Please help me dress myself!

[BeccaBloomwood]

Hello! I'm seeking the expertise of you knowledgeable ladies in Style and Beauty to (hopefully) help me dress myself. I'd really love to be one of those people who look put together, effortlessly cool and presentable. Right now I usually wear jeans and baggy tops, no make up and my hair scraped back in a bun. I've spent the past week trying to wear some of my nicer clothes, I've made an effort to wear make-up and to try and style my hair and I've booked myself in for a cut and colour on Tuesday!

I'm really at the point now where my size 16 clothes are getting too baggy and now look quite scruffy so would like to get some good quality basic clothes. I'm 5 ft 8, size 14 with an hourglass(ish) shape. I hate my arms as they are disproportionatly huge in comparison to the rest of me. I never wear a sleeve that is shorter than elbow length. And I have a "B" shaped tummy which makes anything fitted look awful. I love the high waisted jeans tucked in a plain shirt look with a nice belt, but with my tummy that wouldn't look good on me

Can anyone recommend me some shops and maybe some flattering styles? I have a very limited budget but don't mind saving a bit and also seeing if I can pick anything up on ebay or in charity shops. I tend to wear plain clothes, normally black but emerald green and cobalt blue suits me. I stay away from patterns but do have the odd floral patterned dress and multiple stripey tops.

I also have huge size 9, extra wide feet so getting shoes is a struggle. I've heard good things about Duo Boots but they are way out of my price range 😔 I normally buy my shoes from Evans or Simply Be but I'm fed up of having a pair of boots that last less than a year before they start to break and I get soggy feet, so would Duo Boots be worth the investment?

I will try to attach some pictures but not sure I will be able to as I'm having diffuculty posting anything with a picture attached!

Wrap dress

No 1

no 2
(Comes in lots of colours]]

[[

Moved to my laptop to see if I can attach pictures

Standrewsschool I really like the leopard print dress, what kind of shoes would you wear with it? I like the idea of chunky biker style boots and a leather jacket but my legs are quite chunky and I don't think it would look good in real life compared to the picture in my head

jumper

top

I’m not very good at suggesting shoes.

Op I downloaded stylebook.

You have to photograph every item of clothing you have and you have to take good pictures!

Then you create you own outfits.

I will screen shot a couple to show you.

I think it was £5.99 but it was well worth it for me.

Like this

Your hair is GORGEOUS

NancyBotwinBloom I've never heard of stylebook, it looks really good! So those are all items you own? If so, where is that berry coloured coat from because it is lovely!

I have a lack of accesories, bags and shoes to go with my clothes, I think for the past few years I've been too poor to buy stuff and also felt like what was the point as I was fat and ugly anyway 😳 I'm trying to tuen that around and focus on myself a bit more so will need to kind of start from scratch. I made my first official purchase today, I found a beautifl woollen Jaeger coat in a charity shop which will be perfect for winter and a good replacement for my Primark coat that has holes! But now I need other things to go with it to start building a basic wardrobe.

I wish I had someone who could come shopping with me and help me pick out good quality stuff!

@BeccaBloomwood your description of yourself does you no favours! The photos you have uploaded show a perfectly normal shaped woman who looks nice. I can never work out how to say this without sounding dreadfully rude but you are not odd or fat or unattractive but you are seeing yourself skewed. Also, your hair is a wonderful colour!

I have a mum tum and I find high waisted jeans flattering as they kind of tuck you in! You could try a few different shape pairs from a couple of retailers via ASOS perhaps? I do think you need to get jeans sorted as a stand-alone project, and aim to get 2 pairs you feel really good in regardless of price point. And if you find a pair you like you could have a quick look on eBay to see if you can get cheaper that way. People recommend M&S jeans too and they are around £19.99 as are tesco I think. I wouldnt spend masses if you think your weight might change but when you are stable and feel like investing, used premium denim via eBay or depop is a good idea .
Look on Pinterest for ideas for dresses/ boots? Flick through redo line or similar for ideas. I like whowhatwear for inspiration too. I'm not great at dresses as they don't fit my life ( I wear jeans almost every day). But others will! I think new look seem to do great dresses

Well the accessories are from Vova. It's an app. They are fakes.

The fringed mulberry bag is from Greece. Also a fake but I've had it years now.

The cost is from a power seller on eBay who sells brand new stuff I think it's last season or whatever.

It has a tag In still it's from Dorothy Perkins.

If I see something I like I usually look on eBay to find it cheaper.

nzeire that just made my day!! It doesn't normally look like that, I'd just brushed it to get rid of the tats. I'm going to ask the hair dresser to put some more layers into it to try and frame my face a bit more, as well as get my roots sorted as they are awful 😳 it will be the first time I've had my hair dyed professionally in over 12 years so I'm very excited!

Your hair is gorgeous and you are not fat.

I shall have a look at Vova 😊

I am trying to see myself in a more positive light, I've been obese most of my life so it's difficult to get my head out that mindset, all I see in those pictures are the parts I hate.

Sooverthemill thanks for your post, I agree about jeans, I like skinny jeans but don't know if they are the most flattering for me. I did buy a great pair from Asda that are high waisted and sucked everything in but I spilt bleach on them 😳 I've never ordered anything from Asos before, do you know what their sizes are like generally?

Next high waisted waist enhancer jeans are good.

M and s magic jeans are good too.

I think they are expensive so I usually look on eBay for them.

You have a lovely figure and your hair is gorgeous!

You could definitely carry off the jeans/shirt combo. A pair of white trainers would make it an effortless casual outfit and some accessories/nice flat shoes would make it more smart/casual.

I really like day dresses with black tights and biker boots, would you wear something like that?

Honestly OP your description in your post doesn’t match your photos at all, stop selling yourself short

Your hair is stunning and you have a lovely figure...
genuinely bewildered at why you’ve described yourself so negatively.

However you need to feel confident so smile and enjoy trying the clothes suggestions of the others

I’m hopeless at that stuff ,so I’ll leave it to the experts on here and look forward to an update on how you get on.

Good luck

And ASOS own brand is true to size normally.

The New Look skinny jeans/jeggings are good, and really well priced.

Actually m and s do some high waisted jeggings. £15 in all kinds of colours

Navy blue with your hair colour would look amazing.
I'd suggest some peplum style tops if you're not comfortable with your stomach. Agree with pp on the new look lift and shape jeans, good fit and cheap too.

I agree with pp's OP, you're not seeing yourself properly!

Also the next jumper linked above, that pink is a fabulous colour!

Boohoo have some great peplum tops and dresses and they are quite cheap.

Look on the next clearance site. They sometimes have the next enhancer or next lift and shape jeans on there. Usually half price.

Like this they are dead flattering and go with jeans, pencil skirts etc

You have a great figure OP, and lovely hair. Well done on your weight loss.