Building a new wardrobe for £250 ...help me!

[mac12]

Am a bit of a lurker on S&B and would really appreciate your input. Having been massively broke for about five years, my wardrobe is pretty much threadbare. I recently had a big birthday and lovely friends and family all got me vouchers (Debenhams, Next and M&S) and I want to spend them wisely. But where to start? Am so out of the practice of shopping I feel almost paralysed.

What would you buy if you were building a day to day wardrobe on this budget? What are the real essentials? Good fitting jeans? Maybe some pretty blouses and a big wooly cardigan. An everyday type dress/skirt? Any accessories - I like scarves!
Does this sound reasonable on this budget to keep me going for a while?
In terms of style, I need practical clothes that allow for impromptu toddler wrangling and nappy changes.
I work from home so thankfully haven't had to have smart clothes on a day-to-day basis but I do like to feel a bit dressed to be in "work mode" even though no one sees me (if that makes sense).
Thank you!

I'd buy a few pairs of good jeans, whatever you are most comfortable in, but in different colours - for me, I'd get skinny blue, skinny black or grey, and bootleg blue. Some nice t-shirts and tops, a few cardigans, maybe a blazer too? Scarves I love for changing an outfit, I'm mildly addicted to those local shops/market stalls that sell bold patterned scarves for about £10, and I feel more dressed up in a scarf (quite useful for distracting a toddler too, I find )

Then maybe a dress or two, places like DP or Debenhams do dresses for £25-30 that won't eat into your budget. However, before getting a dress I'd decide on what shoes you'll be wearing, if you'll wear tights or leggings with the dress, and make sure your cardigans work well with them too.

I'd start by having a good look through lots of sites and just starting boookmarking the clothes you like, then maybe you can work our similar styles or colours and go from there. If you pay attention to everything working together - so cardigans or blazers working with all your tops and dresses, that sort of thing - then I reckon £250 is plenty!

2 pairs of these - one black or grey and one dark denim

One of these if you like black or grey

Not seen this irl but like the look of it.

Dress possibility? Could be hideous irl!

Gorgeous scarf which I shall be buying v soon!

M&S - jeggings / skinnys £22.50. In blue and black. Good size animal print scarf in store today £15. Charcoal grey slouchy merino sweater in store - approx £30.
Next - leggings in black £10, Denim shirt £25. chunky knitwear around £35.
Debenhams - head to shoes for some winter boots.

Scarlet - I think you might be saying some of the things I've linked to. Great minds!

Thank you for the suggestions. Yes, I think I'm going to do some proper homework before I go to make the most of this. I'm also going to go through my existing wardrobe and see where there are gaps and be ruthless about what has to go. And do a shoe audit to make sure everything will work.

So consensus seems to be skinny jeans are the way to go?

I would say it depends on your size & shape. No point buying skinny jeans if they don't suit you.

I'm slim size 8-10 but short and always feel a bit stumpy in skinnies unless I'm wearing heels.

Don't forget, you will have some clothes already that can still be used. Perhaps, you could add a bit more style or brighten them up with a scarf or fashion necklace.

I would recommend using £28 of your Next vouchers to buy this dress (in a size 8 petite as the sizing is large).

I'm also a short 8-10 and bought it after practicality mentioned it on another thread. I'm very grateful as I love it. It's a simple enough style to be an everyday dress but is flattering enough to feel special.

Thanks Phaedra, I love that!

I'm a short 8-10 and I really like the Next petite (though they do them standard too if you're not as short as me) high waisted skinnies and slim fit jeans, they could be worth trying? I have them in various colours and styles. I have LOADS of Next clothing actually, even though everyone else seems to hate them.

I'm about to order several of these as they sit really nicely (you'd definitely only need at 8, if not a 6 in their sizes) and are good, plain but surprisingly well-cut basics.

Quite like this jumper too

If you're comfortable with your tummy (I'm not!) then this dress would look good with tights or leggings.

And if you're not comfortable in flats, get some boots like these. Though with it being winter soon, I'd just buy some more boot-cut or slim leg jeans so you're comfortable in flats.

An update on what I got if anyone's interested:

From Debenhams:
one pair of black riding boots - flat and practical for winter playground and school yard duties but to also add some style to my selection of flouncy skirts
one cobalt blue handbag -big enough for nappy, wipes, phone, purse, diary and assortment of small cars and dinosaurs but not the usual mumosac I haul around. Feel much more grownup and "put together"

• big scarf - a sort of purple berry colour to add some colour
• two pretty blouses - one in blue daisy print sort of peasant style, the other a sort of chiffony white affair. Again, wanted a more grown-up look than my usual striped jersey tops and they are more forgiving of my tum.

From Next (and have to say I really struggled to find anything I liked, which I can't believe given how shop-starved I have been in recent years but everything was too sludgy grey/black in colour with too many ill-placed sparkles, studs etc). In the end I bought:

• a big chunky cardigan - again for easy school runs and warmth while working. This was in dark grey. There was a cream option which I much preferred but I went for practical which I only slightly regret (the grey is a bit draining and I have reached an age where I think I need a bit more colour...)

I still have about £35-40 of M&S vouchers - am thinking of their skinny jeggings in indigo or maybe a basic dress.

Other all, am really pleased and feel much more "me" and together than I have done for a long while. Thank you to everyone for your input. It was really helpful and got me thinking about what I really need on a day-to-day basis. I have also got rid of lots of things that were either too worn or were never getting worn at all. My wardrobe looks much emptier but have things in I actually wear and like - makes getting dressed a lot easier!