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Original poster

Oh Fucksake, style help needed. You know you're dowdy when...

47 replies

CatAmongThePigeons · 15/01/2014 21:18

you realise that the HT on Waterloo Road is wearing the same top that you are, only it's brighter and you're 15-20 years younger. Blush

I have huge body confidence issues, having put on weight since quitting smoking I'm really not dressing well, more trying to hide my bulk.

What could I wear if I had confidence that wouldn't make me resemble a TV character that may or may not be old enough to be my mum?

OP posts:
Deathwatchbeetle · 15/01/2014 21:23

Get thee to a personal shopper in a store - I don't think they charge but even if they do it will be worth it!

Notice I don't offer any tips myself - that is because I do not have any personal style!!!!!!

MrsPeacockDidIt · 15/01/2014 21:27

I had a similar moment a few years ago (maybe 10) when Pauline Flowler had my blouse on :-(. I threw it in the bin and stopped shopping in Next for years. I've only recently started going back in there!

Obviously no style tips here unless you want to dress like a middle aged eastenders character !

Piscivorus · 15/01/2014 21:31

It could be worse. I had a nice top which had to go because Heather Trott in Eastenders had the same one!

I'm clearly fat and dowdy as well as having my commonness confirmed by, some years ago, Janice Battersby wearing my earrings in Corrie.

What a combination! Classy bird me!

Vintagebeads · 15/01/2014 21:32

ah mine was wearing a Oasis top that Leanne Battersby in Corrie wore every other episodeSad

DrNick · 15/01/2014 21:32

you see your clothes being worn by someone on Eastenders

you are admiring something in a shop and a really frumpy woman 26 times your age likes it too

vulgarwretch · 15/01/2014 21:34

No advice, but in my late teens I had the same top as Pauline Fowler!

vulgarwretch · 15/01/2014 21:36

Snap MrsPeacock.

A couple of years later my dress sense improved a bit and I had the same top as the dark-haired barmaid who was subsequently in Love Actually. Courtney maybe?

LCHammer · 15/01/2014 21:38

You know you're dowdy when you go to the hairdressers and they bring you magazines that may interest you. Not Marie Claire or Vogue but Natural Health and Gardening.

NewNameforNewTerm · 15/01/2014 21:42

You realise you're wearing your mother's hand-me-downs for a special occasion. You'd looked in the mirror before you left and thought you looked good Blush. Then go there via a nursing home and find a resident in the same outfit who is 80+ and they look better in it than you, and you realise you didn't have your glasses on when you checked your appearance before you left. Oh the shame .... I've HoC-ed since then, but haven't really got my act together.

QueenThora · 15/01/2014 21:44

I had the same top as a drippy would-be expat on A Place in the Sun.

When not spotting my tops on daytime tv I like to notice the home furnishings from Ikea that our home shares with not only the cbeebies studio, but also the horrendously ugly room the blue sofa is in in numberjacks!

Lambzig · 15/01/2014 21:49

Noel Edmonds had on a shirt that DH had just bought, he threw it in the bin that very day.

I think personal shoppers can be great (John Lewis highly recommended)

Itsaburrdiee · 15/01/2014 21:51

As a teen I had the same jumper as Les Dawson... He was dressed as a woman Blush

sublimecorpse · 15/01/2014 22:15

I'm with you op!!

Do any stores have personal shoppers for the, er, larger lady?

Would love, no desperately need, a push in the right direction style wise Grin

TondelayoSchwarzkopf · 15/01/2014 22:22

I once wore a gorgeous red knit dress on Xmas Day. So did Sonja in the Eastenders Xmas special Hmm. My DSIS couldn't stop laughing.

Read lots of blogs - there are loads for women who are above average dress size. Have your colours done and try a personal shopper.

Original poster
CatAmongThePigeons · 15/01/2014 22:37

Tondelayo I always used to be mistaken for Soniaas a child

Some of these have made me Grin

OP posts:
NewBeginningsSnoopy · 15/01/2014 22:39

Hahaha! My hairdresser gave me a (not very good) fashion magazine as well as a Mum and Baby magazine and I actually felt like throwing it at her!

Procrastinating · 15/01/2014 22:40

Miranda is wearing my cardigan and my top.

I gave them away.

TerraNotSoFirma · 16/01/2014 00:00

Could be worse, a friend of mine got a coat from next one lunchtime, came in all pleased with it. That nights episode of EastEnders....... DOT WAS WEARING IT!

MaryMungoAndMidgies · 16/01/2014 00:30

I bought a floral cotton/silk shirt from Autograph. I loved it.

Betty from Emmerdale wore it to the Woolpack when she returned from her holidays.

My friend took the piss for weeks.

Starballbunny · 16/01/2014 00:36

I never knew watching soaps was yet another excuse for new clothes.

Allice · 16/01/2014 05:32

I have a lovely Parker type coat, its lovely and warm and ideal for the school run.

My lovely daughter told me she really liked my coat as from the back I look like hagrid!

I've not worn it since.

DrNick · 16/01/2014 06:19

Parka

Cheesyslice · 16/01/2014 06:44

Poor OP...you asked for style tips and you've got a fucking hilarious account of fashion failures! Grin

Would also recommend a personal shopper. A good department store is the best place to start as they will have a wide range and you won't be confined to one brand. Good luck.

Snowdown · 16/01/2014 07:20

You see a Tory MP wearing a shirt you've just bought - it went straight back!

MrsBucketxx · 16/01/2014 07:27

I had a top the same as sonia. It really had to go.

It happens to the best of us.

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