Where do you buy clothes that she actually normal?!

[Imeldamorning]

I'm 32, size 16, starting right from scratch with my wardrobe as I own virtually nothing other than a couple of awful pairs of leggings and baggy t-shirts. Seriously I need HELP.

I need to start all the way at the beginning and figure out my wardrobe. I'm a SAHM abd dont go anywhere posh so need casual clothes mostly. Jeans, tops, day dresses, cardigans, jumpers, etc

I've not shopped in years. But I've just had a browse today and I'm honestly lost. New Look - I used to shop a lot in here but everything appears to be aimed at pantomime dames and hookers. Genuinly why its all.so garish and weird?! I don't even see teenagers wearing that stuff so who's buying it.

I'm 32 so hardly old!!! But I feel ancient looking at the clothes available. Next...seems mostly geared towards women working in an office or older women.

Where do people shop for nice, wearable day to day clothing? Flattering clothes for average bodies? And I don't want to spend a fortune either if possible because like I say, I'm just a SAHM.

I probably need a couple pairs of "mom" jeans - not skinny, a couple longish Cardigans that come below the bum. Tops - again longish and pretty basic...stripes, floral etc but not frumpy and old looking. I want pretty styles for a 30 something year old. So like...sensible but still young?! Don't want to look like my mother.

I know I'm a basic bitch and probably very dull but I just need basics to start me off as I have nothing.

Thank you!

I'm quite a bit older than you - but wear similar clothing to what you are looking for. I tend to shop Next online as with all the different brands there's plenty of choice and it's really easy to order multiple sizes or a couple of styles to see what suits you.

Next and Sainsburys. Occasionally Mango for one off things like coats.

I’m 33 and agree about Fat Face & White Stuff. My mum is 66 and shops there (as well as Joules).

H&M & Zara for basics, & Other Stories for something more interesting and I really like Abercrombie & Fitch. For more leisure wear, I like Adanola.

My dds (nearer your age than I am) shops at Zara, pull and bear, Monki, urban outfitters, H and M.
I've found Mango good for basics .

I know that ethics are a problem with many countries but I can't face buying anything from Shein in case it's made by Uighurs (I read that the Chinese force the women to be sterilised / have abortions / take their children away. In fact, although it's really difficult, I try never to buy anything made in China.

Back to fashion - it's really useful to watch the Youtube videos made by Melissa Morelle. She does videos on how to dress for different body shapes and there's always a link to where each item of clothing comes from.

Mid 50s.
My go to shops are Next, Primark for Basics, Zara for jeans, Mango, Sainsbury and Tesco.
I do M and S sometimes.
New Look can be OK but a lot of it is expensive Tat. We have a bigger store near us, so it has a better range of stuff and not so much rubbish.

Uniqlo or Cos (sale or second hand) usually. John Lewis own brand ha some decent stuff. Boden have had a reset this year, they'd gone completely bonkers but are back doing decent basics again - they've got a sale at the mo - they might have something, but they're at at the more expensive end.

I used to buy from White Stuff, but I don't like their stuff any more, they've lost their way and gone very frumpy.

What shape are you (pear, hour glass, athletic, apple...)?

I ask because for me (somewhere between apple when I'm carrying weight and athletic when I get rid of it) the holy grail was to find the right cut of jeans. Once you have a genuinely comfortable, flattering fit, ideally low elastic content for durability and not sagging, jeans style then buy it in three colours. I like Levi 501s for my body shape but everyone is different - you have to find what works on your body.

I buy on vinted at 1/4 - 1/3 of new price (environmentally better too).

With the jeans I wear tops from Hush or Poetry/ Wrap London (a lot of their stuff is aimed at the slightly older end of the market but the plain silk and wool blends or silk and cotton t-shirt blends are classic and such fantastic quality, often long line, and can be mashine washed). I buy the Poetry/Wrap things on vinted too as they're very expensive new but often sold at a fraction of the price in excellent condition. Hush is great for more relaxed oversized stuff and the sizing is huge so you can easily wear it comfortably at size 16 or 18 even if the size chart suggests otherwise. I have some things from Mint Velvet too.

I do find there's no shop where everything is okay, you have to really cherry pick and a lot is completely unsuitable.

I have a physical job which involves sitting on the floor, running, restraining people for their own safety and that of those around them, dealing with paint and food and bodily fluids but also a lot of interdisciplinary meetings and with parents, and these clothes work for both as I can't get changed between activities!

I like M&S as I can order a ton of stuff to be delivered (no P&P) to the local store and take it home to try on. I needed a nice pair of trousers to go on holiday and realised everything that I had was old or jeans or didn't fit. Ordered about £500 worth of stuff from M&S, various styles and sizes and took everything back except 1 pair of trousers. £79 which is significantly more than I would pay normally but they look really nice, are 100% cotton and have elastic on the waist at the back so will last longer should I manage to lose some of the excess weight.

My other online go to is Lands End - nice casual styles normally and if you're a 16 they'll normally have tons of stuff in their sales (I'm larger so the sale stuff is limited). For in store shopping I wait until I'm on holiday - just back from the continent and got a nice jumper and 3 tops from C&A for about £50. Last time I was in Canada I went to Additionelle (my fav shop) and got 2 pairs of jeans for £15 total.

Joe Browns is my main online shop. You can see how they style clothes too as their outfits are put together on the main pages, which helps give you ideas.

They aren't as quirky as they used to be. Good, though, for adding colour to your style and helping you feel better about yourself.

Nobody's Child and Boho style shops are my other shops. Leggings from Boohoo are good value. They do a variety of colours, so it's great for bringing some spark to your style.

A good capsule wardrobe isn't just for working mom's. I think everyone needs a good capsule wardrobe, and you build around that.

A capsule wardrobe doesn't have to be office clothing. A capsule wardrobe for any style of life is good to start with.

If you Google capsule wardrobe for a sahm, that will help you get started. Enjoy.

Make Pinterest board of clothing too, so you can look at stuff together and work out what you like.

I have one called "What do I wear." 🙂