Style me for a school reunion!

[StyleFreeZoneandPanicking]

I've namechanged for this because I'm rather embarrassed that I care.

I have to go to a school reunion at the beginning of September. Said yes because a good friend who I've stayed in touch with is going.

I really, really want to look good for this: I haven't seen most of these women for twenty years, and some of them (not by any means all - if it were all I wouldn't go!) were very bitchy about looks when we were teenagers. I've done well professionally, and I'm happily married with a DD, but somehow that won't feel as though it counts if I turn up looking a scruff.

I'm 5'2", a size 8 hourglass with short legs and a long body. I never wear skirts, and this is not the moment to start as I need to feel comfortable on the day, so I need jeans or trousers and a top half. I suit jewel colours - clear but not too bright - and I look beyond dreadful in brown but fine in black. Dark hair, olive skin, dark brown eyes. I wear heels all the time.

I'm perfectly happy to spend a couple of hundred quid on an outfit that will make me feel good about myself and therefore confident enough to face these people. It's in a pub so what I'm looking for is casual-but-elegant. O wise Mumsnetters, what should I buy?

I'm not the person to choose your outfit but I don't think you have a thing to worry about. Great job,happy marriage,DD and size 8.... the former bitchy girls will be green with envy. Don't forget a great eyebrow shape, fab blow dry and manicure. Enjoy yourself!

with that budget why don't you book a personal shopper session - do you live near a House of Fraser?

I am your height and yes if you are going to wear heels, make the rest of outfit fairly casual otherwise you'll feel overdressed/tried too hard.

J Crew and Banana Republic both do nice petite capri or 3/4 length trousers. Lace/silk T? Have fun !

Thank you, Marylou2 . I honestly wouldn't normally worry - I'm no beauty but I don't look significantly worse at 40 than I did at 20 - but this is precisely the kind of occasion I find hardest to dress for as I can't just go in a suit! Good thought about the brow shape: I was planning to get a manicure but I hadn't thought about getting my brows done.

Would a personal shopper be any help with one smart/casual outfit, holidaysrcoming? I did wonder about using one but thought the budget probably wasn't big enough to get them interested: we're not talking designer stuff here, just high-end high street. I do live near more than one House of Fraser, so it would be a possibility.

You don't like skirts - do you do dresses, I find they're the most flattering & comfortable of all...?

How about J Brand skinnies/ cigarette pants with black heels to lengthen your legs & show off your figure, with an edgy chiffon print blouse...?

Is this too bright? With skinny jeans and heels?

I've used HOF - just said I wanted a few pieces, think I only ended up buying 3, but absolutely fine. If you are near London Selfridges denim shopper is supposedly fab.

I like that very much, Remus - simple but effective. I'd have to see the colour in RL to be sure if it would suit me, but it might.

I don't do dresses either, Twinklestein, except floor-length ones sometimes in hot weather. I have hang-ups about showing my legs connected with a bizarre religious upbringing (won't say what sect as it would out me), and I also have terrible legs so it's not really worth trying to get over it. Oddly I don't have the same hang-ups about shoulders/collarbone, although I won't wear anything very low-cut.

I've never bought J Brand - are they any good for curvy women? The skinnies I've got (from Gap) fit on the hips but are much too big in the waist and need a belt, which then restricts what I can wear on the top half.

As an hourglass, you might find that Oasis skinnies will be okay for you. They also have the advantage of being cheap enough to blow your budget on a fantastic top (which will be more noticeable than the jeans!) and/or fab shoes.

Topshop skinnies are pretty good too.

That is very much the way my thinking's going! I have some nice black shoes so I think it's all about a pair of trousers that fit reasonably well, but don't have to be expensive, combined with a knock-out top.

I never think about going into Oasis - it looks like a Young People's Shop to me - but will have a look if they're good for the curvy.

Most of the stuff in Oasis is awful, in putrid shades of polyester, but they do decent jeans and the occasional v good leather thing.

J Brand are brilliant for curves OP, in fact I think designer jeans are well worth the money, they fit better & are much more comfy.

I'm a similar size to you 5'5 size 8, curvy - I've given up on high street jeans because I can't get them to fit.

Other brands I'd recommend are Citizens of Humanity, 7 For All Mankind & Current Elliot.

