Turns out I'm not 21 anymore...

[101trees]

... I'm 40.

I also just realised I'm still dressing like my 17yo DS - bit grungy, but now add wooly jumpers and a waterproof dog walking jacket.

I need some general style suggestions (badly!)

I live in jeans. Long in winter and short in summer! I'm not suddenly going to become a smart dress wearing sort, so how do I make them into an outfit which looks a bit smarter and has a bit of style and shape to it?

I just want to feel a bit more polished, intentional and put together. I almost never wear makeup anymore. Something a bit more shapely at least would be better. I'm slim (8-10), hourglass figure.

Must be warm. I'm the coldest person on earth. Also practical - spend half my day at work in a v casual dressed down environment then the other half at home with a toddler - I don't change in between.

Any pointers much appreciated! I just have no idea where to start... it all feels so foreign and uncomfortable.

PS - I do like bright colours- hate gray, makes me look even more washed out and uninteresting.

You sound like me! Hoping you get some good advice I can use too!

You haven’t given any idea of what you might be dressing for - outside of ultra-casual workwear and toddler wrangling? For those activities:

Uniqlo

and

Community Clothing

could probably provide everything you need - but you probably want some more frivolous clothes too.

https://www.americanvintage-store.com/gb/en/ ?

https://damsonmadder.com/ ?

https://www.lafetiche.com/shop/# (Colour inspiration.)

https://uk.realisationpar.com/ ?

https://www.youmustcreate.com/?srsltid=AfmBOoq5LHBHI3gLsPQkhYwT3kBLsZeaPbEz2WYIWRFDgoUsO4gR5ifz

Just for a start …

Thank you !

I do like Uniquo & Community Clothing - but I've never seen them before...

I just end up dressed in clothes from outdoor shops (North Face etc) because they're warm and practical. God I sound dull. I didn't used to be so bad!

Other occasions I want clothing for - lunch or coffee out with friends, odd evening out at pubs or for dinner etc with friends. Or work events which are more formal, but still relatively informal. If I was a man I'd wear (casual) chinos and a shirt to these, but not a tie. I find these particularly hard. Often involves an evening thing, work dinner but still just wear daywear to it, not evening wear.

I think my best example of clothing I like is Mint Velvet. I'm not sure what style you'd call that? But I also hate boxy jumpers, which they seem to have many of at the moment.

Baggy things, batwing or boxy really don't suit me. I think because I'm actually really petite, but have a huge bra size (30EE), so they sort of look wrong somehow. I look like a child dressed up in oversized clothes and they hang wrong. I look smarter in something more fitted.

I think what I want is a decent range of smart casual. Pre-covid (and second baby) I used to dress this way, but since then I've nose dived towards 'middle-aged dog walking casual'.

This would be more excusable if I walked the dog more often.

If you're comfortable in jeans, why not upgrade a little to something like cords, wide or straight legged? I love that look and they can still be very casual, but can be dressed up a bit more than jeans in my opinion, or at least have some sort of edge over them. I have a couple of pairs at the moment. My favourite are Seasalt Asphodel cords, they're wide legged (but not overly so) and slightly cropped to ankle length, fitted at the top. I have them in an olive green, but they have quite a few colour options. I love the fit of them. I also have some M&S navy cords, and a dark teal pair from Wrap London, which have a slight flare to them. You could wear them with a colourful or slightly quirky jumper, thats a bit more fitted, if you're not keen on the boxy shape. Or a blouse or shirt tucked in.

That's a really great idea - thanks so much!