Quirky of frumpy??

[GraceMarks]

I think I need a bit of advice about updating my look! I've always been a fan of the slightly nerdy librarian look, i.e. tweeds, tartans, woolly tank-tops worn over shirts, mismatched patterns, thick tights etc. But I am now almost 40, my hair is greying, and I'm also quite overweight. Basically, I'm worried that this look is for younger, thinner women and that on me it just looks frumpy, or like I went out without realising that my blouse doesn't match my skirt.

I do feel like a lot of the styles that I would really like to wear are not for short fat women like me - I also quite like the minimalist look but don't feel that I have the angular elegance to pull it off without looking like I'm going to join the Amish or something.

I think it is a tough look to pull off as you get older. I used to dress a bit like this until one day I looked in the mirror and saw.....Miss Marple. And not even a hip version of Miss Marple. I agree that it needs to be quite a polished look to really pull it off.

Kewqueue oh god, I'm Joan Hickson!

Pinterest is your friend. I love it for inspiration and you can be really specific - check out 'library chic', and 'frocks and frou frou' (a blogger with curves who I think has a style that may appeal to you?)

As for short hair not being feminine - Google images of Ginnifer Goodwin - good eyebrows, minimal makeup most of the time except for red carpet events and she looks gorgeous.

If you think makeup is making you look like a drag act, start subtle. Well shaped brows (professionally done), tinted lashes, bb cream to even out skin tone with a bit of blush and a slick of neutral lip gloss may be the way to go if you don't feel confident. Short nails look great with a dark colour on as long as the polish is not flaking/chipped and I'm never without a pair of oversized sunglasses.

jesuisprest you think correctly - I just checked out Frocks and Frou Frou and she looks great! So many plus-size bloggers go for tight-fitting 50s style stuff, which doesn't work on me, but she's got just the right level of quirk going on!

I also more or less have the same hairstyle as Ginnifer Goodwin, but with a slightly less blunt fringe.

The make-up thing is difficult to explain. It's not that I plaster it on and look draggy in that sense, it's more that I have large, heavy features that look quite masculine, so make-up looks "wrong" on me.

Yup. Personally I think short hair is devastatingly feminine. I’m always envious if I spot someone with hair shorter than mine. Of course it can demand a punishing amount of upkeep - but it’s well worth the effort.

So YABU to mark that down in the deficit column.

Op, I’m so with you on this.

The clothes I’m attracted to now give that overweight Amish look that I just don’t want.

In the past being slightly overweight has always been offset by displaying acres of olive skin and having a quirky look that really suited my personality as well as looks.
It’s Been a while since that worked .
Now the o ly stuff I like seems to involve being really angular and symmetrical ( think toast and Cos) ,neither of which are my forte.

That frocks and froufrou girl has a beautiful face!

ohyesiam I think there is a general sense that being elegant and stylish require thinness. I don't think that's true and I have friends who are bigger than me and who always look great. But somehow it still holds me back from trying certain styles, especially that White Company minimalist look. I feel your pain but I'd still urge you to not be like me and to wear the things that you truly like. They might suit you better than you think!

JeSuisPrest (and others) - what great suggestions.
I bloody love Mumsnet sometimes.

OP - check out Ana Gimeno Brugada's style. She wears a lot of 'nerdy' clothes, has greying hair, doesn't appear to wear much - if any - make-up. She looks magnificent.

Trying to analyse how she manages it - she often seems to juxtapose formal with super-casual - eg. the tweedy coats with slouchy jeans - and of course the super-cool accessories.

flickerfast wow, she treads the line between cool and bag lady pretty well, but I don't think I have the Continental insouciance to pull that off! I like the colourful trousers/plain blazer thing she does in some of the pictures I looked at though. That could be adapted!

GraceMarks - exactly, I think it's all about taking inspiration from lots of different sources!