Looking "put together". What's your Routine?

[StainlessSeal]

I aspire to be one of those beautifully put together women who look understated and classy, whatever they're doing! I was in Temple recently and saw a few women (solicitors/ barristers) who just looked great.

If you're a "put together" person can you share your daily/ weekly/ monthly routine?

I'd love swishy hair, though unfortunately mind is wildly curly so 'twil never be! Hoping I can throw money and time at the rest...😂

I work with and know quite a few 'put together' women - my MIL is one of those! The common theme seems to be 'everything in moderation' - food, make up, perfume, nails, clothes. They will invest a lot in skincare but will not do aggressive botox/surgery to prevent themselves from ageing. They'll have manicured hands but not long nails and never pointy shaped. They'll wear perfume but it will be subtle - you can smell it only if you lean in to hug them.
Their hair will be as close to natural colour as possible. Their clothes will be well fitting but never tight, never a deep cleavage, very short... it will be made of natural materials and no colours that are too loud - that's for details (jewellery and other accessories) - but far from it that they'd only wear pastels. They'll prioritize interesting cut and will be very careful with prints. Of course, this is all based on my own sample - other people may have other observations.

Sounds like me!
Idk, I definitely hate too much man made material, it looks cheap.
And I'm apparently naturally elegant. According to a lovely French man, so I value the comment somewhat

@Hcherrs you lucky devil! Tell me how to achieve this!

Ha! I used to be one of those women striding around the Temple. I did look good - mostly terrifyingly expensive suits, Jermyn St shirts and Manolo Blahnik heels. (It was a long time ago …)

Something must have stuck - people still say nice things about how I look, (on the rare occasion I leave the house with intention,) long after I’ve abandoned that way of dressing, and generally feel quite messy. I don’t have expensive hair or gel nails, or Botox - but I am pretty obsessive about choosing clothes. I buy the best I can afford (though I’m partial to the odd bit of Zara) and I look after things. Definitely not a ‘throw away every season’ person.

Tbh I’ve never even had a gym membership, and I’m much less out and about than I was pre-lockdowns. Exercise at home mostly. I eat mostly wholefoods, and have a weekly veg box. And have adopted intermittent fasting as a lifestyle. Moderate alcohol, almost no processed or takeaway meals. God - I sound such a prig!

@CapaciousHag you sound amazing! I work with many sols and barristers on a similar level, but in a different "industry".

I'm really interested to hear how you would pull together this "air", so not suits etc, but perhaps more "off duty"? I've personally lost my way I was very slim and I hate to admit, I looked great in most things, pre kids. I'm not nearly 40 and not quite sure how I can get the polished look I want.

Would never do Botox/ gel nails etc, but any tips for subtle elegance much appreciated! I'm happy to throw money and time at the problem!

I have no idea why that message was so poorly written, I hope you know what I mean!

I’m ‘put together’ for work, but generally wear gym clothes on my days off (I run and go to the gym regularly).

I don’t have swishy hair as it doesn’t suit me; I wear it wavy and get a balayage every six months. It’s fairly low maintenance.

I get my nails done fortnightly: short and either dark or neutral.

I spend a fair bit on skin care and sun protection and wear minimal make up. I prefer glowy skin and a bit of mascara to a full face as it suits me better.

My work clothes are a mix of designer and high street but I only really wear cotton, linen, wool, cashmere or silk. Simple gold or diamond jewellery for every day, and a nice perfume!

I struggled for a few years after I stopped loitering by the Embankment. I was always too formal - and wasted a huge amount of money because I was still shopping in the £££ places I’d bought work clothes.

Two things:

I freely admit to not being all that keen on looking ‘ordinary’. So many brands in England aim to make women look blandly pretty and ingratiating and appealing to men. I want clothes that represent the person I would ideally be. Perfectly simple and mainstream clothes but at the more extreme end in terms of crunchy fabric, unfinished-ness and not giving much of a damn about being ‘flattering’.

Also, I’m weirdly high / lo in my wardrobe tastes. Not just because I like bargains but because an extravagant jacket sometimes does look, to me, much better with Primark joggers than something ‘nice’ from a mid-range shop.

But my shoes are almost invariably wrong. And I genuinely almost never feel well put together - it’s a nice surprise when people say I do.

@CapaciousHag I think you not feeling well put together is the crux of it - I always think most naturally elegant and stylish people don’t try that hard or necessarily know they are - it’s just innate.

People that are trying probably look great, but like they are trying.

I really think posture and the way you carry yourself makes a huge difference too!

@CapaciousHag, are you a barrister?