How to look polished and sophisticated

[Bluedolphin1971]

Hi,

Today I went into town, and noticed all the lovely woman who just looked so polished, and sophisticated. Cue me looking at myself in the Mirror and thinking "bloody hell, where is that woman I always wanted to be when I was younger.". I don't have many clothes that fit me (I've put on quite a bit of weight in the past couple of years. My DH got us a family membership to the local gym, so plan to start that soon, but I'm Just wondering how do you look polished and sophisticated, because it would like to look like that.

I'm not very good at dressing myself (well I used to before I put on all the weight, and decided to dress drab), I'm hopeless with my hair, it's frizzy and usually tied back in a pony tail, and my skin is dry and my hands/nails a mess.

I don't have much money to spend on new clothes and have tonnes (and I mean tonnes) of makes up/skin care stuff etc.

So any ideas/tips would be great.

the first thing I did to get to a new me is get myself fitted properly for new bras, so treated myself to them lol.

Get a good haircut and deep condition it regularly.
Simple skin care routing that you'll stick to.
Eyebrow shape and tidy.
Keep you nails groomed/tidy

Do a few internet searches for dressing body shapes and decide what may suit you.

I like these kinds of threads OP and am bumping for you.
There were a couple of good threads a few months back about French and Italian style.

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/style_and_beauty/a1852408-Tips-please-to-help-me-look-effortlessly-chic-French-style

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/style_and_beauty/a1956076-Italian-style.

Spending some time pampering yourself does wonders- at least you have plenty of beauty products to get you started! A facemask, regular exfoliating/mousturising and doing your nails, eyebrows etc (even filing and tidying them) will make you feel much better.

Could you buy a few basic clothes to freshen up your wardrobe to tide you over til you lose a bit of weight? I lost quite a bit of weight last year and sold off my clothes on eBay on "the way down".

i think good hair cut, or just wash and blow dry and also i think ( and I do it myself) I'm trying too hard!! I think fool proof outfit fr this time of the year is pair of jeans ( I love skinnies but straight leg is good too) with a top white or black and a good blazer will make every woman look good.
Dont go over top with the make up, bit of mascara, foundation & blusher and you are done! Keep away from leggings etc
i must say I think pair of leggings is a nono... I think unless you are 7 you shouldnt be wearing them out of the house IMO...

Good hair.
Nice make up.
Iron your clothes.
Accessorise.

Things that will make an immediate change are-

• Nails: trim and file them into a somewhat uniform shape, top off with clear or translucent pink polish.
• Eyebrows: get rid of the stragglers! If you get them shaped professionally once it's fairly easy to keep them tidy yourself.
• Hair: get a regular trim to get rid of your dead ends. Looks so much tidier and in much better condition.

Longer term, clothes are important (obviously!). While there's a lot to be said for buying quality items, the most important thing in my view to get right is fit. Don't buy too big or too small, thinking, "there's no way I'm that size!", or, "I'll slim into it". Apart from looking much tidier and pulled together, if something fits well and makes you feel great you'll stand taller and you'll project that confidence. Which is the best accessory [cringe]

Got to agree strongly with Craicdealer re fit of clothes. It is so important but often overlooked. A designer dress will look awful if it fits poorly but a second hand find that fits properly will look great. Make sure shoulder seams/bust darts/waist lines are in the right place. Make sure sleeves are long enough and trousers hemmed properly. Use size labels as a quide on where to start but take a size up & down into the fitting room. We all know differant brands vary wildly in size. All the clothes in my wardrobe fit but range across 4 size labels.