I need style - where do I start?

[Wrinklybags]

Help please

I'm 36, 6ft tall and a curvy size 14.

I have around £2k to buy a whole new set of clothes and shoes to last until the autumn.

Most of my time is spent in jeans, T-shirts and converse.

Ideally I'd like to look well put together but casual, hint of tomboy, not sexy necessarily but much less frumpy!

Where should I start?? Bravissimo is my usual go to for bras, after that I'm drawing blanks
😂

Some Questions for you:
Do you like colour?
Do you like patterns?
How do you feel about dresses skirts?
Do you want to blend in or stand out?

Are there any celebs whose style you like or admire?

Great questions!

I do quite like colours, a fan of quite rich colours, teal, burnt orange, navy, olive green, burgundy. Don't mind patterns, not keen on florals. I generally don't like being the centre of attention but wouldn't mind standing out if I felt confident I looked good

There is a risk of just telling you what we like to wear and where we like to shop so I won’t do that but I will share a rule that I recently discovered and that I found most useful in terms of feeling like I have style. Hopefully others will come on and share their rules based on what you’ve described above and you can build some ideas.

Leopard print can be treated as a neutral and therefore worn with bright colours. This can have the effect of dressing it down. For example, imagine simple teal T-shirt with leopard print wrap around mid skirt and trainers.

I’d start with “lifestyle questions”

• What’s your routine? What occasions are you dressing for? Are you dressing for work/sahm/casual nights out/glam nights out/dating?

• What’s your climate/commute like? Do you need to dress up warm/have flat footwear most of the time?

Also are you happy with your hair/make up routine?

If you already like wearing jeans and converse and t shirts , you could easily adjust this to something also casual and comfortable but “better”.

So you could go shopping for the perfect perfect black jeans, colour match these with a fitted navy top, and swap the converse for black flat ankle boots.

And then for the icing on the cake throw some money at your hair and face.

You wouldn’t be making a massive change to being “too dressed up” but you’d still be making a change in the direction you wanted .

I’ll be honest, £2k is a decent budget and (depending on what brands you like) I wouldn’t actually rush out to spend it all before the autumn! Especially as you’re not needing lots of winter coats in there. If you wanted to just order lots of stuff and play dress up on the cheap, eBay might be well worth a try? I do think you often just need to do the legwork in terms of trying on lots of things and seeing what suits you.

www.youlookfab.com also has some quite formal style advice (no connection)

When the shops open, get a personal stylist appointment in JL.
Let them suggest things.

£2K will go a long way for summer clothes. I'd spend less and use the rest for a winter wardrobe, then invest in a knockout coat, bag and fab pair of boots.

I'm a completely different shape to you and can't think of any shops for tall and curvy, but you probably look stunning in your 'uniform'.

Do you actually need a new wardrobe before autumn? Aren't you at home like everyone else?

I love shopping for clothes but can't imagine buying anything until the future starts to look considerably more like normality.

This year I have been trying to find my own style. I started a Pinterest board of looks I like and then made a list of items I wanted. I'm trying to only buy these things rather than just buying stuff because I like it. From going on Pinterest I've realised I have a specific look I aspire to so it has been quite easy.

Which celebrities' style do you like?

Do you know which season you are? I'm a winter so I choose colour which suit me- pastel pink is not my friend!

I'm currently a SAHM so my style has changed a lot, I used to live in dresses and ballet flats or day heels. No I wear a sleeveless top (not a cotton lyrca blend vest), a chunky cardigan and straight leg jeans. Footwear is trainers in metallic/colour/animal print (not running trainers) or ankle boots. I'm 33, 5ft 5 and an apple shape but very long legs and a short body.

@Thinkle I actually love leopard prints, they seem to suit my colouring well. Slightly darker than olive skin tones. Definitely a good idea for me to explore with brighter colours

Sorry for slow replies, I've just got in from work so will have a proper read through now

I’m also a size 14 and I swear by the good old capsule wardrobe.
I would personally spend half the budget initially and save the other half for later. You will get so, so many outfits from various combos of the stuff below and then slowly, slowly you will learn what you enjoy wearing. Then you can spend the other half of your budget on the type of clothes you realised you feel confident in.
Swap casual tshirts for shirts (white is always a winner - either softer cotton, crisp or linen, soft denim or the colours you mentioned) or more fitted tees - with good jeans and you can alternate trainers, ankle boots (suede beige would go with pretty much anything) or sandals (not the flimsy sort though).
I swear by jumpsuits - comfy, easy, no thinking required and there’s a whole outfit. So many to choose from atm in shops (well, online of course), including in the colours you like.
Same for shirt dresses or cos type dresses - lots to choose from, complete outfit and they look good with all the footwear above.
Make sure you got enough basics to put together with statement pieces - so as per the PP the animal print skirt can go with any colour tee, a patterned shirt can go with a good quality fitted pair of jeans (I personally hate stretchy type jeans).
Couple of jackets - one denim maybe, a navy blazer, again they tend to go with most things.
Add some accessories - can be understated or big and bright, depending what you’re comfortable with.
Good hair helps tremendously, as does good skin - doesn’t have to be make up, just a little bit of tinted moisturiser and maybe mascara and a lip balm.

