where do you find nice tops?

[DreadfullyUncool]

Help me, oh wise mumsnetters! My summer uniform used to be a dress with sandals, but due to ankle problems this year I am restricted to wearing clunky shoes and a foot brace, which I prefer to conceal under trousers. And so I am facing the problem of finding tops to wear with aforementioned trousers.
The specific activity is a semi-dressy weekend one: going to an exhibition, having lunch, seeing a play in the evening, etc. The location: London. Needs to work with flat clunky shoes (and a brace, but it is not visible).
On the bottom half I am wearing wide-leg trousers or jeans.
I would like to find interesting-looking and current tops that carry the outfit, so to speak, so not plain t-shirts. I also don't like shirts.
I am 5'4'', size 16, suit jewel colours (blue/navy, purple, forest green, teal, dark red) and black. No polyester due to the sweatiness factor.
In winter I wore nice jumpers, which were somehow much easier to find. Now I am stumped. Please help!

Thanks! I don't know why, but in my mind I associate Kettlewell with clingy jersey. But I see they have some non-clingy bits. The colours are fantastic, it is just that the styles are a bit boring. But indeed, should be great for t-shirts!

@ukku, the colour is really nice, thanks! Usually Toast has all these soil-adjacent colours that don't work on me. The style is quite austere, isn't it?

Yes, I had a look at Roman, indeed, plenty of colourful tops! Just have to filter very carefully to avoid polyester...

Thanks! I think it is a bit twee for me...

Either of these any good? Both cotton and from
H&M. The green one comes in other colours including black.

@Pooky001 ooh, the second one (white) is beautiful, thanks! The first one gives vibes of Henry the VIII'th, no?

Do you have a link to the white top? I don't see it on the H&M site.

I start in John lewis and usually buy mint velvet, hush, baukjen and others if sale e.g Ralph lauren

Thanks so much for this link! Got a black and blue stripy - ta! What sort of necklace would you wear it with?

Another vote for Mint Velvet here. I also have an account at Next so I can look for what I want and can afford - they have multiple brands so it's not just Next stuff - next day delivery and easy returns too.

I love me a Tudor sleeve 😆 Here’s the white one:

Frill-trimmed muslin blouse
https://www2.hm.com/en_gb/productpage.1212626001.html

It’s a shame One Hundred Stars doesn’t use natural fibres in most
of its clothes - the prints are so beautiful.

Oh I didn't think "austere". I hope it's not as I've just ordered it! Not usually my kind of thing but I thought dressier than a t shirt but still casual...I like the look of the raw neck. If it's austere I'll return it.

@DreadfullyUncool sorry the link was on my previous post!

https://www.seasaltcornwall.com/embrace-short-sleeve-blouse

@SpentAll I wear a a couple of statement pieces I have. Not everyone's cup of tea but I've a Perspex geometric shapes multi coloured one and a long leather one with large white and sliver beads.

I need to figure out how to filter efficiently... The site shows over 2,000 women blouses, and I immediately lose the will to live.

Perfect, thanks! Ordered!

Oh, I am sure I am wrong, and it is indeed casual but dressier than a t-shirt, rather than austere! The fabric should be very nice in the summer as well!

I tend to go in person. Works better for me.
French connection is another one I like for good quality basics

Despite being quite small at 5’2” I like wide leg trousers on me ( properly proportioned so they don’t actually resemble clown trousers ) to balance that I like a neater top half so have opted to get some short sleeve tops from Fatface and from Seasalt ( I like cotton and linen )
It is a good idea with Seasalt to buy multiple sizes as I’ve had to upsize in some and downsize in other styles .

Some updates following your recommendations:

The Fat Face blouse is very nice and very lightweight, so should be good in hot weather (that we are hopefully going to have at some point). The sleeves have elasticated cuffs and can be pushed up easily. Not sure how it would look like with the matching trousers, I suspect on me exactly like pyjamas. But with solid-coloured ones it looks very nice. One caveat: it is truly waist-length and not longer. So for me only with high-waisted trousers. Remains to be seen whether it rides up, I hope not.

The H&M blouse is muslin, so going to be excellent in the (hypothetical) heat. It looks good on, but runs very wide in the sleeves and the body, while fitting well in the shoulders. Still, definitely a step up from a t-shirt. Hope I won't spill coffee on it.

The Roman blouse has an excellent shape, but really too much polyester. Pretty, but sweaty. Feels weirdly like it is also lined in polyester in the body.

This one, also from Roman, has the same shape, but is 100% viscose and feels much lighter.

The blouse from Apricot is beautiful dark green, but is wide and short: a bit longer than waist-length and really wide. Can be tucked in, however, and the fabric is nice and light.

I'll wait for the sales to try the Mint Velvet ones - there are several that look lovely, but not full-price lovely.

Also encountered this one while browsing, and now it haunts me: even the model looks like a cross-over between Big Bird and a yeti!

Excellent and helpful reviews OP!

So pleased you’ve got some good options

I love the love&roses brand that Next sell, I would love to be a bit more confident to wear their things.

lots of beautiful tops and blouses

Have you looked at www.kettlewellcolours.co.uk You can select winter to locate various style tops

www.kettlewellcolours.co.uk/