Help me start my whole wardrobe again?

[hentheeighth]

Hi wise style gods, I am in dire need of your help.

I am so so uninspired and unhappy with my wardrobe. Long story short but I have a busy job, small child and have put on a fair bit of weight recently. Things either don't fit, are torn/stained, horribly outdated or loungewear. And nothing goes with anything!

I am going into a small bonus at the end of this month, and I want to use it as an opportunity to completely clear out and refresh my wardrobe, so in my dream scenario I can wake up each morning and have a handful of smart, put together outfit options without too much thinking.

The brief

• Been a while since I did one of the colour quizzes but would say I am autumn - dark hair, light skin but warm undertones.
• About size 16 at the moment. I am hoping to get back down to 12ish but am tired of waiting to lose weight before I bother with nice clothes!
• Work in a professional office job, in the office semi regularly, would love to look effortlessly smart and confident rather than hiding in huge jumpers
• The rest of the time either WFH or looking after DC. But still would like to look presentable rather than in trackies and a rubbish t-shirt!
• Not huge budget, but would be happy to spend £££ on a couple of nice quality pieces and build out with more affordable ones.

Where do I start?! How many of what things would I need to build a whole wardrobe? If like me, you need an excuse to procastinate on the internet, please send me links, brands, designers...

I am planning a shopping spree after payday and will happily come back and update.

I also find with wrap dresses you can get away with a size or two either side so even if you drop a dress size or go up a size they still look good

Make sure you sort your existing clothes before you shop! Be ruthless, throw oit stained and damaged, donate or sell things you feel meh about and store smaller things you want to keep. Then shop!

Oh dear... there goes my hopes of getting it done in a week! 😂
Sounds worth it though. Excited to get back into it!

Following for ideas

Again I disagree with pp about ME+EM. I have many things from the there & I highly rate the tailoring, fit, detailing & quality. I have wool trousers, pure cotton italian velvet cords, wool & recycled materials tailored trousers, merino & cashmere knitwear etc. I read the material composition v carefully & buy in sales which allows me to afford them.

All shops have a mix of materials these days & you just have to select wisely.

If you browsing ME+EM check out the sales section there are still some bargains to be had.

I found Sezane (again sales mostly) brilliant for updating my casual weekend wardrobe. The Summer before last I bought loads & loads of stuff from there, jeans, cotton trousers, blouses, t-shirt & cardigans & I got so much wear out of them! And they were prettier, nicer versions of 'jeans & a top' so I felt great going fir coffee or out with dc at the weekend

I need to restock some things this summer as some of the t-shirt etc are worn out now.

Following the success of the causal wardrobe update I went on to buy some fabulous winter work trousers there but them I gained weight & they didn't fit. So they've sat in wardrobe for well over a year with the tags still on. I'm currently losing weight, and my aim is to get into all the beautiful things I already own !

Last summer I was lucky enough to have beeb away several times & I bought loads of nice summer holidays clothes in the Mint Velvet sale. I bought cotton Jersey dresses, a kimono to go over them, 3 pairs of wide leg side stripe trousers & 3 fancy tshirts etc

I got tons of wear out of them but truthfully the tshirts really didn't wash & wear v well. Even on the coolest wash they shrank in length & the side seams twisted a bit so that was disappointing. They were cotton.

there is a you tuber from Denmark Signe called " use less" lots about using same items to create different looks something like 12 looks with black jeans and a jumper

a capsule wardrobe doesn't need to be black beige and grey but it does need to work together, don't buy a new top that doesn't match at least 2 if not 3 bottoms or a coat that only works with one other thing

try and find a few words that desribe your style are you classic or edgy, boho rock, super casual prefer smart, are you treally a jeans and t shirt person or are you a dress and tights and chunky boots trainer type etc you need to feel like you, also buy clothes for your real life not your fantasy life
do you like natural fibres or are you ok with viscose etc
make sure you can wash everything as long as they wash joggers are not easier than nice looking trousers, cords are no harder to look after than jeans
you can pick up some bargains in charity shops

You mention your Sara’s on, ie. Autumn, but not your body shape. The first step I would take is get a body analysis.

I used ‘Style by Suzie’, but others are available (Emily Innes). It revolutionised what I buy and how I dress, and I feel a lot better turned out as a result.

Things I learnt is ignore the size label (clothes vary so much) and ignore the shop label - you can equally chic in clothes from M and S, as from the higher, end retail shops. In fact, one of my most complimented dresses is from Sainsbury!

Also, don’t forget to factor your ‘style personality’ into your wardrobe. Sometimes you see shops mentioned on mn, and I look at their ranges and think they just wouldn’t suit me, whilst other shops lambasted I love. Buy clothes that suit you, not your best friend, or personality of the tv. Just because it looks good on them, doesn’t mean it will look good on you.

Not saying I get it right all the time, but since learning I’m an autumn pear, I’ve had far more compliments (and I’m overweight as well).

season, nor Sara!

