Clothes for old village dwellers

[HenWithAttitude]

I'm 50ish... Live rurally and my 'local' clothes shop are an out of town M&S, Next and supermarkets.

I do have a Debenhams in reasonable driving distance. The nearest city has lots of stores but I feel a bit overwhelmed when I visit, wander around and leave vowing to wear jeans and fleeces for the rest of my life.

What I wear now:
Jeans and fleeces are my happiest outfit and perfect for sorting out the chickens and walking the dog.
Work items which tend to be smart grey trousers with a variety of tops (I'm flinching reading this at how boring I am)
Jeans-any that bloody fit! Currently M&S dark pair best fit and I love them.
I'm a bit of a hermit (not really, but between working full time and 3 children I don't have much me time to socialises I have got away with crap wardrobe)

I'm tall, so trousers in ordinary shops are often too short or limited in availability (M&S are v good with long)

I'm curvy but not petite (wouldn't call myself fat though) -skinny jeans are not for me...

What shops should I aim for, bearing in mind that I'm not ready to dress as a pensioner but I really cannot wear clothes meant for 30yr olds.

Minus the chickens my life style sounds a bit like yours. I have tried to smarten up a bit from around the village this year as I have lost a bit of weight and the old trackie bottoms keept falling down. Skinny jeans from Next or Sainsburys, long sleeved tops from Joules and two sweatshirty type tops, one from White Stuff and one from Joules are my staple wear at the moment. I have some Joules Wellibobs that I slip on for dog walking on damp mornings. The Barbour and Aigle wellies will come out later on. I will be trating myself to a new beanie and some figerless gloves from Toast later on, and a stylish but casual scarf. I expect some on here will consider this very frumpy, but believe me it is a step up from what I was wearing before and I have had compliments from the 6am dog walking brigade.

I work for a local charity for the elderly, so I don't have to be cutting edge at work, but I have a sort of uniform of Toast/Brora/Hobbs things, a few borught new full price but most sale and some ebay. Today I will be wearing a Toast skirt, Toast 2 tone cardigan and a black silk sleeveless to I have had for years.

I had the sort of excuse that my clothes needed to be old and tatty because of the way I treated them. in fact clothes don't fall to pieces just because you push the hoover around in them or do a bit of weeding, apart from being careful with the bleach bottle I have not made any modifications to what I do to keep my new wardrobe nice - much to my surprise.

Ooh clothes soulmates!!! Off to do the work thing now but would love some more advice

I live in a village and am your age but am also within an hour of a couple of big cities where I have shops to choose from.
But mail order is my friend.

Boden
The White Company
White Stuff
Jigsaw
Ted Baker

I pop into these shops ( not Boden) when out as well.

I don't need many clothes because I work from home for 80% of the time anyway. When I meet clients I tend to wear either smart casual trousers and nice knitwear, over T shirts or camis, ballet pumps or in winter leggings or thick tights and knitted wool dresses/ tunics, with flat biker boots etc. Very occasionally a casual knee length skirt.

You might like to look online at
Hobbs
Kaliko
Monsoon

Yes, you may not be getting quite the amount of fun that you should be out of rural dressing....

Why jeans and fleeces rather than extravagant concoctions of velvet and well fitted tweed? (And jeans aren't even warm, and they're horrible wet... I remember.)

Are there no vintage shops (not the same as charity shops) within 50 miles of you? You can find the most magnificent coats and jackets - the mens' stuff is often even better quality and lovely to wear. How would it be if you took a complete break from the places you listed for say, a year, (apart perhaps from M&S vests) and really forced yourself to look further afield.

I agree with the PP that Toast and Brora are excellent for country life - there is no need ever to buy full price. No-one else does so everything is in the sales.

One more thing: there are no clothes meant for thirty year olds. I have never seen age labels on adult clothing; I must be looking in the wrong place because lots of Mnetters seem to find theses hidden signs.... Search out and wear what you like - as long as its flattering. And burn the fleece. Not even chickens like them.

Am 46,live on very edge of town next to open countryside.
Don't have chickens or dog though !

Agree online shopping is way to go.
I like
Mint velvet
Phase eight
Some Boden
some East/Toast
Some Marks,agree re trousers.
EBay!

