a generic cry for help in the wardrobe dept.

[hatwoman]

my wardrobe is crap. I am Mrs old before my time Jigsaw and Boden. I have skirts. They're usually just below the knees, tiered, frayed in shades of brown and dull pink. I have brown cardis. I have pink t-shirts. none of this is patterned. I'm sending myself to sleep just thinking about it. someone sort me out. I need patterns, sparkley things, accessories. I need help.

um, ive always fancied a trinny and suzannah type makeover... theres a co called tramp to vamp who do that sort of thing and they have e-newsletters they mail out to me. are you in london?

tramp2vamp website here

those style sessions sound fantastic. I find shopping so lonely. but balk a bit at the price! I don;t think it's unreasonable as such, just a huge amount iyswim. and to make the shopping one worth while you'd need to spend a whole load all at once - in order to get as much advice as possible. and i never buy lots at once. makes me feel incredibly guilty. it's made me think though, I might bite the bullet and try one of those free personal shopper things in John Lewis.

[looks sceptically at hatwoman]
So you wear skirts, you shop in nice shops and you have a colour scheme going on - as far as I can see you're doing pretty well in the style stakes...

Things to consider might be
Fun shoes - if you don't wear heels give them a bash, if you do and they're boring get some cheap fun ones to try out (leopard print very hot right now and great with brown). Also patterned tights.
Accessories - skinny scarves, big pendants, long earrings, bag with a bit of sparkle?
Colour (NB this depends on your complexion which I can't guess at so use your judgement) - wear the brown basics with turquoise, teal, orange, red, or hot pink. Wear the pink basics with olive green, plum, tan or navy.
Sourcing - try buying cheap things (check the fit first) from eg H&M, Topshop, Primark and Dorothy Perkins rather than investment pieces - means you can update regularly and won't feel guilty about getting rid of them when you're bored of them. Also go to Zara if you have the chance as they are masters of putting basics together in a non-dull way - even looking at their displays is an inspiration.

Pattern - ah. Now, I'm a bad person to ask about this as I'm not a great pattern / logo / motif fan and generally wear plain tops and plain bottoms. However I always add (eg) a statement necklace, long earrings, a big bangle or a scarf - today I'm slobbing, and hence wearing plain brown combats and a white top but have a brown / white / tan striped scarf in my hair which is just enough to stop it looking dull.
Another way to approach it is via texture - cord, moleskin, velvet trous/skirts; silky tops, fluffy jumpers, tweed etc all add interest to plain coloured stuff without being overbearing.

Can I ask how old you are and if SAHM/WOHM?

thanks Mrs B. that;'s actually helpful. I think you're right in that I'm not a total lost cause, I'm just feeling a bit "straight" and a bit boring. I do like sparkly necklaces and have a couple of good ones. not good on bags though. I'm 36, work 3 days a week in a casual office - some people wear jeans but I prefer not to, so I wear plain skirts with cardis and plain t-shirts....blah blah yawn. possibly part of the problem is that I've got a level of dressing that pretty much lends itself to everything I do - it's ok for home days with the kids, ok for office days, and ok for going out to friends for dinner - so I always looks the same.

oh and now it's winter I wear boots. all the time.

ah but there's something to be said for having a personal style, which you already do

far better than all kids of mismatched tat

but it's been the same style for about 4 years now. and it's the same style as dds' headmistress.

Ah you need to get yourself to John Lewis's personal shopping department. I had a night out there recently with 2 other Mumsnetters and we had a fantastic time. Really good for "pulling your wardrobe together", which sounds like what you want.

Debenhams personal shoppers are good too (or hire MrsBadger).

oh that's good, really

an air of authority and softness at the same time

nothing to sniff about there

and pink is cheery

aha, I know the 'always looking the same' feeling - I work in a casual office too (but do wear jeans else I'd show up my scruffy colleagues) and it can be very difficult not to rotate the same trousers and tops all day every day.

I try to 'segment' my wardrobe a bit so I have jeans/ cords and boots for work, skirts and nicer trousers for home (though guess you'd do vice versa). I also keep dedicated Going Out tops that are still basically cotton t-shirts but a bit lower cut / dressier / more flattering / sparklier etc.

My gut feeling is also, possibly unfairly, crying out for you to ditch the cardigans - anyone who's wary of looking old and mumsy should go carefully with cardigans unless they're either sexy (eg wrap with deep v) or funky (eg asymmetric buttoned funnel-neck). The headmistress comment only reinforces this...

Agree a personal shopper might be a good plan - if you go along in a 'usual' outfit and say you want to update your look they'll probably know what you mean...

Wow, Mrs. B, you've totally inspired me! I've got to pull together a short-term post-baby look for the holidays.