Completely lost with clothes

[SaulHudsonDavidJones]

Does anyone else feel completely lost when it comes to clothes at the moment? I’m not sure if it’s my age (40s) and expanding waistline but nothing feels right and my ‘style’ and comfort is stuck back at skinny jeans and a nice top. I don’t want to dress like a teenager but I’d like to feel modern and not dated. And obviously comfortable. It doesn’t help that I’m an apple so anything that accentuates the waist doesn’t work for me.

Can sympathize and I'm older than you. Body shape changes certainly don't help! Used to shop with Roman a lot but they've gone expensive and brought in strange fabrics. Had a look at Next, bit hit and miss but kept 3 t-shirt style tops. Shein/Temu okay but beware that tops are polyester elastane, great designs but too clingy for hot weather. Haven't been to M&S lately, but website doesn't have anything I like. As for dresses, I'm 5 feet tall so these floaty tiered ones don't do anything for me.....

also in a similar boat. The first thing is to change your jean shape. The skinnys are not it apparently. It can be quite overwhelming because there are so many styles available at the moment. A slight wider leg and now a barrel leg shape are what im living in these days.

Pop into m&s and pick up a few varieties to try on. If you have a john lewis, it may be a good time to try their personal stylist service as well.

Levis rib cage jeans in wide or at least straight. Gamechanger for tummies. I team them with boxy tops from Uniqlo.

ribcage jeans…. I find it really uncomfortable having my stomach trussed up in denim to above my waist. Looks like a barrel!

Have you tried them?
Not for summer though. I only wear them October to March.

Have a look online, eg Pinterest or Instagram, find some outfits you like the look of and try replicating them. You can search for your age/shape/whatever.

I’ve recently cut my wardrobe right back using project 333 and it’s been brilliant. I got chat GPT to put the outfits together after I input the things I decided to keep.

https://bemorewithless.com/project-333/

I’ll have a look, thank you

I have an extensive Pinterest wardrobe 😅 but the outfits seem to be from 5-10 years ago. Maybe I need to look again and filter for 2025 posts so it’s current.

I was stuck in a massive rut with my style and feeling very confused and frustrated with clothes shopping as it used to be my favourite hobby! Everything seems to be pastel or monochromatic, hardly any patterns, such wide trousers and cropped tops.

I know which shades and colours suit me, but have also paid close attention to the patterns and styles I used to wear when younger and slimmer and tried to incorporate these into my clothing search. I’m also more conscious salon the Summer particularly about what types of fabric I will wear and also of which parts of the body I would be happy with revealing.

I think a lot of the battle is knowing about the above before you go shopping. For me it’s all about midi length dresses and skirts and showing my cleavage. I don’t really do trousers or jeans as they make me feel really fat and masculine and I find them uncomfortable.

Rixo has been my style saviour! Expensive but well worth it, especially in the sale (there’s one on now). I buy a lot less frequently but I love my clothes a lot more!

So long as you're not buying anything from Chums Im sure you'll be OK.
All my skirts and trousers have elasticated waists, I just make sure my top covers it.
I think a lot of people do now. Then you don't have to buy new clothes everytime you gain or lose a bit of weight.
I can't stand belts, they are so restrictive and too much faff to remove everytime you want to go to the bathroom..

I felt a bit like this and then I made a point of noticing what younger women were wearing. Bought wide leg, flowy plain trousers for summer and grown on sleeve t-shirts, again plain as opposed to the many floral prints that I had in my wardrobe. Also bought some oversized boxy shirts to wear as a jacket instead of a cardigan.
Oh and a few pairs of shorts (previously wouldn’t dream of wearing them and exposing my legs!) and feel much comfier when out walking.

Started wearing jewellery again too, especially necklaces.

I have a really short waist so these would come up massively high on me and would feel very uncomfortable.