(If you know your size you can pick them up on ebay for amazing prices. I once got a brand new pair of £200 J Brand jeans for £8!)

That's interesting. I've had bad luck with Ebay designer jeans, but that may be because I've never ended up with quite the right size. I have some Not Your Daughter's Jeans that make me look frumpy, and some 7 For All Mankind ones that seem to fit OK but aren't very flattering. The best jeans I've had were Gap Long and Lean, which have been discontinued now.

I got some Current Elliott skinnies in the Selfridges sale a couple of weeks ago, for £30. I agree that they are good on curves BUT they are deffo not worth more than about £60 imho. They are better than my Topshop ones in that they feel smoother and keep their shape at the knees better after a day's wear, but at full price they would have been £220 and they are not worth anywhere near that much more than TS or Oasis ones in my opinion. I'd want them to shrink my belly to a size 8 AND be able to make a cup of tea for £220. :)

What I did OP is go & try them all on in a shop, decide which fits best, then find that exact model on ebay, because different models come up so differently - different rises, different fit.

I agree Remus that £200+ is a eyewatering for jeans but if you keep an eye online you can often get them for a around £100.

J Brand & Citizens fit best (me at least), Current Elliott less well, but I mentioned them as I bought these & they're great. And
these - it's a good shop that.

I think I worse jeans and a shirt for my school reunion.

For what it's worth I noticed that one or two of my friends looked as if they'd not aged especially well, but I just wanted to feel comfortable.

It's possible that some of the people you felt competitive with at school have changed for the better. Or that you'll have interesting conversations with people who weren't mates at the time.

I'd wear something that you normally wear in situations where you want to feel good about yourself - rather than faffing about whether a new outfit is or isn't the right one.

Also if you have a horrid time - which I hope you want - you can always spend the money you saved on not buying a fancy new outfit - on a good night out.

this with black skinny jeans, pointy heels and a bright clutch?

It comes in two different colour-ways if you click on the options.

this shirt is quite nice - styled quite similar to in the pic with cropped (or rolled up) black skinnies with heels.

Would you wear a trouser print like this OP? Would look nice with heels & a plain silk top

Would you consider a jumpsuit OP? Not necessarily the one that's linked. Saw a woman in her early to mid 40s wearing a plain one at a casual wedding recently and she looked stunning and very chic.

Ooh, lots of suggestions - thank you! I do quite fancy a jumpsuit - I had one in my mid-teens that I thought was the most sophisticated thing EVAH (it wasn't, but I quite like the idea of wearing one that is!). Might be difficult to find one to fit my proportions though. Not so keen on printed trousers, or the Malene Birger top, but I like the Iris and Ink one if it isn't see-through.

FrauMoose, I didn't feel competitive with these people at school: I just felt sneered at (with reason: an occasion that particularly sticks in the mind was one girl giving me the once-over and telling me I might look quite nice if I lost 10lb. I was 7 st 7 lb at the time). I'd rather not give them any ammunition for more sneering, even though it now doesn't matter a damn. It's not as though I've got lots of smart-casual clothes: I haven't bought much since DD was born, so I don't know what I could really wear from my existing wardrobe. I have one pair of jeans that fits properly and looks good, various less good pairs of jeans, an assortment of reasonable-looking but unexciting T-shirts, and a quantity of rather good suits for work that would look stupid at a get-together in a pub.

Twinklestein, good tip on finding jeans that fit and then looking for the exact thing on Ebay. I think I need to go and check out the denim bit at Selfridges.

I was just on TKMaxx & I noticed they have a good selection of jeans,
so I thought I'd post them here:

www.tkmaxx.com/women/jeans/icat/0606

Jewel coloured top

Bag

Black ankle skimming skinny jeans

Earrings

Killer Heels

Feel free to ignore/dislike I'm just fantasy shopping at the moment

Love that t-shirt.

Actually ditch the earrings (was having a Pat Butcher moment) and you'll be able to find much nicer heels, but think the top with a nice pair of skinnies, clutch bag and a bracelet would look lovely for a pub reunion.

I really like that T-shirt! The jeans also look promising but if I'm going to buy jeans I need to go to a RL shop and try them on - I'm such a difficult shape.