Casual clothes help

[RaraRachael]

I'm in my 50s and can never seem to get my casual clothes right. Work is fine, but at the weekend all I seem to wear are jeans, a t-shirt and a sweatshirt if it cold.

I see other people looking smart in casual clothes but I never seem to get it right.

Any suggestions welcome. I don't like patterned trousers but apart from that I'm happy to give anything a go,

Sweatshirts tend not to look good on most women. The shape in usually a bit boxy. Same goes for hoodies. If you can find a s/shirt with a better shape it will look smarter.

A smart jumper will look better than a s/shirt.

I sometimes wear a shirt with jeans for work type situations. If it's cold I wear a t-shirt underneath.

Trainers need to look fairly new.

You could wear smart trackies/jogger style trousers.

I bought this recently and it's really flattering. Has a bit of stretch too. https://www.next.co.uk/g68302s10/919461?dp=a&gclid=CjwKCAjwuIWHBhBDEiwACXQYsYUt1Ga6JJ3Nxe4JtGtc8FA4QYP8AGFPPpsZTxi31uk01ksmCDL4hoCVJYQAvDD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds#919461

How do you feel about dresses and boots and maybe cardigans?

There are endless combinations and styles obviously but at least with a dress you basically get your full outfit you can just accessorise. And boots can make a smart dress feel more casual.

I think I need to ditch the jeans. I've got some just above the ankle black and navy trousers and a denim jacket that should go well together and I've ordered a couple of floral dresses.

I was the same and felt quite frumpy and unstylish. Was wearing jeans or worse leggings for everyday activities like supermarket or errands or out for coffee.

I ditched the jeans and bought two new outfits (This was December time) and felt so much better. I then invested in some lovely summer clothes - dresses culottes T-shirt's skirt and felt much better in what I was wearing, more stylish and put together. And a denim Jacket ans shirt khaki hooded coat for the showers!

Then I found some decent skinny jeans in black (trial and error in finding a decent pair) an oversized poplin striped shirt and some blue high waisted not quite mom jeans and a few nice t shirts and a pair of Nike Air Force ones (still not sure about these).

Anyway what I am saying is really bad way is that jeans kind of need styling and refreshing and stepping away an buying some non denim pieces really helped .

Also I can to terms with having to spend money which was quite difficult after a few years of not buying anything. I do feel good though and sold a lot on vinted.

I think coats and shoes are important.

If you want smart casual then I think the way to go would be to have one item which is more tailored, or has more structure and shape. Example being if you wear mom jeans, t shirt, and cardigan/sweatshirt then everything is looser and the overall look will feel very relaxed. If you switch one item the look can be elevated. The cardigan for a blazer, the jeans for tailored trousers, or the t shirt for a more structured blouse/top then the look has a little more sharpness and polish. Of course the more items you switch the smarter the look becomes.

I think something that gets overlooked is the way items fit, clothes look 1000 times better when they fit properly. I don't know if you are guilty of buying things that aren't right because you like them, I used to do this all the time, then they didn't look or hang the way I wanted. I now only buy things that either fit me perfectly or can be easily tailored to fit.

I like jeans with a tweed hacking jacket. Not for me myself but for a thinner taller woman.