I need a new work wardrobe - teacher

[Dragonlette]

Help me please.

I really need to get some new work clothes as some of mine are really, truly awful. I HATE shopping with a passion because nothing looks good on me, so I just don't do it. As a result the tops I wear for school are about 10 years old and are looking very old, faded and work out.

I usually wear black/dark trousers and a top. I am now down to 5 tops that are suitable for work, so wear them on a sort of weekly rotation.

I am fairly tall (5'9") and lots of tops ride up when I write on the board, showing my midriff, which I don't want. It can't be low cut, I need to be able to lean over a desk without flashing my cleavage at the teenagers. My classroom is INCREDIBLY HOT, so no jumpers/knitwear, short sleeves are best. I'm a size 18, apple shape, mid-30s. I'm willing to consider any style that people think might be suitable, but don't want to spend tons of money because I'm in the process of attempting to lose weight (I've lost 1st so far but obviously have 3 or 4 st more to lose)

So, please help me find something suitable, I know you lot will have a lot more ideas than I do.

What about some longer length tunics over the trousers? Seasalt often have some nice ones in lighter fabrics.

Thanks, I'd never even heard of Seasalt. All the tops I've got are tunics, so that's definitely a style I'm comfortable with, but I can never seem to find any when I'm looking round the shops because I hate shopping and go home after one shop

I'm 5'9" and a teacher. I wear dresses and skirts almost exclusively until around Easter, when I get burnt out on black opaque tights. I tend to find stuff at Dorothy Perkins is quite good. They are always doing discounts and sales so I don't find myself having to spend too much. If it's cold I layer with a cardi or jacket. They also have a tall line, which you might find usedful. I find dresses so easy because there's a lot less to think about in the mornings.

This is lovely: www.dorothyperkins.com/en/dpuk/product/dresses-203543/tall-dresses-204374/tall-mono-grid-skater-dress-3985752?bi=1&ps=200

And this: www.dorothyperkins.com/en/dpuk/product/dresses-203543/tall-dresses-204374/tall-black-lace-waffle-dress-3973979?bi=1&ps=200

Either could be accessorised easily and would be comfortable.

eBay! I wear Boden, Fat Face, a White Stuff and Joules tunic dresses or dresses in Jersey. They wash well (no ironing) and keep me cool - school is hot!

No way to skater dresses on anything but a bean pole

I am a teacher and wear either dresses or a school shirt (with the logo) and skirt. My dresses are usually 50s style from ModCloth.com or vintage.

www.modcloth.com/shop/work-dresses

www.modcloth.com/shop/search?keyword=soda+fountain I wear these dresses often.

I always wear a vest under work tops to avoid flashing tits or midriff.

If you are a trouser wearer, how about branching into slim cut 7/8 trousers. That flash of ankle is very now and immediately smartens a look. I wear them with aforementioned vest top, layered under a typical work top from somewhere fairly boring like next or debs (don't like to spend too much as they get wrecked at work, schools are grubby places), then a great well fitting jacket. Never cardis as instant frump. I'd never wear a tunic top to work - too casual and a bit meh iykwim. I want the girls in the class to think "miss looks like she tried today!"

Dresses and skirts instantly feel smart. A typical outfit would be a plain, black or teal dress from somewhere like Wallis, a big scarf to add contrast and a jacket. Opaques and boots in winter, bare legs or nude fishnets and sandals or heels in summer.

That first dp dress is great, not what I would call a skater dress, but the waist might be grim on an apple shape. Would you do a shift dress with opaque tights or leggings and flat boots?

I wear dresses to work and 100 denier tights. I get mine off eBay too but mostly from new look and asos (size 22) then I wear a jacket over the top. I'm 5ft 8 and generally find dresses from these are long enough.

Forgot to say, congratulations on weight loss!

I'm also a teacher, and have some perfectly nice, yet amazingly cheap, shift-style dresses from Peacocks. They are in bold colours (red and black, blue and black), and I think cost about eight pound each, so not a problem if you grow out of them quickly. A lot of my colleagues seem to either have similar dresses, and I get complemented on them a fair bit. I also have a Seasalth dress in jersey in a floral print, which I love.
At the moment, I am always in a tweed or wool just-above-the-knee skirt and some wooly tights at work (and out of work!), but that obviously wouldn't suit if your classroom is hot.
I also got a nice flared, elastic waist-band skirt from Sainsburys the other day. It is jersey material, navy, with a print of women walking dogs on leads in different European cities (!) - sounds utterly bizarre, I realise, but my Year 10 girls loved it and then never complement my clothes (that is, until I told them it was from Sainsburys, when they reacted with horror - not sure exactly where they all shop then!) There are also dresses in the same fabric.

I wear jersey wrap style dresses for school, with a crop vest underneath to cover cleavage. Most of then are from next but I get them in the sales so usually only pay about ten pounds for them.

Ones like this www.next.co.uk/g5224s1#772213g52

I get most of my work wear from next. I am 5ft7 but only a size 6 waist and so can't get trousers to fit. I wear a pencil skirt and top or a dress and black tights every day with a jacket.

I am assistant head so have to be a bit smarter than I used to go when I just did classroom teaching.

Thanks for all the ideas.

I can't see me wearing a vest underneath tops, mainly because I would overheat, I just can't cope with being too hot. I'm going to go shopping this afternoon so I'll see what I can find, in Sainsburys first if they have a sale, and I'll try dp, next, debenhams, and anywhere else I can see in town.

I may try some dresses, but I think I'm happiest in trousers and a long top, that's what I've worn for so many years now.

I bought some new work tops in Wallis sale recently. They're nothing special, but I like the loose fit for coolness and they had a variety of sleeve lengths, plus they have necklines that are fairly conservative. My standard school "uniform" is dark trousers, a top and a jacket that I take off almost as soon as I enter the classroom, but then I teach primary so crawling around the floor is sometimes needed!

Oddly, opening a window makes the room hotter due to the thermostat having been placed right next to the windows. So opening a window makes the radiators hotter, and I am not trusted with access to the heating controls. It's awful, but I've been told we just have to live with it

So I dress for summer all year round and still get too hot in my classroom.

Why not buy some nice dresses that way you're not worrying about your top riding up.
New look do lovely dresses some as little as £15.00, and they're smart and sophisticated as well, but comfortable to wear. You could buy 5 one for each day. It would only cost you £75.00.

I teach in some hot rooms too, it's especially nice now as lots of yr6 are hitting early puberty and smell gorgeous! Mind you, it'll be worse when they all discover Lynx or similar!

However, I digress. I mainly wear dresses with tights. I keep a smart jacket in the cupboard for emergency 'pulling it together' moments.

I buy plain dresses as I can change the look with scarves or cardigans in different patterns.

I hate dressss. Make me look titty

Lol at "nice dresses" rather THSN shit ones

I visited TK Maxx today and found masses I liked. Didn't buy a thing as I'm on a spending freeze , but lots of skirts, tops and dresses I liked that would be great for work. I did buy a new frying pan though!

Well, I didn't manage to go shopping today as dd1 dropped some plates on her toe and needed some tlc rather than being dragged round the shops while I try on a million things that look great on the hanger but are completely the wrong shape for me.

Dresses seem harder to find in my shape than long tops do, and I find long tops difficult enough to find. All the dresses I've looked at are either obscenely low cut and thus unsuitable for me to wear, ever, or show off all my lumps and bumps (of which I have many)

And yes to a hot classroom smelling awful, it's either BO, Lynx or perfume. I'd rather stick to the BO because all the deodorant makes me sneeze.