Budget: wardrobe overhaul following weight loss

[disparatefishwife]

Good morning stylish and beautiful ladies.
I'm an avid lurker and would love your advice.
I have recently lost 3 stone. I still have a lot of my pre-weight gain clothes but some are dated or tired and my body shape has changed so much after having children that a lot no longer suit me.
So...I need to go shopping!
I am on maternity leave so have no money coming in although I have some savings.
I have come up with £300-£350 being a reasonable amount to spend, I have no idea whether this is reasonable or not?
I've compiled a list of the things I think I need and although I don't want high end designer gear I do want quality classics that will last and will form the base of my wardrobe and that I can build up on and accessorise over time.

Formal: shirt, trousers, jacket/blazer
work shoes

winter coat
denim/leather jacket for every day
daytime & evening sandals
jeans
thin long sleeve tops for layering
vest tops
'dressy' top
raincoat - proper waterproof, taped seams etc this can be a seperate purchase

well I think that's it for now, I'll come back if I can think of anymore.
I really appreciate your guidance.
Oh btw if it helps I'm 5', 8.5 stone, 'curvy' broad shouldered with the dreaded 'mummy tummy'.
I have long dark hair.

jeans

RCOR thanks for your sympathy and input, I always feel guilty dragging kids around town so don't do it 0ften! It's nice t rad of women who are n similar situations to me, as dilemmas go it's not a bad one to have. I know so many people who lose significant amounts of weight but continue to dress as they did when the were larger and it doesn't seem to take long for the weight to go back on. I feel that a new wardrbe of considered choices will help me to remain in the zone.
I have a few things to be altered as I didn't want to part wth all of my nice clothes, I guess I thoght a wool coat might be too much to alter but I guess a good dressmaker can do anything!
The coat is black though and I'm kind of disinclined to wear much in the way of black, I do have a few black basics but the heavy black wool is quite draining around my face. I fancy a chocolate coloured coat...

I don't know any good dressmakers but I see that local drycleaners offer alteration services, does anyone have any experience of these?

I'm also 5ft. In the past 12 months, I have dropped 1 -2 dress sizes which has meant overhauling my wardrobe too. I'm now around 7 stone 10 so probably similar size to you.
I bought things over time to spread the cost and give me time to save more money. There are some sales on now so a good time to get sandals and summer basics that you want.
Clarks have some nice flat leather sandals for £24.99 - various colours - tan, teal or red. How about a pair of wedge sandals for evening - Dune also have some nice heeled sandals reduced.
Topshop have some good cropped denim jackets in their petite range for around £40
I find Next petite skinny jeans fit my size and shape well and are between £20 - £30 a pair.
You could get some vests in neutral colours from Topshop or H&M. I picked up 4 for £20 in Topshop recently
Have a look at Lands End for waterproofs. Code FOOTY20 will currently get you 20% off.
Monsoon and Zara both have some nice 'dressy' tops in store at the moment - may have sales coming soon!
Let us know what you get!

thanks everyone some really great advice & ideas!
Meggles you've given me lots to mull over!
I have a childfree morning and went to town but was so overwhelming with all the sales, choice and crowds! Saw some lovely bits in the Gap sale but couldnt commit - too scared of making a big mistake!
I will take all the information on board and digest it and let you know If/WEN when I pull my finger out!

Hi again, with regard to your black coat draining your face, how about getting a few nice scarves in your autumn colours. They will be next to your face so you won't have that draining effect. I had my colours done too and the lady who did the course suggested that as a solution rather than buying new items.

Also look online for advice on different ways to wear scarves. I was rubbish with scarves till I got a few different ways to wear them.

Happy shopping.

If you do see something you like, buy it - you can always return it (check their policy obviously but Gap is fine with returns).

I am a big fan of tk maxx, especially the website which is improving all the time, although I find the stores a bit hit and miss, the city centre ones have more choice/better names than the suburban retail park ones.
I think you would get alot of what you are looking for from there if you're happy to do a huge online order and then return it to the shop. I realised recently that you get 28 days on online orders to return as opposed to the 2 weeks for a shop bought item. The main reason I posted though was to say I saw a lovely rain coat by SOS Jensen (Norweigan brand) for £40 and although the colours weren't me they do suit an 'Autumn Dark' so may be worth looking at. Would also go in there and try on as many pairs of branded jeans as possible. Agree with everyone re Primark for the layering tops, they are great. Am off to look for that coat on their site, be back with a link!

It may be this one am not sure now!

now I'm enjoying spending your budget!
how about this which matches your colours well? is a cashmere wool mix and also has some elastane so should help it hold its shape.

or this but maybe too long

leather jacket

good colour for you

can't remember what else was on your list, will have another look

this is the first one don't know why it didn't work

Love that leather jacket ruby - bargain!

Hi Ruby you have been busy thanks so much! I love to max too, it's very near to me so it makes it easy to nip out with the kids. They green wool coat is gorgeous, good price too thank you. Funny I looked at the raincoat , very cute but they didn't have my size.
The coat is great though so I might go for that.

I do a lot of online shopping - especially with sites that let you return through their stores so that you're not having to faff around at the post office and waiting weeks for refunds.
Monsoon, Next, M&S, Zara, John Lewis etc... all let you return in store.

Good evening! Well the process is definitely slow but there has been progress since I last posted...
i bought not one but TWO, yes TWO pairs of jeans today, and get this: they are exactly the SAME!!! Wow I'm really getting carried away with this shopping malarkey.
I went back to Gap today and bought the jeans that i tried and liked yesterday. One is 30" leg for daytime then I bought a 32" leg for (rare) evenings out that I can dress up with heels. i like the shape and colour and think that they are quite flattering. These
The website states £17.99 but I actually paid £19.99 per pair, how does that work?!
I hope that you will be impressed with my tiny attempt at making inroads.
Baby steps....