40 year old ex-indie kid- what the hell do I wear??

[WottingerAndWottingerAreDead]

Really need some kind of wardrobe/fashion revamp please ladies!

In my head the only kind of look that works is still doc martens/ black tights/ flowery dress/ cardigan and crimped hair. Not sure really this is the most flattering for a 40 plus mother with 40 plus body to boot. But don't know how to update it, or really have a clue about what I would like? (I don't dress like this still, rather have cheapo jeans and top from Asda etc.. while I am on my quest for this 'ex indie kid new look'..)

I have alright light brown hair, 12-14 post baby body, 5 foot 3.

What shops should I go to, and what should I buy in them????

Any help VERY gratefully received!

haha, yes bunches, red trousers and white top for a certain indie clubnight in homage to the white stripes. Wish I'd kept the trousers.

Hair is now shoulder length, layered and still dark/reddish. Could never go for highlights. My hair is straight and impossible to put up successfully so tend to just dry it straight.

you just wear more expensive designer versions of the stuff ?really?

Dressing for professional jobs is by no means easy for women, Casual dress or shoes www.shopforsneaker.com is regarded as less acceptable for women than for men, leaving women to wrestle with a double standard when choosing a wardrobe.

I bought both my toddlers the Carter USM "03 Something" t-shirts.

Reliving my youth vicariously through my children, much?

What a fantastic thread! Feel like I've come home

Another almost 40 indie kid here living in a sea of bloody Boden, Joules and Fat Face.

I tend to wear jeans and surfy type tops now like quicksilver or Roxy. Converse or Havainas in the summer and Fly boots in the winter.

I will occasionally succumb to very high heels on a night out.

I take my indie fashion out on my kids now. The awesome David Gedge himself sold me a tiny baby pink Weddoes shirt for my toddler last year.

Ex-indie 43 year old here but graduated to rave child and "vintage" over the decades. Have a very post-baby body ie no waist, but have decided to jump over the Boden years and have headed for the "I shall wear purple" old age fashion.

I am currently wearing a strapless, snakeskin print, ankle length playsuit with drop crotch. I look like Bet Lynch crossed with MC Hammer but it bloody rules. I've given up trying to buy things that look "nice" as I find I still look fat
and now prefer to dress outrageously in clothes I actually like. Lots of 70s lurex and heels to fall off.

I intend to dress size and age inappropriate for the rest of my life!
PS I do have a very conservative job where I wear lots of dresses (Top Shop usually) and cardis but have outrageous shoes and jewellery (Tatty Devine)...oh. and my nose stud that I forget about.

Bumping !

Bumping again for Ismeyes!

Stopping by intrigued by Toasted's questions. Why do we veer toward more expensive (but generic) stuff once we get closer to 40?

A personal answer:
*Because I can afford it.
*Because I'm influenced by advertising and peer pressure. Clothes are status symbols and they broadcast our social standing and values - at least to some extent. They are not really a channel of self expression, they are also something that our position/lifestyle/job/peer group dictates, at least to some degree.
*Because I want to buy less and better quality and because I don't look good in most high street clothes any more - in my 20s I could get away with thrifted finds, not any more.
*Because I'm making a full circle - I'm coming back to the personal style I briefly found in my late teens before I was swept up by mass trends

BTW Emmanuelle Alt seems to be a popular role model for late 30 / early 40-somethings in search of a new style. I think her style could be adapted to suit many budgets - google her. (She is not my personal style icon so feel free to disagree.)

Yes - re the more expensive stuff...

1. I work bloody hard for my wages (far harder than I worked when younger) so I want to spend my money on good stuff and not just chuck it away on crap
2. I earn substantially more than I did in my twenties
3. places like Hobbs plus (my favourite) Vivienne Westwood cut better than cheap shops - the latter in particular cuts to flatter curves, and I have more curves than I did when younger!
4. When younger, I cared if people thought 'ooh she's wearing the same thing again' - now, I don't give a hoot.

Thanks Kerstina, very interesting reading, although everyone here is slightly older than me, which may reflect the fact that I was getting into nightclubs in Camden at the grand old age of 14, dressed in a baby doll dress, bunches and dark lipstick. I don't think I could get away with that now!