£300 to spend with house of fraser personal shopper. What would you buy if you were a scruffy mum of 2?

[TickledOnion]

My wonderful DH has bought me £300 of gift vouchers for house of fraser and made a personal shopping appointment for me for my birthday.

I am quite excited, but I normally shop at H&M, New Look and DP and live in scruffy jeans, Tshirts, hoodies and converse. Am I going to come out with a load of clothes I am not comfortable in? I don't need anything for work (am on mat leave) or for any special occasions, I just need everyday stuff that I will actually wear. DH thinks I should buy classical stuff that will last but I'm not sure.

Shall I just wait and see what the personal shopper says or is it best to go with an idea of what I want? What would you buy on this budget? Will it go far in HoF?

I would get 2 pairs of well fitting jeans, a blazer/jacket and a few nice tops.

I agree, I would go for a few really good quality staples that you will get wear out of, and look good

I have never tried a personal shopper, but they may be able to advise you on items of clothing that flatter your figure, so you can swap t shirts for similar casual-type wear, but nicer and better fitting/more flattering?

Maybe browse through some online shops to see what is out there, and get some idea of what you like/dislike...

If you really are not into clothes, maybe invest in a nice bag or something...

Well, in our HoF we have a mixture of high end concessions alongside cheaper high street brands.

I'd agree with Dexter, maybe invest in some good jeans - J Brand, Hudson, Paige are all in HoF, and then look to places such as Oasis, Warehouse for tops. I find that Whistles, again in most HoF's, is a good place for smart casual too.

If it was me, I would buy exactly what dexter suggested

Or go down the route of getting a nice piece of jewellery or two!

Would definitely have really good jeans at the top of my list. Along with some simple tops or knit wear and a jacket/blazer!
Hope you have a fabulous time!

This sort of top is a good idea - can be worn in the day with jeans and flats, but also is dressier with heels, skinny jeans, pencil skirts etc.

Thanks for the suggestions. I like Dexter73's ideas. I have never had well fitting jeans, just cheap ones that lose their shape after 1 hour.
I was worried that HoF was a bit too expensive and I'd end up with one item that I'd be too scared to wear in case I got baby sick or food on it. I forgot they did high street brands.

Watching with interest.....

How about a pair of shoes/boots too that go with the new jeans?

Very , my DH would never think of that as a gift!

I would also get a sexy but wearable matching lingerie set to ensure he buys you this present again in future

I have just done this! Although at John Lewis. I ended up with three pairs of jeans, (two whistles, one oasis) a few pretty summer tops (oasis), a going out type top (Ted baker) a cardigan thing (phase 8) and a dress (french connection). All came in at less than £350 Most of the stuff mixes and matches really well, feels like a proper summer capsule wardrobe!

Using the personal shopper meant I have ended up with more colour and pattern that I would have been brave enough to go for myself. I tend to have a uniform of jeans and..... She was really helpful and took on board what I did and didn't like. She also dressed me slightly younger than I might have done myself, which was quite nice. I tend to dress a bit older because I had my kids fairly young so a lot of the mums at the school are a good bit older than I am.

You should have a great time, I took a friend along and was glad I did, gave me a bit more confidence to say when I felt I really didn't like something! Enjoy!

Do check in advance which concessions your local HoF has, but most of them have some cheaper ones like Oasis/Warehouse, and their in house Linea brand is quite reasonably priced - have a quick browse (on the web or in person) in advance to get your eye in, (and so that just in case you do get a shopper who tries to persuade you to blow the lot on a Whistles silk dress you can stand your ground and say "No, I'm looking for two pairs of trousers, a dress and three tops", in the knowledge that that's perfectly achievable).

A couple of pairs of jeans - personally I'd go for Oasis ones rather than expensive ones as if you're mainly wanting them for daytime with the dcs there's no point on getting expensive designer ones imho;

A black, grey or navy blazer depending on which colour you'd wear most;

some tops that can be dressed up or down (I quite like Hobbs for these);

a pair of leather Converse-alikes and/or a pair of heeled ankle boots;

a few lightweight scarves;

perhaps a denim shirt dress and a plain black jersey dress that can be dressed up or down.

Premium denim is the way to go and with the sale coming up you get more bang for your buck. I wear J Brands pretty much every day. Today this pair have snot, mashed potato and strawberry juice on them. At the end of the day they will go in the machine and come out none the worse for it, so don't fret about that. They fit so well, and don't bag or fall down.

Tops I get bored of more easily so would spend less there. Whistles have some nice blazers, too.

Skinny jeans are skinny jeans whether they are £10 from Primark or £200 from J brand, you wear them in exactly the same way. Just as long as you don't come out with a silk maxi dress and skyscrapers heels I think you'll be fine, you know your style and what you'll use.