Autumn & Winter for the sartorially challenged

[Nonplusultra]

I’m completely inept when it comes to fashion, and I just need some basic guidelines to update my wardrobe. I don’t recognise trends until everyone is wearing them, by which time shops have moved on. I’d just like to know what items I need to get rid off (eg skinny jeans?) and what key things can I get to bring myself up to date.

I’m fairly conservative. I like jeans with jumpers, or with a lighter top and cardigan. If I wear dresses and skirts I like them below the knee. I want to be able to forget about my clothes once I’m in them.

For autumn/winter I like layers, wool. Are scarves over? What type of (flat) boots should I go for?

If you could talk to me like I’m an alien trying to camouflage myself, that would help.

I'm not sure where to begin but taking your alien analogy - you've just landed and stepped from your space ship. Assuming you're not surrounded by heavily armed soldiers, take a look around. What do you see other people wearing? Which do you like?

No, scarves are not over.

What type of (flat) boots should I go for?

The ones you like the look of. There was a recent thread about flat boots. It featured quite a lot of what are, apparently, fashionable flat boots which had been soled using Massey Ferguson tractor tyres. I thought they were horrible. It also featured traditional flat boots from the likes of Docs, Solvair, Lanx, Joseph Cheaney which I thought were beautiful. I won't be chucking out my Lanx and Joseph Cheaney boots ( or for that matter my Stuart Weizmann and Muffy over the knee at least 5 years old boots) just because Massey Ferguson tractor tyre boots are "on trend this season".

You don't have to get rid of anything and you don't have to buy key things to get you up to date if you don't like them.

What's your budget? Is there generally a brand you really like or really dislike?

A/W is lovely to dress for!

No need to get too hung up on what’s in or out. Just choose good shops and they’ll do the filtering for you. (I mean by only stocking what is in fashion.)

If I were starting from scratch - 2 or three beautifully coloured jumpers from, for example:

& Daughter
Babaa
La Fetiche

One huge, one patterned, one sleek. Maybe an extravagantly chunky oversized hand knitted cardigan, too.

Then a jewel coloured heavy silk shirt.

Wide cord trousers. (Which need loafers or fancy Mary Jane shoes.

A tweed (or if you must, silky bias cut) skirt. (Plus long boots.)

Maybe a very grown up long t shirt dress.

A big coat that can accommodate lots of layers underneath.

Glorious beanie and luxurious scarf.

Done …

(If someone gave me a billion pounds I might buy an extraordinary dress from Casey Casey or somewhere similar, but I could live without.)

In A/W in particular, I think you can definitely embrace a classic look. I tend to wear cashmere (or cashmere mix) jumpers with a layer underneath. Oversized jumpers for home, more fitted jumpers for work. I wear them with straight legged jeans or skinny black trousers and then ankle boots (biker style for more casual days, smarter boots on other occasions). It's not massively exciting but I think it always looks chic. I've never got the hang of chic summer dressing!

I agree with all of that. Especially Casey Casey and a good shop doing the filtering for you.

If budget stretches to Max Mara for example OP could just walk in there, hand over the money and leave the assistants to dress her.

It won't be the absolutely cutting edge style of the type of Japanese, Scandinavian and Low Countries designers where you need instructions on how to put things on but she'll be elegant and stylish. If all else fails a Max Mara coat on top of just about anything has the same effect.

The one thing with A/W is choosing the richest fabrics and colours you can find. Silk, tweed, velvet, Shetland wool, thick corduroy, heavy plaid, sheepskin or equivalent. To my mind neither cotton poplin nor denim have a place in a winter wardrobe.

(And this is whether one’s buying new or pre-owned.)

Yes to a MaxMara (or MM style) coat!

Thanks for the suggestions. I think I just need to find time to browse the shops and try a few things on. You’ve all given me a little confidence boost. Thank you!

What I notice from perhaps the majority of MN posts on S&B is a certain timidity with fabrics. Apart from the apparently compulsory leather jacket (I’ve never owned one as they make me look ridiculous) most people seem to stick to denim, cotton jersey, inoffensive cashmere and, if they’re buying a dress, polyester or viscose. And then they wonder why they feel bored with their clothes …

So I’d say make bold choices. Not everything has to be ‘nice’. And not everything has to be bought at exactly the same price point from one of half a dozen High St shops. An excellent challenge is to buy a single unfeasibly extravagant accessory every season. Either new or pre-owned. Something that makes your heart sing, elevates mundane or everyday garments, and magics your wardrobe into something joyously individual.

I'm struggling with trousers for A/W. We live in rainy NI and I don't see how flares/bootleg/wide leg trousers wouldn't end up getting dipped in puddles and wet pavements.

Some sort of skinny jean and boot does seem to be the most practical, but will it look very dated?