inspiration needed - have lost my fashion way and need serious help

[jeangenie]

I seem to have fallen into a pit of bad saggy faded jeans and tshirts that I need some help being pulled out of - anyone want to throw me a rope? I seem to have a wradrobe full of bits and bobs that don't work together so I end up throwing on the same old tired jeans etc everyday

about me
Lifestyle:
mother of two, work 4 days a week, informal office (but am sick of just wearing jeans day in day out), when off am carting kids here there and everywhere
Figure:
5 ft 6
slimish upper bod (10-12) small boobs, bit of flab under bra line but not bad
medium tum, fair sized bulge if am honest and stop holding it in
large arse, wide too (12-14)
large thighs that touch in the middle
fat knees
slender calves
nice ankles
arms ok
wide feet
short neck
crazy bobbed hair that I am growing so can put it up

my ideal style would be slightly retro towards the 40s/50s. I like aline skirts, fitted pretty cardis, wide legged trousers, boat necked tshirts - would love to try a nice dress'n'boots combo
am bad in heels but like the height - broad wedges work best

but I don't have any of these things in my wardrobe and I don't know where to get them. I am an awkward shape/size and find things fit in one place but not anywhere else. I have the two kids so rarely get out to shop and am in london and find trekking about on a Saturday in the crowds makes me want to kill someone

so, anyone want to help me and be my guru of change??? is there one shop that I can go to to find all of these things...

I can stretch to £500 or so for new wardrobe but I want things that work together

heh, up till now i've been looking for stuff for me and passing on those that are too small, but the lure of a silvery frock was too much and went looking just for you.

how about this dress?

it def needs a petticoat but wouldn't need to be quite as full as the one it's shown with if you want to avoid the fancy dress look

just checked out shoes again - didn't realise they were black, no that dress wouldn't go with them shame, is really nice dress, is yum from front and wow from back.

gorgeous dress puppy - though have short neck so not sure high front would do me any favours, back is truly fab

am feeling a bit less inspired again - this all seems like very hard work, I take your point about ebay but there is such a lot of tat on there and it is hard to find time to wade through it all (oddly, work don't take too kindly to me doing it when there and when at home the kids are calmouring for attention)

am looking a right old state today and am due to go out tonight to theatre and dinner and would love to have something elegant and gorgeous to wear but I fear will be those old jeans again...

am going to go upstairs now and go through that wardrobe to sort out the (kind of) wheat from the (absolute) chaff and hope to be inspired - although I hear DD2 awake from her nap now [groan]

is true takes time - am blessed with bf baby and laptop so much best option for me (better than braving shops ) but not so much for those not pinned to sofa by force. plus i love the chase almost more than the actual owning/wearing of items i usually do same searches over period of a couple of weeks, and do that 2 or 3 times a year.

am happy to keep hunting on yr behalf if we're getting close as am in middle of "help only fit in maternity and is all summer stuff" shopping spree at mo what do you have and what are you still trying to track down?

(ps short neck not a prob i don't think - if it wd fit i think is fabby dress).

oh thank you! I do need someone to help as I seem to run out of steam quite quickly with this fashion revamp lark but I really need it...
am off out now but will let you know tomorrow what I have (not much)
I managed to cobble together an outfit of dark bootleg jeans, high wedge heel green suede boots underneath for height, brown tunicy type thingy which skims to mid thigh and browny-orangey knitted wrap around cardi affair which have accessorised with chunky green, brown, orange beads
DH thinks I look nice anyway haven't worn this cardi before (might be a tad seventies ish but desperate measures prevail)
have a lovely evening with your bf baby and your laptop!

That dress, beautiful as it is has a SIXTEEN inch waist(grin)

That dress, beautiful as it is has a SIXTEEN inch waist

that's measured flat, making it 32" around.

coat? depending on what accent colours you're chosen, but teal will work with most things (despite my professed dislike of bluey greens once it gets as blue as turquoise i start to like it again) and i know is double breasted but you seem to quite like that

same seller brown cardi

another coat would ask for hip measurement for this one - is slimmer cut.

this one would look better on you than hipless manequin.

