearly always looks cheap and feels sweaty and nasty.