In need of a complete overhaul, please help!

[Lostand44]

Having ‘lost myself’ over the past year or two, I’m on a mission to find what I like or what suits me again.

I have to following aims:

1. Hair - am pretty happy with the colour/cut at the moment but it’s not looking its best (don’t want to do anything too drastic to it just yet!)
2. Skin - currently have no routine, I do have a lot of products both lotions and potions and make up. Guess I’m out of the habit of looking after my skin. I’d like to look a bit fresher .
3. Clothes - have no idea what suits me! I’m 5”5, size 10, late 40s but don’t want to dress too young or too old. My lifestyle means a casual style is more suitable and I very rarely wear skirts/dresses, more jeans or I like wide leg trousers.
4. Footwear - again, I have no idea what footwear goes with what outfit! Must be flat though!
5. Outerwear - I’m not outdoorsy, I live in a city and mostly travel by car but I still need to be warm.

Where do I even start with this? I prefer dressing for autumn/winter so am aiming to look more put together by then. Also, I don’t have much of a budget to achieve this (vinted is going to become my best friend I think!)

I need to do this too. Make sure you keep us updated on what works and what doesn't.

Hair - when you say not looking its best do you mean dullness, that it's a bit thin, that it's frizzy or that you're a bit lost with styling it? I'm in full toddler/ baby mum mode so have no time to do anything but did get nice scrunchies from tkmax and an instagram tutorial on how to do a fuller ponytail. Very, very basic but little things add up.
Skincare - go through lotions and potions and throw anything thats been opened and used for more 6months (You can push it to 12 months) but older than that throw so you know what you have. What are your main skin goals/ concerns?
Clothes, footwear etc - what a friend did is go on Pinterest and make a board of what she liked. She also went through Instagram reels and saved styling videos and fashion influencers she liked. She was careful not to just save things because the model was very pretty and focus on the clothes. Once she narrowed down what she was drawn to she did a big trip out. She's also on a vinted budget but went into all the stores, ignored price tags and tried on whatever she wanted and took pictures. This helped her see what styles suited her, what size she was in different brands etc so she could shop effectively second hand.

A friend who works in fashion says her absolute top tip before you do anything is go and get properly measured for good underwear and splash out on that. Properly fitting comfortable and supportive brands, well fitting supportive big knickers, a little bit of shapewear and a slip.

The only skincare apart from a daily SPF that has any evidence behind it is a retinol cream. Or at least it was when I was researching. The rest is just marketing nonsense.
Why don’t you start with some outdoorsy activewear like nice leggins and half zipped hoodies? It’s still a trend (because it’s so comfy). Buy some comfy stylish trainers then add from there. Plain colours are better to mix and match try to avoid patterns

Can you get a style analysis done? I did one a few years ago. It told me I was pear-shaped, and an autumn, and suggested clothes styles that suited me, and to avoid, plus what colours I should be looking for. Also it covered make-up. It also considered your style, whether you liked classic, boho, retro etc .

Mine was online - you answered lots of questions, and sent in photos, so was reasonable in cost.

https://theconceptwardrobe.com/build-a-wardrobe/determine-your-body-shapes

Thus article is good also .

Ok well the positives are it sounds like you have a cracking figure so the options are limitless.

I would book a personal shopper at John Lewis - you don’t have to buy anything- but will give you a better idea of what
works for you. Or just go shopping with a good friend. Vinted is great, but to really know what works for you, you need to try things on. Also - and this may be heretical on here - you can buy a lot of well priced pieces in store, Sainsburys for example have some really on trend inexpensive items, particularly if you can catch them when they have a 20% discount on everything.

For your hair the secret is finding a really good hairdresser. Mine has recently mastered how to do mine at the back and it looks so stylish for about 5 weeks until it starts needing cut again. I would say master the clothes and the hair and makeup will fall into place.

I have got a new hairdresser as my old place has closed due to costs etc. My new hairdresser knew straight away what she needed to do and I have had a lot of compliments. Meeting a style consultant might be more expensive but having the drapes is an excellent way of finding out about colours. Also the consultant needs you to be there to sort out body shape. I think it would be wasted money to do that online personally .Best wishes sorting your new wardrobe out.

The Curated Closet by Anuschka Rees is really useful. I've pulled my copy back out again to assist my summer refresh. She suggests trying lots on in store if you don't know what you suit.