Hi Puppy - hope you haven't forsaken me yet!
was at work today so couldn't reply and yesterday ran away from me with various domestic disasters
so, have been through the wardrobe and can attest to the following items - I will put pictures in my profile later if can figure all that out
THE SKIRTS

1. fab brown and gold wide skirt, just below knee length, heavy slightly silky material. wide waistband that sits just above my hips, flat wide pleats (well, not quite pleats but sort of) to front. I love this skirt and had forgotten about it. Usually wear for evening/parties but should start wearing in day if I knew what to put it with thta's not too dressy
2. brown cord aline skirt from next - new, basic but OK
3. brown wrap skirt, jersey material. some teal blue and pink in the pattern. FC - not sure clingy shape will work with tights. Possible a bit long but could hoike up THE TROUSERS this area is currently vacant(!) (I do have too many jeans - both bootcut and boyfriend, both dark and faded and one nice pair of flattering black "slacks" - otherwise is pure dross and drivel) THE CARDIS
4. brown and gold sparkly wrap/self tie short cardi
5. brown, orange, cream zig zag stripe self tie 70s style
6. pretty short asymmetrical brown, cream, orange, green (etc) stripey thing which fastens with brooch (wearing this one now, is sweet) also have a nice orange thin knit cardi (and a grey-silver swing variety) THE TOPS
7. green long sleeved t
8. petrol blue long sleeve t
9. brown long sleeve t
10. brown short sleeve ruffle shirt with cream miny polkdots
11. brown long sleeve (fairly shapeless) blouse with some sweet pintucks
12. red and cream patterned bluse which looks ok under brown tanktop (this will work with the brown cord skirt I think) THE DRESS
13. FC wrap around dress which I think neither the style nor the colour suits me particularly (although male friends tend to like this as is quite clingy I find it nervewracking to wear and it involves far too much tummy sucking in for my liking)

can't find my tights (house turned upside down many times since last winter so need new ones)
have no decent coat (khaki parka for park with kids)
have some short red suede (low wedge heel) boots
some knee length flat black leather boots which must be 10 years old so need an update
some high wedge heeled slouchy green suede boots

my new shoes arrived today and all are beautiful except think they are slightly tight so will have to do much soul searching before committing to keep them or not. Diana heels you recommended are about the nicest shoes in the world. Yuna beautiful and like walking on air, though a bit tight on my toes unfortunately

so, what do I need?
some wide legged trousers
some more tops
some more little cardis to keep me warm and snug
some tights
a coat
some brown boots
a cute hat
some killer accessories
anything else?

(did you see that H&M coat you linked to went for £41 plus £6 p+P - was worn and had cost £40 NEW stated in ad )

right - have uploaded the photos so you better come back and give me lots of inspiration
(do you do house calls ?)

heh you want me to come and paw at you a la trinny and susannah? and is always the same for me on ebay - the stuff i like always goes for a furtune and tbh if it doesn't i panic and think "why did noone else want it?!"

yay for pics

first skirt is fabby. to dress it down wd wear w/fitted brown jumper and low wedge brown boots. honestly, destroy are best boots out there if you avoid the horrid furry ones. i paid full price for my red ones and they've been worth every penny, just picked up a brown pair on ebay for less than half new price. go for the lower heel unit like here. don't have to go fluff/straps (suspect sheepskin doesn't wear too well) very plain ones here. if you're going w/brown as base colour i wouldn't bother w/black boots - better spend more on brown and get some you absolutely love. can get black next yr.

love the spotty shirt too, if you wear it a lot get the green frilly one too as is similar shape/style but flashier - wd go lovely w/cord skirt & diana shoes for work or boots for home.

you have a lot of 'interesting' cardis (no offence ) which makes sense if wearing w/jeans but ones i find most useful are really plain button up ones as can add to more show offy tops/skirts to warm up or add a shot of colour to help pull outfit together. (e.g. brown skirt + top plus red boots and cardi) wd go looking for jumpers/cardis to match shoes/boots if i were you - might be best to do irl so get colour spot on. then you can swap out base colour (skirt/top/tights) next yr if you get bored of brown. knitwear dates much less than rest ime.

tights is difficult as i don't like them very much. i like woolly ones best and they're hard to find. hence move to socks which works much better for me.

will keep looking for coats. do you like fur collar/cuffs or no? i find makes me feel instantly more glam.

am terrible w/hats

and i love love love your quilt - can see you really have eye for colour. i'm in progress w/one for dd1 - about 1/3 of blocks are done but is floundering thanks to new babe. can't wait to have time to get back to it

here is good coat. v neck wd be more flattering than high neck, but i bet you could take it.

okay onto the killer accessories. i don't tend to do much jewellery but pendants are easy to swap in/out. do you do gold/silver?