The John Lewis personal shopper is a good idea (and is free?). I know Suzie does personal shops at Bluewater also (Ie. She goes shopping with you). There must be similar people in your area.

You are all amazing thank you. Very true about buying for real life @Cottagecheeseisnotcheese! Which is a shame because in my fantasy life I would be impeccable at all times 😂

Try looking at Lydia Tomlinson on YouTube. If you like her style and can get over the number of times she says "elevated" she is a really useful resource. Lots of dressing with basics videos 5 ways to wear one item type thing capsules by season I have found her really useful. And sensible over items of course she is an influencer and has some very expensive stuff but almost always gives mango Uniqlo river island alternatives.

Why not spend a little bit of cash on a style analysis and capsule wardrobe suggestions?

I am waiting for my analysis from style me happy which would help you no end. There are other companies too though

Just remembered this website.

Who What Wear

They do useful emails which give you a summary of trends, with examples of where you can buy these trends from, ranging from high end shops, to high street. They do seem to promote Zara and H and M a lot, but they’re usually quite good at spotting a trend. Ie. Fashionable colour etc.

😂 could do with a bit of elevation to be fair! Added to the list to check out, thank you!

Getting it done in a week! You can of course. I used to have a new look every year or more and I'm sure i could achieve that in a short space of time.

I realise I've made assumptions with my post, for me i was changing my relationship to clothes away from regular "shopping" that was more like unconsidered hoarding. I'm older and wanted a simple wardrobe and for the quality to be the best i could afford, and i wanted only cotton and wool. I worked out what style i liked and went from there. So, for instance, i only have one style of summer sandal in a few colours, i found a shop that sells clothes i like and only shop there so my fewer items are all of a sort and will go together, etc.

I think it might be worth a couple hundred quid for a session with a stylist, to help you see yourself with fresh eyes, and to look at clothes you wouldn’t have thought of.

This is such a great approach @dudsville ! I sort of do the same & the vast majority of my clothes are from 2 maybe 3 shops with an odd smattering of beautiful things from small independent shops etc
What's the shop you love?

I would remove every item from your wardrobe that doesn't fit even if you keep it with aim of getting into it someday in the future as on a daily basis it's presence is making you feel like you have nothing to wear or guilty or both,, you can re -assess the box in 3, 6, 12 months, then make a separate pile of things that fit but you don't like or are worn out,
only put back in your wardrobe what fits and you like now you can see what gaps there are. even if this means there are only 10 things

you can change the look of ordinary items with a bag jewellery or scarf, these things are not size dependent

For example if you are only left with one coat 2 pairs of shoes a shirt and 6 pairs of trousers , you know you need tops , then you can make a fairly precise shopping list, tops that match the 6 pairs of trousers, a new pair of boots, a blazer and 2-3 cardigans, hoodies or jumpers, until you find these you may because of laundry need to wear some stuff you don't like but you know what you need / want

for clothes to look right you need decent underwear a couple of bras that really fit

Following too, thanks for starting this thread OP. I need an overhaul so much for various reasons. Great suggestions x

I think Marks & Spencer is as good a place as any to make to a start! They are doing well at the moment!

Their jeans selection is brilliant, they have a great selection of wide legged trousers, some casual some smart!

Their blazers are usually good & they have a good selection of dresses.

It might not be setting the world on fire but I think for some basics to get you started it's as good a place as any!

If I were you I would start with

a) jeans and day tops,

b) work trousers, work tops and shoes.

Two years ago I would have said work dresses, but tailored wide legged trousers have made a massive come back and dresses are looking a bit tired and staid. So have a look at a couple of pairs of tailored trousers. Me + Em trousers look lovely but they’re a bit out of my budget so I’ve never tried them. But have a look for inspiration and then shop around. Cos do nice trousers too. Then I’d go for fitted tops to balance the wide trousers, or something like a thin fluid shirt with a knitted tank top over it to pull it in. I personally don’t get on with shirts because they need ironing and usually gape on the boobs but you may be good at shirts, and I love the look on other people! And for shoes I’d get either Adidas Gazelles or a pair of chunky loafers depending on how smart your work is. I wouldn’t buy boots because spring is just around the corner (even if it is snowing in Scotland right now).

Jeans are very important to building casual weekend wear - again, go for wide-legged or straight. Not skinnies, and not Mom jeans. Then I’d get lovely jumpers (my current favourite is a purple M&S cashmere jumper from Vinted for a tenner) and wear with coloured trainers. I also got some square necked long sleeved cotton tops from Uniqlo that look much more up to date than crew necks.

Uniqlo is a good call too!

I really rate M&S at the moment too. For jeans, I like Zara or & Other Stories or Levi’s. I have some black 501s with silver buttons and a tiny bit of stretch that I really like - there’s lots of Western style boots out there just now and the jeans add a tiny Western touch without trying too hard!

This is brilliant. I'm in a similar situation - I want someone to come and chuck out my wardrobe for me and start again! Thank you for the inspiration!

The 'nice but doesn't fit' box is an essential here I think! 😂
So excited for clear out day!