Dressing my mum-age 74

[Nateismine]

My mum has been obese as long as I have known her. Then last year she put herself on a diet and has lost about 8 stone!
I want to buy her some vouchers to buy a whole new wardrobe.
She is short with big boobs and has never been remotely fashionable. She will need to shop online as she won't go out much.
Needs to be mainly comfy home wear and a couple of nicer casual outfits when she goes out to lunch.
Where should I get vouchers for? I was thinking Boden? It can't be something like John Lewis as she'll spend it on other stuff.

Phase eight
M&S
Wallis

Maybe a department store like Debenhams or house of Fraser that covers a wide rang of brands and gives her heaps of options. Also means she can use that for other things if she doesn't fancy clothes from the shop

What size is she now? If up to size 16,try Uniqlo for decent basics with a fashionable twist.

Have you looked Bon Marche?

I think all your descriptions raise more questions!

Could you give a rough idea of what size your DM wears now?

When you say 'not remotely fashionable' it's not clear exactly what her style might be. Or whether she might want to dress differently now. Does she like tailored tweed or throwaway Primark?

It might also be helpful to know why she won't be leaving the house often. (It's not a given just because of her not particularly advanced age.) Does she entertain friends at home for instance? Exercise? It might be difficult to shop accurately for her new size without a little preliminary trying on in shops. Would that be possible?

Fwiw my DM, at the same age, would have loved a Toast voucher, or Selfridges so she had a wide choice of brands.

Be wary of makes that are aimed at a younger age group, they are not cut in the same way as those for a mature shape. For example shorter body length in tops, narrower sleeves at the upper end.
I’d suggest looking at Bon Marche.

Debenhams have personal shoppers, very easy to book an appointment. I booked a session for my mum a couple of years ago and they were fab.

Thanks everyone.
She about a size 16 top and 14 bottom.
Her style for the last 40 yrs has been polo shirts and elasticated trousers! I'm thinking we need a 'safe' style, more casual than smart.
Doesn't go out much as agoraphobic but makes the effort sometimes.

At 74 I'd go for m&s, Bon marche, Wallis, phase eight, m&co... etc etc

Debenhams would give her lots of choice.

My mum likes east and cos and she is similar age.

M&S I'd go for to start off with, they'll make her feel looked after.

There is something for everyone there plus she can browse online.

Can you look on line with her?

Bon marche good idea rock. Older person and safe. Covers everything you suggest she needs.

Does she want a new wardrobe/style? My mum of the same age and similar weight loss (last year) likes sea salt as the fabrics are nice and seems good wuality

Bon Marche or marisota.

Ignore her age! You need to dress her according to her shape and her prefer necessary for how she looks, not a stereotype. Also, shops might market at a particular audience, but that isn't predictably related to the cut or style of garments.

So what sort of things does she like wearing? (What did she wear when you were young, what do you think she looks good in?) Is she going to prefer a wardrobe of durable classics, or stuff that might inky last a couple of years but is fun. Does she like weird sleeves and cut out bits?

Uniqlo would be good for basics

Does she actually want new clothes? It’s just that reading your post it may be that she’s the kind of person that isn’t really that interested- and that’s fine! Maybe John Lewis or M and S would be a good idea prescisley because she can spend the money on whatever she wants?

My mum is 70 and loves bargain hunting in charity shops and places like h and m and new look. If I gave her Boden vouchers she’d think it was a huge waste of money!

I'd definitely go for M&S. What about a post office voucher that covers loads of places?

What a stonking achievement, losing 8 stone! I hope she's very happy and proud.

Like Stella I think that (unless there are other factors we don't know about) you're placing undue significance on her age. 74 year olds don't all like wearing the same things, any more than 44 year olds do. I would say the key factors are that she's largely housebound and up to now has chosen mostly casual, functional clothes. (But might that change with the weight loss?) Plus you don't want a store that sells other stuff.

If we can only pick one store, I'm going to agree with what and go for Uniqlo. They sell most basics, they're generally ok quality and well priced and it's casual, modern but not uber fashion. And perfectly age appropriate - I'm in my 60s and wear it and my mum wore it at 90. I would say M&S as a second bet but there's so much choice I can imagine it might do her head in if she's not really into clothes. Plus they sell other stuff too.

Bear in mind that she may not have been interested in fashion up until now but then she probably hasn't had a lot of choice of where to shop. That may now change.

I do not know about online shopping . We all know how sizes vary even within a shop and she could get v discouraged of the first few things are not right.

Are there any destination shops around you that would cater for her? I'm thinking like Ryan's in Galway for any Irish mners . Nice quality clothing and good sizing.

Otherwise I'd go for a big department store voucher and go with her. Make a day of it.

Fantastic to lose that weight

If she's going to be buying online, then the Seasalt website is nice and clear, and you get a good idea of what the clothes are like, whilst the uniquo is a bit of a challenge, and there's too much choice on on the M&S one. I'm also somewhere between 14 & 16 and in uniquo terms that makes you generally a "large" and possibly even an XL which tbh, I'd find a bit disheartening if I'd lost so much weight. So, I'd vote for Seasalt.

I think Seasalt is a pretty distinctive style though - that's great if she likes it but it's not everyone's cup of tea.

My mum is a similar age and has recently started wearing a lot of Joules, which I think fits your brief.

Actually, Joules may work... Thanks