a few random picks (actually more random than i thought, was looking for things that picked out your colours but got sidetracked)...

silver cherry blossom
blackbird on blue
burnt by the sun
earrings

hi yes please come and poke me, ridicule me and cut up all my old clothes - it would do me good (can you make sure to bring the £2000 too though?)

ok, so got some boots at nine west today - brown, wedge heel, quite like those destroy ones but a bit less chunky in the toe- they do have a bit of fancy lacing business going on at the side which am not mad about but were reduced from 125 quid to 63 and they fit my slender calves best of any I have tried on this season so I went for them. I liked the plain destroy ones a bit better but couldn't find any available online anywhere - raw didn't have them in my size. Will mull over my 9 west ones but I think they are ok. Might have to take a photo for you and see what you think - wouldn't want to make such a grave mistake so early on you know...

also bought the following
basic brown high necked top - actually I like the skirt in that picture too, hmm
this skirt which looks totally crap in the photo but is actually really flattering - has that wide waistband, deep wide pleat thing going on and is a good shade of plum, tending more towards the brown - although that said am not convinced it'll fit that well into the new colour scheme so may have to go back
I bought a pair of brown wide legged tailored trousers that I can't find on the Next site - I think they are ok
nearly bought a little green 40s style tweedy jacket but was £65 so didn't
and I liked this coat I like the assymetrical thing and the collar is good on me, but I needed to consult, wasn't feeling brave enough
I tried on one like the styles you've pointed out but made me look like a school kid - the waist might have been a tad high I guess

Oh, tried on that green blouse in Monsoon too but 12 was tightish ( in Monsoon - I thought their sizes were always massive) so will try to get a 14

can you tell I was at work today - what a busy lunch hour I had - was knackered afterwards

thank you for your kind words about my quilt - I do love it even though edges are decidedly dodgey. It took me a while - but not as long as the 22 years it took to do my first one!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

oooh crossed posts - nice jewellery - I love the earrings though don't wear earrings at the mo
also love the bluebird and sun ones, the cherry one is lovely but a bit delicate for me - I do silver or chunky glass/resin/plastic mostly (when I bother)
I do like etsy - have bought some prints on there before

oh BTW have to thank you for one of your ebay links - denim warehouse skirt that I got for 92p. Arrived today and is FAB

DH who thought I was a loon getting style tips from stranger on internet was well impressed

heh tell dp imaginary friends can be handy for all kinds of unlikely things...

good shopping coat is good shape too. is tweedy jacket same shade as suede boots? if so go get it.

so how are we doing? spent your £500 yet?

I have that coat. It is gorg. It is supposed to be my Christmas present so is in the plastic wrap in the Wardrobe still.

yes skyler - lovely coat - I like the cream too but would be a disaster in it. I reckon the brown will look great with petrol blue wool beret if I can find such a thing anywhere. Do you have brown?

puppy - oh yeah, must tot up my spendings one of these days
lets see...
I think is something like £220 so far but I haven't bought the coat yet and that doesn't include the two pairs of yuna shoes am sending back (does include the dianas as am trying to get bigger size in them)
I still need some tops, cardis, tights or socks (am tending towards socks as I remember the hatred I feel towards tights waistbands digging into me so will check out your link again)
am still not sure about my nine west boots - the heel looks as high as on my green boots and I only wear those for evenings out with not too much walking as they kill my back so I may think again, shame though as they were good value (however they did have a green version which I secretly liked MUCH better but couldn't justify buying so deep down it may make me relieved to bring them back - who knows, the mind of the indecisive shopper is a complex thing )
I think would like some wide legged tweedy trews and feel I need some more stuff but not sure what...
so anyway, what is your quilt like? I really want to start another, well two actually so that I can move the girls into bunkbeds and have nice quilts on each. DD2 has just figured out how to escape from her cot...

cardi - v neck good, current season styling (big buttons).

trousers - these are v nice but may be too big as monsoon.

more trousers - these may be too small as zara

if there are no bids on an item i usually mail them and ask what their buy it now price would be. a lot of the time they'll put something very reasonable on and you save time and hassle (and often money if it's a popular brand/item).

btw - when getting measurements for trousers bear in mind they often sit below natural waist. if you get the rise as well it will give you a better idea of fit. again, go by measurements of similar garments that fit well, not body measurements.

trousers again have no idea who wrap are or what their sizing's like but lined is good.