Style me!!

[Coldemort]

I've got time on my hands, so having a bit of a 'new me'. I'm nearly 40 and still dress like a girl - think flowery tea dresses in summer, and flowery tea dresses with black tights in winter! I need a new grown up look!
What I dont like - stomach, knees, arms
What I do like - bum, boobs, shoulders.

I'm a tiny 5 foot so nothing that would swamp me. Do your best stylish mumsnetters!! (Will try to attach photos below)

A

Anyone?

What's wrong with tea dresses. I think that's a lovely look. You have a fabulous figure too!

I just think it's too 'girly', plus being a short arse petite I have visions of people seeing me from behind and thinking I'm a teenager then being shocked when I turn around!

You have a lovely 'neat' figure, as my mum would say, and we are the same height, although I'm a bit older. Here are my general rules, if its loose on top go for tighter on the bottom and vice versa. So, slim cropped trousers/flowing blouse OR full skirt/fitted top. Because of my height I look frumpy if I do anything else. Colourwise, I tend to put cool colours (blues, greys, purples) together and warm (reds, oranges, yellows, browns) together. Black and white goes with anything generally. Patterns, again because of height I tend to avoid big patterns as they 'swamp' me. After years of buying throw away clothes, I now go for less pieces of better quality in more natural fabrics. Also, I have learned not to focus on the size but concentrate on the fit. This is of course, just what works for me

That's really helpful thanks :)
I tried on a leather pencil skirt which is nothing like what I'd usually wear and it looked quite nice. I'll have a look at cropped trousers - what shoes do you wear with them?

A leather skirt is a sophisticated and versatile look. I have a couple of above the knee leather skirts (not quite minis) I wear in winter with thick tights and knee length boots. Cropped trousers can be matched with various footwear, I like white trainers, ballet pumps, sandals. I have a pair of platform wedges that I think also look good with cropped trousers. In my head I fancy myself as Stevie Nicks when I wear platforms (she is also small stature)

Look up the olsen twins. They are quite petite but dress in a very grown up way.

I've had a look and although I love their style, I'm quite a bit bigger on top.
Cant really see it from the pics, but I'm quite busty for a small person. Think more Babs Windsor than Mary Olsen

What colours do you like/hate/look good in?

Also, could you post a pic in something you'd wear on an average day? Or maybe an example of a look that you feel is less girly. It's easier to offer suggestions if we have a starting point.

Im not petite but I look very young and I also had a very immature wardrobe, I swapped a lot of my vintage floral swing dresses recently for floral for a similar style that feels a bit more mature to me. This is what I've discovered works so far for myself:

• Blockier/bigger floral print rather than a thousand small flowers/details
• Less different colours rather than a huge mix
• Deeper/richer/darker colours/more primary colours rather than pastels or super bright
• Coordinated colour accessories/shoes
• A stunning handbag (or two) that goes with everything
• Flatter shoes (nothing wrong with heels at all, but the ones I had were all very chunky/teenager-y
• Styled hair & makeup make a HUGE difference
• Less cutesy patterns, got rid of dresses with hearts, butterflies etc unless they're subtle
• More substantial jewelry. I don't mean substantial to mean expensive but for example a simple pendant beautiful enough to stand out on its own rather than the huge chunk flowery statement necklaces I had
• A good, dark jacket or coat can tone down even the frilliest dress I have.
• Quality over quantity, 1 amazing dress is worth 10 shoddy ones
• Natural fabrics/cotton over polyester, no cheap/shiny looking fabrics
• No excessive beading/lace etc

Before I offend anyone, none of the things I mentioned are bad or ugly! I just dont feel like myself in flowery tea dresses anymore and am drawn to a plainer style. I hope that helps OP

If you’re used to dresses, what about changing a little towards midi shirt dresses (vaguely utility, plain sludgey colours or grown-up prints rather than florals - see massimo dutti) or jumpsuits/boiler suits (more difficult to find in petite though and must fit well)? Surprisingly flattering on a bustier petite shape. Be prepared to hem! Also wide-leg crops/culottes are lovely, everywhere just now, and easy to wear. Go with decent fabric and no loud prints/colours and you’ll look grown-up.

Thought of a few more changes I made:

• Brown eyeliner instead of black
• Swapped jeans for pants/chinos
• Parted my hair at the side instead of the center. Center part felt childish on me but I have no idea if that's just me or also other people
• I had a lot of forest animal themed clothes/accessories (fox, deer, Racoon etc) that I couldn't bear to give up. So with those I went smaller instead of bigger, so a little fox brooch instead of a huge fox bag etc

What size are you?
I'm 5 foot and wear all sorts .
What sort of thing do you like?