Also try sites such as
Atterley Road
Inis online
Caramel clothing
They stock more individual labels found in little boutiques

I would say for coming season
Good boots
Slim cords,Boden and Marks both have these
Fine knitwear that can be layered,
Thermal good,again I like Marks and Spencer ones
Good coat,maybe down filled ,have heard Uniqlo do reasonably priced ones
Jersey dresses,try Phase Eight,Great Plains,Boden
Scarves and gloves!

Also sites such as John Lewis excellent for different ranges.
And don't overlooked smaller shops in market towns,often have great 'different' stuff.

And - at the risk of severe flaming - step away from Monsoon. It's all so droopy. There is never any need to dress for a particular age, but there is nothing so unflattering as droopy flounces in indeterminate colours and prints. You will look and feel much better in well fitted, simple clothes in (mostly plain) nameable colours.

And do not go near sportswear, unless for sport.

I had a very nice shift dress in the Monsoon sale, but on the whole it is floppy rubbish - I've just sent the previous dress I had from there to the charity shop - it looks a bit like a used duster.

Age is totally not a factor in how you dress - I spent a fruitful morning in H&M and top shop yesterday - just socks, a silly horse necklace and some layering tops, but added a bit of variety to the more sedate stuff.

Agree it's not really about age or whether you live in a village or not.

Many women in my village- even those with dog, chickens and a complete zoo in their gardens- are very stylish but we are near 2 large cities so not exactly country bumpkins.

I have one dress from Monsoon- plain linen sleeveless shift which is fitted- and I get loads of compliments on it, but it's my only purchase from them in years.

I mix and match cheap stuff- Uniqlo jeans and a down coat- with more expensive White Company knitwear, shoes and boots from Dune, and so on.

I am younger than you (mid 30s) but live in the sticks. The nearest town has Next, Dorothy Perkins, Monsoon and M&Co. The nearest big town with M&S and Debenhams is about 1 3/4 hrs drive away, the nearest city with a big choice of shops is about 2 1/4 hrs.

I buy a lot online, but sometimes it can be a faff when you have to get different sizes and styles and then send back what you don't want.

I live in jeans (straight leg, my calves are too chunky for skinny) or cords and tend to wear fitted tops/cardis/jumpers and a scarf with them. I wear either a gilet or a fairly fitted coat over the top. I usually wear flat shoes as they are more practical for walking far, either ballet pumps or boots. Most of my shoes come from Clarks. Apart from my wellies, which are Joules and have little dogs on

I know I am younger than you, but I see no reason why the clothes I wear wouldn't work in your 50s or even your 70s?

Ooh thank you. Some great ideas. I will have a little browse later

Get thee to John Lewis and book one of their personal shoppers. They are great and I think would encourage you to try some different styles?

I also live in the sticks and find M&S Heatgen thermal tops essential in the winter - cuts down the number of layers required well a little bit anyway so you can be a bit more stylish on top.

Perhaps start with a really warm but stylish cardigan and get rid of the fleeces? Scarves are really handy for keeping toasty warm and can add interest to a fairly simple outfit as well.

I wore a White stuff skirt and a Mantarey cardigan + plain colour t-shirt from whoknowswhere today and in my mind looked like I do actually own a mirror and look in it! So I don't live in jeans and a fleece... But would probably do so, if it wasn't for work.

Think JL would be very expensive?? I like clothes which are not cheap but there are degrees of not cheap and I suspect JL is v v expensive? The nearest one used to be a 2hour drive away but we do have one about 60mins away now so I might consider it -is it a hard sell?

John Lewis is very mid range. It is not fashionable - so it rather depends on what you're aiming for. You may find a Jigsaw outlet but most of it will be the kind of first floor of the department store labels that buyers imagine will appeal to women who have abandoned all hope.

If it's so far away why not proceed in some other direction and find an actual clothes shop (rather than somewhere than simply stocks clothes....)

The wisest thing I have ever read on dressing was on Mnet. Someone said "it's not a question of which shops you go to but what you buy from them." But it's hard to know what to look for if the shop is very uninspiring.

