help me spend £600 on a new wardrobe!

[mollysmum82]

I've collected up £600 from lovely family for my 30th and I need a brand new wardrobe. Please give me ideas on where to start, I'm a complete novice! I'm a stay at home mum so its casual staples I need. Thanks so much!

Oooh what a lovely amount to have to spend
How tall are you? What dress size? Shape? What sort of style do you like?
I guess if you are looking for real classic basics, I would consider the following:
dark blue slim jeans
mid blue straight leg / casual jeans
khaki chinos or skinnys
black slim cigarette pants or skinny trousers
black leggings
tea style dress
long sleeve t-shirts
vests
navy cashmere sweater
grey cashmere cardigan
pussy bow blouse
breton top
tan heeled ankle boots
riding style boots
converse
flat sandals
black blazer
leather biker jacket
Wool winter coat
scarves and belts and costume jewellery

I would go for 3 or 4 really good quality things rather than a whole load of new stuff. If it were me I'd choose a new coat, a cashmere knit or two, some really good jeans and some nice ballet flats. Hobbs have some lovely shoes right now and Barclay and Jaeger are always classic IMO.

That should be Betty Barclay sorry!

Need more info.

But, whatever your sze, colouring, shape, likes and dislikes, I'd start with -

• a good casual leather bag
• a good jacket for Autumn (either biker or a cropped trench or a blazer)
• a couple of pairs of jeans which you love
• at least one set of lovely underwear (buy several pairs of knickers to the one bra)
• at least one lovely scarf which goes with whatever jacket you decide on
• a gorgeous pair of boots

Thanks so so much for your replies so far, I really appreciate it.

I've not bought clothes in years, we've just not been able to afford to. So I was overcome by emotion when DH said he'd saved up £400 for me to spend on just me. I'd suffered quite badly with pnd with dd so when ds arrived dh said he really wanted to do something to give me a boost, bless him he's amazing. And our family's have both contributed so much too.

Anyway, I digress!

I'm 5ft5, size 10 usually (sometimes need smaller in dresses, sometimes need bigger in jeans). I guess my style or wannabe style is feminine but not frumpy. I've had my colours done and suit bright navy, coral pinks, turquoise (I'm spring).

I'd love stuff I feel stylish in but is also comfy and washes well for chasing kids around. Ideally I need stuff that will last for years as I don't know if I'll have another opportunity like this!

Thanks again

Did you post before OP? I remember a lady starting a thread about her DH having done such a lovely thing and I think it was you. What an amazing man, and how lovely your family has contributed too!

If you want enduring style then best to steer away from anything too trend led. The suggestions below are great. I'd be tempted to spend on quality knitwear (this is Britain, after all), good boots, really nicely cut, well fitting jeans and a lovely coat. If you have any change you could maybe get a couple of scarves and accessories to jazz it all up.

I'd also be tempted to chuck in some gorgeous undies, because they are a great confidence booster, plus it might be a nice thank you for your lovely DH

Good underwear. Go and choose a couple of sets from house of fraser/John Lewis type place where they will measure your bra size as it might be different if it's ages since you bought stuff. Treat yourself to good Walford/falke tights. £100

Then jeans. Nudie jeans are inexpensive expensive jeans at around £100. Paige are lovely too and will last and look classy and you won't regret spending on them. So, jeans def allow £100 but up to £200

Dress. What would you like the dress to do? If it's feminine daywear then would this be the sort of thing? Say£100

Now it's a question of coat/boots/blazer - which ever is most important in your wardrobe. You might be able to get two depending on how much you spent on the jeans. £200-£300.

Whatever you decide on, don't try to do too much. Don't waste this opportunity on accessories as you can probably make do with the ones you've got, or ask for them as gifts or even treat yourself to them in the future. Justifying £200 jeans is going to be harder than a scarf from accessorize.

Also, take the opportunity to spend on underwear - it should make the clothes you've already got look perkier so make you more enthusiastic about revamping yourself from your own stuff.

Good luck with it all. I'd love to hear how you spend it! Please come back and let us know. What a brilliant way to blow away the pnd, and what a lovely family you have!

I'd go for something from www.jcrew.com/womens-clothing.jsp?navLoc=top_nav

The idea of spending on expensive jeans fills me with horror, I must admit - depends what your feelings are OP. For reasonably priced but pretty flattering jeans, try Oasis.

I would be temped to get a couple of really nice investment accessories (i.e. shoes / bag / boots / scarf) and spend the rest on reasonable basics such as fairly classic type jeans / dresses / jackets.

I may not be the best person to dispense advice on allocating a set amount of money though, I would probably get this scarf - which I have decided would count as a wise investment buy and not have much left for anything else!

Reading the blogs lately however, even with a major splurge you could probably get some fantastic things in Primark. I've never been to a Primark yet [old glimmer-ette emoticon] (but it's on on my to-do list for next week!)

I think with one or two really nice accessories, you can easily get away with some bargain items as well. I don't know how well Primark items last though...