Can you help me feel a bit less bleurgh?

[MrsNutella]

I have two small DC (2.3yo and almost 8month old). And I know I have totally neglected taking care of me and my wardrobe.

Today I was in town with DH - he has this week off and wanted to look for new shoes.
Anyway, I saw me in a few mirrors and it made me so so so unhappy (I honestly could have cried). I hated my shoes, my jeans, my jacket and my hair needs some attention too.

I need new everything really. I have no idea where to shop, online would definitely be best because dragging smalls round the shops is frightening nightmare of an idea! I am about 5'7" and fairly long in the body. I'm currently overweight but I'm starting to work on it, a size 16 at the moment. I carry a lot of my weight around belly, hips and thighs and am very bottom heavy.

I'm so fed up. Please, can you help dress me so I don't want to run away when I look in a mirror?

been there MrsNutella, I hadn't realised how bad I was looking until I caught a glance of myself in a shop window and had to do a double take! I took a short term and long term approach:
short term: get hair trimmed and coloured, nothing majority drastic, just much tidier and covers the Grey's.

• get eyebrows threaded and tinted
• sort out skincare (check out Caroline hirons and/or Dr Sam bunting websites). stick to it!
• manicure and peducure, either at home or at salon, depending on budget.
• drink more water
• ruthlessly go through your wardrobe and throw out anything old/doesn't fit/doesn't suit you...all of it. then start looking at blogs/pinterest for styles you like, and slowly build your wardrobe up again.
• try to get a few early night's each week.

long term:

• maintain all of the above!
• start exercising, you will feel better about yourself, sleep better and lose some weight.
• review your diet, cut down on booze, crisps etc (not completely!)

you will be amazed at how quickly you can turn things around. you just have to be prepared to set some time aside for yourself each week to keep it all up! good luck op

sorry for spelling mistakes, trying to type on my phone with a toddler hopping about on my knee!

Thanks lisam good to know I'm not alone! Yes, hair is desperately in need of a nice cut! It's a good place to start and will help me feel better.

Thank you for the ideas of looking stuff up on blogs and Pinterest. Are there any anti frump blogs you could recommend?

I agree, a haircut can make a world of difference. I remember feeling like you six months after my first dc was born, still wearing really frumpy maternity wear, the baby weight not disappearing. First thing I did was buy a new pair of jeans, and a flattering plain black top. Prob from Dottie P's! It just made a real difference to wear something that flattered my shape then, which was different to pre-pregnancy, and is different now. Work hard at diet, exercise etc, to feel and look healthier, but buy something that suits you now

I am just emerging from this! I have a 2.5yo and a 12 month old. I've started getting haircuts, have a pedicure, trying to wear make up on weekends and when seeing friends etc. it does make a difference to how you feel. I have a stone to lose to get to pre-pregnancy weight but I'm battling it. All my old tips fit so one of my remedies has been to buy loads more... Around 30 new tops that I know will fit once I'm slimmer as most of the weight is around my butt. That has made me feel better.
I'm not quite back in old jeans hut have been living in these from M&S in the meantime. Cheap, hold my tummy in and make me look quite good til the weight is gone. Good luck, it is hard to wonder what the hell happened to the old you!!

m.marksandspencer.com/mt/www.marksandspencer.com/flat-front-straight-leg-trousers/p/p22281273

Sorry for typos, hope you could follow all that!

It was meant to read tops not tips!

Hi MrsNutella, yes, there are loads and loads of blogs and Pinterest pages to look at, it can be overwhelming!! I started by looking on Pinterest for capsule wardrobe ideas, as I realised I was a bit of a clothes hoarder, but never felt like I had clothes that matched. I came across the French Vogue editor, Emanuelle Alt, and totally moved how she dressed, as it was all based around good basics, and easy to copy on a budget, so. I recommend googling her! Other celebrities i think dress well are Reese Witherspoon, Olivia Palermo, so I look at what they are wearing on Pinterest too. As for bloggers, the ones I like are:

puttingmetogether.com
sarastrand.no (remember to click on the link the translate into English)
Susie So So

They should be fine to get you started, hope you enjoy!

Hair first and some decent make up. And the. Just buy up the entire new collection at Hush because it's lovely and I highly recommend!

We've all been there and you do get your mojo back in time but it takes a while. Don't be too hard on yourself

Help me too please. I have serious self image ishoos.
I am 50 this year (people say I look mid 30s) with 7yr DTs. I am SAHM / full time carer for 90yr dad.
I am 5'9'' and about 13 stone. My waist had disappeared ! I cant wear eye make up as I have bad skin around my eyes and my skincare routine is non-existent. I have short, white blonde (bleached but not trashy) cropped hair. I don't wear heels due to back problems and only ever trousers. I like skirts but have fat thighs.
Bit of a lost cause ?

Orly and lisam thank you so much. I'm also fighting a horrible cold and cough at the moment (with extra sleep deprivation thrown in - thanks DD) so that has probably made me feel more down than usual.

I have a haircut booked for next week. I can't wait. It really does need a good tidy.

Merly try out the advice I've been given. Pinterest is great! There is so much on there. I typed in "mummy casual fashion" and it came out a bit high end fashion (a budget and a figure I simply don't have) but I tweaked it a bit and pinned stuff I liked anyway.
I might be boring and go for a capsule type wardrobe with a lot of black and grey - I look really good in grey with a splash of green, blue or turquoise.

Thank you ladies. I have lost a lb this week too, so things are moving. Slowly but in the right direction.