I'll add The White Company to the list of good places for country clothes. (Oddly I don't think I've ever even seen a White Stuff shop so have no idea about it...) And I repeat - try vintage shops. Very luxurious.

John Lewis is neither as dull nor as expensive as it used to be . The one in Leicester is gorgeous. Have you looked on their website? . They have a lot of the labels mentioned on S&B like Mint Velvet etc.Having said that I acknowledge they do cater to all styles including the Windsmoor set so don't wander into the wrong section.
There is the bonus you could stray into Haberdashery and knit the really warm but stylish cardigan.

This is a great thread by the way - thanks for asking OP.

this is very inspiring and I AM in my early thirties. I'm mostly pregnant at the moment but one day I will need clothes and I have no idea what it put on..

I'm in the same category really, 51, live on a smallholding, work in a rural outdoor job, so I wear straight leg jeans, either Fatface because they are higher round your back and no gaping, or I am loving the new M&S higher waist skinnies. Summer I roll them up a bit to the ankle with sandals and winter is boots. Celtic sheepskin or Dr Martens heeled Divas or wellies or long leather walking boots. I don't do ballet flats as my arthritis complains.
i wear long layered vests with pretty lace and long sleeved tshirts and cashmere cardis, or leggings/skinnies and a tunic and boots. Just bought a cardi in the Brora sale for less than a third of the price and another in a second-hand shop for £8! Good knitwear lasts years. I have lacy vests from H&M, Marks and Brora sale.
I keep the colours plain but wear several shades of the same tone co-ordinated, either soft bluey pinks and purple range or turquoisey blues. What I do have though, is tons of fab jewellery and scarves which brighten up an outfit and ring the changes without being impractical.
hth

I agree fossil - JL has really upped its game re womenswear recently. OP they stock quite a range of brands from Jigsaw, Ted Baker, Whistles to White Stuff to Oasis and Warehouse.

There's no obligation to buy but they might give you some new ideas if nothing else - and OP as you say you get overwhelmed by shops thought it would be a good place to start.

Some of you are a little behind the times with John Lewis!

They had a make over about 3 years ago. Their own brand is a tiny % of what they stock.

Now, they stock Mint velvet, Jigsaw, Ted Baker, Mango, White Stuff, Oasis, Toast, People Tree, East, Phase 8, Hobbs, ...in fact most of the high street brands as well as Jaegar, Fahri, Max mara and all the designer names.

They have free P&P for orders over £50 and if you have a Waitrose near you can get free click and collect the next day. It's just bloody brilliant!

They also track all the sales of these stores so when Jigsaw has a sale JL has the same items on sale, and sometimes more stock!

missbopeep I completely accept everything you say - and it may well be brilliant for someone who understands and enjoys and can navigate their way around brands at every price level. But the OP posted a thread because she was having difficulty with exactly that. Most of the labels you mention probably come under her banner of "meant for thirty year olds" (sorry OP no disrespect intended. )

As she has reached the age of many of the posters here but still not found what she wants in the shops she's already been to, it seemed sensible to consider an alternative route.

'Meant' for 30 yr olds I know you used inverted commas but MV, Jigsaw, WS, etc are my staples and I'm a trim, young looking ( am told!) mid 50s, size 8-10.

You didn't really address the issue of the OP in your post, you just said that JL was full of fuddy duddy clothes and I was correcting that.

I think what people were suggesting was that she could a) browse their website and see lots of clothes under 'one roof' and b) also maybe travel to a JL to see clothes.

But yes - I should probably have said "not cutting edge".... Which might, oddly enough, be where the OP should be heading. IME the most stylish 50+ women often use the "high street" rather sparingly. New or second hand or whatever - cutting edge design can often be more forgiving and more flattering. And you absolutely do not have to spend a fortune to access it.

so what would you recommend as 'cutting edge' and where do you find these garments :)

No no no The words in quotes are taken from the OP's first post! I've spent the entire thread saying that there are no age limits on clothes!

Are you very young SY? I only ask because, I say this kindly, you seem to have a slightly ageist attitude- talking about clothes for the 50+ range being 'flattering and more forgiving'! Many of my 50-sih friends have better figures than some 20-30 year olds.