Shopping for the life I want vs have - do you?

[ReadyForSeason]

Still coveting smart workwear, heels, blazers and structured bags - and actually buying some for the joy of ownership and occasional outing. In reality, I WFH 90% of the time and should really be looking at other options but jogging bottoms are dull and nothing else is warm and comfortable enough…

I have this problem as I now WFH full time. Spend most of my time in jeans, cord or gym clothes. I am on a clothes no buy now as I don't really need smart clothes. I need to shop for the life I have.

I go out a lot to the theatre/ art galleries/ ballet/ comedy but it's London, so everyone is in jeans there too! Going to the cinema tomorrow and thinking of dressing up for it.

I am similar but I do but a few nicer things. I’ve a few blazers that look nice with jeans, a couple of silk shirts that can be dressed up or down, and nice bags.

For wfh I’ve recently bought a couple of nice cashmere jumpers which have perked up my usual day wear.

I think I am slowly losing interest in clothes, which can only be a good thing. Yes, I realise this is S and B! I am contemplaing buying better quality leggings and jogging bottoms, but they don't seem worth it, really. M and S Goodmove is fine.

My wardrobe is too smart for my lifestyle and there’s too much of it. It’s not especially smart, mainly cords, jeans, turtle necks, jumpers, but relatively now most of the world are in baggy pants and athleisure. It’s very easy to look very overdone.

But if I wear too casual clothes I don’t feel right. I feel scruffy and a bit depressed. I guess it’s because I have a real interest in clothes and fashion so the idea of not really caring and just wearing the same basic comfy wear on repeat is not great to me. Over time I think it would actually affect my mental health. Other people making an effort also brightens my day.

Sometimes I mix smarter things with more casual things, like a wool coat with trainers (though I’m not even a massive fan of trainers), I think that’s the way forward to not looking over the top but not too slobbish either.

My other problem is I am in London and take the Tube most of the time or walk, so my beautiful wool coats never get much use, and I am mostly in a parka with a hood because of the rain/grime/drizzle.

I have never been that groomed or in to fashion. I worked in academia where there was zero dress code. I mean I remember being in a meeting with the pro vice chancellor once and he had a massive hole in his jumper and odd socks on. But I do miss the black tie balls and dinners where we had industrial guests. I used to buy expensive cocktails frocks wear once and then sell them.

I only ever seem to buy casual wear - jeans and t-shirts, especially a graphic
/band t shirt.
Then Monday comes around and I'm like shit, I've got nothing suitable for work (secondary school teacher). I really need help upping my work wear wardrobe, especially nice tops to go with black trousers

@ducksinarow123 There is a marked lack of "nice tops" in the shops. I think the nice top and jeans/trousers look has become unfashionable. Not that I care. I am always looking for nice tops too, but they are all balloon sleeved/frilly/polyester/hideous florals/Little House On Prairie.

@CharlotteRumpling yes!!! Impossible to find anything nice in the shops because it’s not the current trend.

I don't think it's that wild to dress in business attire if your job is corporate even if you wfh because it would put me in work mode and presumably you have video calls sometimes. Now if your job is casual or messy then yeah odd.

I used to dress boho but it wasn't practical on London public transport and in muddy playgrounds and hot chaotic playgroups with lots of bending, squatting. It started with ditching suede heeled boots and dangly earrings as baby would pull.
My clothes reflect my lifestyle rather than fantasy or even old self. The good thing though is that I get ready faster, clothes shop way less, I blend in, I'm dry and comfortable can move freely in trainers and leggings. They aren't cheaper that my old style as I now go for substance over style and good quality costs more.

100%. I’m a farmers wife in the Scottish Highlands and live in dirty cords and fairisle jumpers and usually wear flourescent coats outside as its so very dark all the time.

I have a wardrobe full of unworn and now slightly vintage Cabbages and Roses and Toast clothes and a Mulberry handbag that’s never been anywhere.

I don’t regret a thing, although I did come to my senses a bit and stopped buying new stuff a couple of years ago.

I'm the other way round! 14 years since I last worked in an office and 3 stone weight gain mean that I own nothing smart at all.

Which means I never have anything to wear for a slightly more dressed up evening out, weddings or (sadly) funerals. I've completely lost my eye for smarter clothes.

"Everyone" is not in jeans in London. Covent Garden and ENO , ENB can be quite dressy, and galleries have a huge range of visitors.

I do agree that wearing a good wool coat in London can be difficult if you're mainly travelling by the underground.

Luckily nowadays my office wear is pretty casual so tops and dresses are suitable for both work and spare time. suits and heels are a thing of the past.

Ok. The people I hang out with- and am surrounded by- are mostly in jeans and jumpers, though good jumpers and nice jeans.

I hate everything in the shops anyway as I dislike the romantic feminine trend, so am hoping to buy only in charity shops once I am done with my no-buy. I have been lurking on the Dark Academia thread.

Don't you find wearing jeans all the time really boring?

Am I the only who dresses at home the same as I do the office and client meetings? With the addition of slippers....

Also, Ive decided my wardrobe is now just everything I love, so it doesn't matter what day of the week it is.

I wear jeans, wool trousers, tweed and cords in winter, a couple of silk shirts, and occasionally very simple dresses. I do wear a lot of colour though.

I have recently spent money on a nice leather jacket that works for most temperatures and occasions, with hat/scarf/gloves/mini umbrella if wet or freezing, and also a trench raincoat, which I can see will take me to a lot of places. Black jeans, flat comfortable boots and dark coloured jumpers long enough to cover my tummy are what I actually wear most of the time, or black trackies/hoody if at home.
But I am always being tempted to buy things in bright colours and patterns, which are all lovely but are slightly too pretty, I feel a bit too Mary Archer style fragrant in them and end up reverting back to black! Clean lines work better on me, and I keep having to remind myself of that!

Mine is too smart also for WFH. Like you, I get miserable in joggers etc so always overdress for evenings out

Yes, pretty much. I wear dresses all the time and there are outliers of very, very formal and very, very bohemian but the ones in the middle do for most occasions.

@TheOGCCL this is so me, I took early retirement, my days are dog walks gardening, I never owned a pair of trainers until I got the dog 5 years ago, I hate joggers don't own a pair of the gathered bottom sort, I did have the hush wide leg cropped ones, but I am selling on ebay as I just feel scuffy in them , casule things like joggers and sweatshirts just aren't me, so its jeans I wear mostly, or legging with a long jumper or shirt. I would love to wear my sequins items in the day, but sadly they just hang in my wardrobe year after year not worn.

No, I'm a teacher and when we were at home during 2020-21 I dressed for school every day. The parents said they really appreciated that I was treating it as 'school'.

I've flipped my wardrobe, i think i dress smart casual all the time now as opposed to before when i was often in basic jeans and tees. The key for me was finding what was comfortable.

I like to dress for home working the same way I dress for office working, with the exception of footwear. I feel so much better for dressing in clothes I love. I don’t feel good in jeans, in fact I don’t have a pair that fits me and haven’t worn them in years. I do have a few pairs of wide legged joggers but these are mostly for loungewear in the evenings.