Need new wardrobe/look - help!

[AandO]

Hi, I have spent the past year in a hot country and have just returned to this part of the world (well, Ireland) only to remember that I hate all of my Irish weather clothes!

I'm the type of person that finds it always too cold and at the mo I'm wearing jeans, a strappy top, a baggy shirt, and a thick cardi. My wardrobe consists exactly of the clothes I am wearing. I went out and bought a bunch of shirts last year, thinking they may be the answer to my dressing problems, but I recently saw some photos and now realise that they may not be as great as I thought .

I guess I'm looking for tops I can wear with jeans?! I love dresses and spent the past year in them but feel too cold to have bare legs here. I mostly wear flat shoes. Another prob as pretty flats can't be worn with socks which I need for the cold.

I am 5'4" and size 10. I'm thinking Zara type prices are ideal for me.

Any suggestions would be great!! Thanks

Firstly, at 5'4" and a size ten you can wear most things, within reason. You lucky thing!
You don't have to go bare-legged with dresses. There are fantastic thick-knit tights out there, and you can wear two pairs at once, or one pair with leggings over them. Lovely and warm.
The trick to staying warm and looking stylish is layering. (It happens to be fashionable at the moment, too). Wear a close knit pullover under a sleeveless dress for warmth. If you're still cold, add a shrug. You can drape thick scarves in wonderful ways and add a contrasting belt to look stylish AND stay warm. And you can take the scarf off when you're too hot. You can even layer dresses and skirts, and I often wear two cardigans at once and still manage to look stylish. Just make sure the longer one is worn underneath and the shorter one one top, and experiment with buttoning them in various ways, or even wearing one back-to-front. Hard to describe in words, but can look cutting edge fantastic!

Thanks stylemum! I could go for a tights and dress combo. What length dresses are reasonably fashionable now? I have alot of just below the knee stuff which seems to look nice and floaty in hot weather with pretty flip flops but with tights and flats could look frumpy. My calfs (calves?) are a litte on the chunky side! Thanks a mill for the layering tips too.

Long floaty dresses or really short dresses are in fashion at the moment (but I'd always go for what suits the individual rather than what's in fashion). At 5'4" you're an 'inbetween' height (like me) and could probably get away with any length you like. If your calves are really chunky (not just that you are being too critical of yourself!) avoid hemlines that end there. The eye will always be drawn to where a dress/skirt/top ends and you don't want attention at your wobbliest bits! I'd go knee-length or long if I were you. (If you buy a reasonably cheap long dress - or get one at a charity shop - you can always shorten it when you want a change). That goes for the just-below-the-knee stuff that you already own, too. You could take up the hem if you think it makes your calves look too big.