Sorting wardrobe out completely. Success stories?

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I have a reasonable number of clothes… and nothing to wear! Went from student to professional role which then became smart casual through pandemic, two maternity leaves, and now a job requiring a smart wardrobe (think: suits and tailoring). Everything I own is a hodge-podge of styles, although I have at least stayed the same size throughout, more or less.

I don’t really know what I like clothing-wise. I dislike shopping in person as I get grumpy about my appearance (but it beats online as I don’t waste time with returns). I have no idea what colours suit me and wear a lot of black. I do have some money to throw at this, and I’m anti fast-fashion, but £££ on getting my colours done feels decadent?

Any advice on how to get from this situation to a situation where I have good quality, well-fitting, flattering clothing for every occasion… is very welcome. I’m completely overwhelmed.

20mins drive from Westfield so very keen to hear the specifics of that recommendation please @FluffyBunni !

I wouldn’t get your colours done, who cares if your skin looks more glowy in apple green or lemon yellow, you’re not going to start wearing those colours because the clothes will be ugly.

100% agree. I'm a clear spring so I suit baby blues, pistachio, cool pinks etc - but if I'm building a London work wardrobe it's pretty useless knowing that. I wear black and grey because it's practical, socially accepted and easy to buy. I've tried doing navy as a basic but it's not like I'm going to wear navy shoes and tights because I'd look like uniform monitor at a girls school.

You can do your colours with a mirror and an online guide anyway so why bother paying?

Even if you have to wear harsh black for work, it still matters what you wear next to your face.

dream-wardrobe.com/ this website was very helpful.

https://styledoctors.com/product-category/women/

Here you go OP- the Westfield stylists. Hope it looks helpful. I'd love to try the home visit plus shopping and it gets really good reviews.

Also I slightly disagree with pp about having colours done being a waste of time. I do agree the whole package is probably a waste of money, but I do very much think it's worth knowing which season or pair of seasons you fall into. But you can probably find out by yourself.

Main example is, if you are winter or summer then white will suit you much better than cream or ivory, and your neutrals will need to be white or things like wintery ice blue, ice dove grey. For Autumn / Spring it's the opposite and those warmer ivories / beiges will be your neutrals and never white.

It also applies to make up and things like lipstick colour and nail polish colour which is very useful.

I found this website quite helpful reading: theconceptwardrobe.com/colour-analysis-comprehensive-guides

Great thread in classics ‘ in pursuit of elegance’ inspired me to overhaul my wardrobe. Sold/ gave away clothing that wasn’t right for me anymore. Hung on to a few items I loved and then searched Pinterest whenever I had a spare 5 mins - eg I have a linen dress I love but nothing to wear it with - Pinterest threw up some good ideas so I slowly started buying a couple of layering basics so I can now wear my dress across all seasons. Overtime, common themes emerged. I’ve discovered I am drawn to natural fabrics in different textures linen/ pure wool/alpaca/cotton so that’s what I look for now. I’ve slowly narrowed down my choices, stopped impulse buying and am getting braver with my decisions as my own sense of style emerges. I’ve bought a lot of basics in neutral colours and now I’m ready to add a bit more colour etc but I’m doing it slowly and only buy what I love and feels spot on with fit. Try to look at clothing not as separate items but as whole outfits to fit your current lifestyle.

• Find out your body shape
• Find out your "season"
• Mari kondo.your closet. This will take a few rounds
• But less, more expensive, multi purpose, slowly over time. For example, this year could be black pleated skirt or smart blue corduroy blazer. Next year could be non iron white shirt.or an apple figure complimenting pale pink dress. Be picky. And it gets better and easier over time
• have fun

All the best

Thanks for all the tips! I tried out the Kettlewell colour quiz, and read all the sections of the blog on a capsule wardrobe (SO helpful - thank you!).

I’ve divided my time into rough chunks to reflect my activities (40% loungewear ie WFH chic, 30% formal officewear, 20% weekend casual, 5% activewear, 5% events like weddings/going “out-out”).

Workwear is probably my most pressing need currently, so I’ve been proactively looking in the shops at every opportunity, getting some ideas on styles / fabrics / prices. I’ve yet to actually buy anything though!