@dirky

Thanks for your reply. I wear a uniform at work so all of the clothes I buy will be to wear in my own time, commute is short and by car.

Married with one young child that I still need to be able to leg it after when they decide to make like a sprinter.

Hair, makeup and skin care have had a decent overhaul over the course of the last year as they were easier to figure out for me than clothes! A decent haircut will be in order once salons open again.

I'd like clothes for casual nights out or even in! To be smart/ casual for days off. Reiss have some lovely clothes and I really hope to pay them a visit for something nice to wear for a lovely night out with DH at some point but who knows how far in the future that is likely to be!

@perditaprovokesenmity When I'm not at work I am at home but generally struggle to buy clothes so only buy a handful of things at a time and wear them to death. All of my clothes are either for cold weather or have just given up the ghost completely.

My DH isn't a big spender but even his answer is to throw some money at the situation, get some nice bits that will last and make me feel good about myself. The last couple of weeks I've lived old gym kit and if it wasn't for his encouragement would probably keep doing so 🤷🏽‍♀️

I would try and get a sort of summer “uniform” going, which I think you could do quite cheaply, then splash out on some really lovely winter clothes. I’m not your size/height (10/5ft 6) so these suggestions might not work for you, but I would buy:

Midi skirts - Monki do great ones very reasonably
T-shirts and long sleeved cotton tops - I like Monki, Other Stories, and Cos for these
Wide legged cropped trousers - I like Cos
A couple of decent pairs of jeans - I like Whistles barrel leg, or Levi’s 501s
A denim jacket - I have a dark, fitted-ish one, and a light over-sized one, both from Topshop
A cardigan - I like Arket and Cos’s cardis
White trainers - Stan Smiths, Vejas, Superstars, something quite plain

You could mix and match all of the above, no knicker flashing or hobbling if you need to dash after your wee one, and it would take up less than 1/4 of your budget.

@hoolajerry Thanks for the tip! I can a see myself losing a fair bit of time to Pinterest this evening!

If you are 6 ft and a 14 you will have good legs. Are you comfortable showing them? If so, I would get some of Reiss’s tailored shorts. They do them in a good range of colours and for a summer night out they look great with a sleeveless top and heels. You can also wear them during the day with trainers or flat ballet pumps.

I have three pairs, so I am an advocate. You probably have nice long arms too. Show them off.

I second the personal shopper recommendation when the department stores reopen.

So if you’re going for the whole Reiss inspired look is it kind of the attached screenshots ?

Modern classic, not too many frills and patterns. Not overdressed but quite smart looking.

Having a look at the casual section of the website, there’s outfit ideas which could be inspiration (Id strongly avoid the white/light colours unless you’re a neat freak with a personal laundress). So you could try to emulate the “fitted jeans and off shoulder top look”

The key to getting this simple classic look right (in my opinion) is fit.

So it’s basically not just getting the first pair of jeans that are the right size but going through the different brands to get the one which is most flattering to your body shape.

Then you get three and that’s your “base”.

Same with tops - depending on your neck/face shape different styles will be more or less flattering. Again, you need to try on lots. Internet shopping Returns policies will be your friend

It’s a bit dated now but if you look for Trinny and Susannah style tips that’s quite a good “start point” for different face types and body shapes.

(I actually think dressing well “smart casually” is harder than “glamming up” dressing well. But once you have your baseline look you can expand out from this a bit)

I’d say these three looks from the Reiss casual collection would work best as a casual “busy person home uniform” that you could pop on (and be as comfy as gym wear)

Also they aren’t revealing and don’t require leg shaving or exposure of limbs

1. Plain fitted flattering top and jeans
2. Plain oversized jumper and skinny black trousers
3. Fitted cardigan over jeans

From my dating experience these looks are quite good for casual dates out too. Add flat ankle boots if you want a casual look or (at six foot you’ll have knockout legs) tuck trousers into flat knee boots for a more glammed up look.

It’s all about taking time to get the fit and colour right - it’s personal preference but I think sticking to dark neutral colours can be very chic.

@cluelessbeetroot

Thank you for your reply! So many good points in there. I love a jumpsuit when I can find them long enough in the body. I'll have a good look around.

@Dirky

Thanks for such a well thought out reply. It's really helpful. Those looks are great. I've recently discovered that GStar have jeans that fit really well and seem to mould me into a much more flattering shape 😄 I even think they might have some on sale - woop.

Your posts have really helped me think of how I'd like to look

Well fitted jeans
Well fitted tops that fit the length of my body in slightly more luxurious fabrics/textures that are not too difficult to care for.
A new selection of footwear, smart trainers - probably not the most beautiful pair from Hugo Boss though.
Well coordinated darker neutrals with some colour worked in