How do I find a classic style that works for my life?

[Winterjoy]

Just that really. I'm sick of giving time & energy to clothes and would love to find a few brands that offer classic/stylish peices I can replenish from as necessary - there are too many throwaway options on the high street and it's so overwhelming!! Bonus points for ethical/environmentally friendly companies 🙂

Workwear - my style previously has been classic millenial officewear e.g. fitted/tailored, heels etc but I now work in a relaxed (and much younger!) environment and feel lost style wise. I like this uniqlo outfit but when I put on anything similar I feel like a baggy mess (I'm pear shape not waif-like so not sure of that's throwing it off?). What else can I try? (P.S. Thank you in advance to anyone who is going to suggest wide leg trousers with a silk blouse, but that was my mum's work 'uniform' and I'm not ready to be her just yet!)

Casual - I've lived in black jeggings and jumpers to avoid thinking about clothes but I just don't feel great in them. What can I buy instead that is easy to wear, can be mixed and matched, and looks/feels stylish? Again, is there a particular brand to look at?

You want a New Classic style, surely? I’m a generation older than you and haven’t dressed in the style you show since the 90s.

Have you looked at

Studio Nicholson
Rohe
Toteme
Lemaire
Teurn Studios

They may be above your intended budget but you can replicate that sort of look via

Cos

and actually from Uniqlo too. With very basic additions from Community Clothing.

Or you could just forget everything else and shop entirely from

Margaret Howell

That would be supremely ‘classic’ without ever looking dated.

The Uniqlo outfit looks fine to me. Don't get caught out by thinking styles won't work for you - e.g. focusing on minimising your bottom half - instead focus on what to make a feature of.
If you are bottom heavy, draw attention to your top half.

I agree with @TheOriginalFrench , apart from Cos. I find it a bit hit-and-miss.
When you dressed for work before the lockdown, where did you shop?

I also suggest buying outfits not one item at a time, or try to think of what would you could wear it with.

Also - do you actually need old school ‘work clothes’? I’d imagine most offices / educational institutions and certainly any hybrid or creative work environment would allow a wardrobe from, say:

Palava
Colenimo
YMC

All of which are beautifully made, robust, contemporary clothes that would really suit any relaxed work environment.

Try the kibbe body type and essence quiz and aim to understand what style suits you and vibe you give off. I've found that it really helps me, for me if I wear anything super fluffy or childlike it just creates a really jarring image, similarly if I wear anything too masculine it doesn't work. Once you have identified what you are, try find your season too so you know what colours work, you'll find a list of celebs with the same build and vibe as you and then you can get a bit of inspo from them!

Seconding the Kibbe suggestion by @Flopsy145 ; it really is helpful.

They do indeed (says me having all of those in my office wardrobe) although I suppose they're probably not what is meant by "classic" on here.

I'm in a similar boat of soon needing to refresh my post pandemic work wear. I'm an hourglass and I'd go for:

A long sleeve shirt dress
A long sleeve v wrap dress in classic black
A tunic style dress
Roll neck jumper
Crew jumper
Classic V cardigan
A couple of long/mid sleeve layering tops
A smart blouse
Collared white shirt
Sleeveless v neck top
A very good quality white tshirt from Cos, Arket or similar

Black wide/flare/bootcut leg trousers x 2
3/4 length and tapered trousers for summer
Smart black Chelsea
Smart black heels
Smart black trainers or loafers
Blazer

Actually I think Colenimo does qualify as classic. There's literally nothing from their archive I wouldn't wear today.

Colenimo Archive 2008 to 2020

Look at Melissa Murrell on You Tube.
She gives good advice.

No I absolutely don't want old school work clothes. But I don't know what else to buy. My current work environment is very casual and I'm completely lost!

You're right, I think I've mis spoken - I don't mean classic like a twinset & pearls vibe, I mean classic as in won't be dated within a year because it's very 'off the moment'. Thank you for the suggestions.

I shopped in high street fast fashion places - Topshop, Debenham, DPs etc. They don't exist anymore and I want to move away from poor quality unethical brands if possible. I feel like I need a completely new style anyway and that my old clothes just don'twork for me at all anymore (maybe I'm having a mid-life crisis 🤣)

Thank you I will have a look at the quiz

I'm obsessed with brown tone wide leg wool trousers and skim fitting roll necks at the moment. With smart trainers. Then a long camel wool coat. I'm hourglass

@notnorman where do you buy these trousers? They sound nice for winter. I have lots of thin turtlenecks and I’m also an hourglass.

Fatface.
Although I tried to buy another pair but they were out of stock. I ended up with a pair that were horseshoe leg and I felt like I was in Peaky Blinders so I sent them back. 🫣

I would say exactly the opposite - completely ignore all these body quiz/ what's my colours stuff. From the little I've seen of them they work on clichés and are limiting and restrictive.

I’ve recently fallen in love with Reiss. And some great bargains to be had in their sales right now if you’re fast,

Look at John Lewis then go to the individual websites of brands you like. Albaray is ethical and classic. Joanie are pretty affordable.

This thread might be of interest to you, OP.

I'm pear shaped and I like mid to high waist loose fit trousers, but the cut has to be right so aren't bulky and fall nicely from the hip. Heavier weight fabrics are best for this. I wear with flats and trainers, I couldn't be arsed with any kind of heel anymore. Trainers make everything look more casual. I wear fairly fitted tops, not tight or clingy and or looser boxy jumpers that end where the trousers are still fitted.

Look at all your clothes now and think about things you have or wore in the past and feel/felt good in and replicate those in better fabrics or a different size.

Don't buy anything unless you know what you'll wear it with and think about what you have already that you like but don't wear because you don't have the right shoes/top etc.

www.mumsnet.com/talk/mumsnet_classics/3797652-thanks-to-s-b-i-m-finally-winning-in-the-pursuit-of-elegance?page=1

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/style_and_beauty/5143794-if-youve-nailed-classic-understated-dressing-where-do-you-shop?page=1

Another thread you might find interesting, the OP links to a pair of trousers in the OP which is the kind of shape I mean.

I'm inclined to agree. I don't really like colours so am usually in neutrals apart from when I want to look different. The body shapes are a bit restrictive IMO and I'm not an apple/pear/vase/trumpet/whatever, I'm a woman. I want to wear things I feel good in.

I think they can help, and there are occasions when I've noticed people wearing something that seems to be wrong for them or that 'wears them'.

Shapewise, I need to be fairly conservative because I look and feel awful in some shapes.

If work is fairly casual would a selection of breton tops plus a chore jacket and jeans/dark trousers work? Comunity Clothing, Cos and uniqlo are good places to look at the lower end of the market then Toast and on to Studio Nicholson and MArgaret Howell.

I love sezane which a French make which is therefore mainly online. I am also a member of a sezane Facebook group. All the women are very supportive , and they post photos of themselves wearing what they have ordered from the site. They often post their weight/ height and so you can see how the clothes look on people who have a similar build to yourself.
Most of the people who post are way more stylish than I am and it really helps me to see some of the combinations they put together. And I find it much more useful than looking at overstyled influencers .
Maybe looking at something like that would help