“I never ‘FEEL’ stylish. Please help me with an outfit for my birthday dinner in a luxury hotel. Vinted options a bonus. Thank you!

[BornIn]

Surprise birthday trip to celebrate my birthday, but what do I wear?

Olive colouring, 5ft 2, size 6 bottoms/8-10 top/dress. Don’t like ditsy or animal prints. Size 3.5/4 shoes.

I want to feel stylish.

Happy with cost effective Vinted.

A bit panicked, too much choice and hopeless at putting outfits together.

Heeeelp me please!

I don't love it either - in fact, I'd feel inclined to swap the buttons for something else! (Which I do sometimes, especially with jackets/coats with boring/cheap buttons. Charity shops have amazing vintage buttons.)

I was just trying to find something secondhand from Hades - as it had been suggested by a PP as being both "cool & stylish".

On their main website perhaps, but I couldn't spot anything much on Vinted/eBay that I thought might fit the OP's request. There are quite a few of their logo/band jumpers out there though. But I've gone off them (especially since they don't realise that the X-Ray Spex song is "Germfree Adolescence" not "Adolescents" ...!!!), so didn't bother linking them. I'd rather listen to Joy Division or The Smiths, not wear the name across my boobs!!

I don't do pastels, but Olivia Rubin clothes & cardies are cute.

I’m not for poka dots or sky blue either. Great calm advice - lovely to see

I know! The same seller has listed the flesh-toned version of the blouse too, & done the same. Even weirder-looking ... But I do like the blouse!

@EleanorMc67 It is a challenge to find some good brands secondhand I find. People wear them to death because they're so good.

I hear you on the pastels. The stuff she does in strong colours I love.

One poster said she was bored by suggestions like mine of high street brands like Cos. But actually recommended in Jan that someone look at Cos’ new collection. That blew my mind!

You clearly know what you are talking about, so I’m sure everybody appreciates your suggestions!

Not really, in an hotel dining room 😂.

@NormasArsethats my point… jeans and a top will do in a hotel dining room if you are a resident

Look for cos, Muji, Uniqlo on vinted.

If you’re five years old.

Thank you! But please don't be put off?

I'm fairly new to MN & in particular the S&B pages, & find them mostly fun & interesting - including all the differences of opinions & debates! Sometimes people can be pretty brusque or rude, yes, & sometimes real unpleasantness crops up, yes. But I think certain people post simply to trigger reactions. Or to be dismissive of others' choices.

I frequently see clothes recommended that make me think WTF?!! And at the start I made a critical comment or two, but then realised it was unnecessary. It's fine to agree to disagree, but I don't want to slate another woman's choices or make her feel lesser - even if I think those choices are truly awful ...!!

So now I mostly refrain from direct criticism &, as a PP said, try to give constructive feedback & advice instead if I think my contributions might help. And I think the majority of people on S&B are well-meaning, even if they don't read the thread or what the OP has asked about, & get it totally wrong!

That’s so pretty but they don’t give the material composition or a size guide 😞

If you Google the image, it brings the exact blouse & the exact photos up on a number of sites, including Amazon, uBuy Ghana & StyleWe. The last company seems to be the original producer, & it's a pretty dodgy-sounding one based in China.

I spotted this damning review ... so I don't think it's going to look anything like the photos! It's polyester, btw.

https://www.reviewmycloset.com/is-stylewe-legit/

I like a good rummage through the internet ...! And hopefully someone will have got some ideas from what I posted. I do from others!

Thanks for the compliment! (This personal stylist is currently wearing slightly grubby sheepskin slippers & my partner's dressing gown ... not so stylish!!!)

I like quite a lot of her romantic-meets-Gothic clothes. Vastly overpriced though, even by designer standards, for an awful lot of acetate satin & other synthetics.

I do find that poster's comment utterly depressing though:

"There should be plenty of Simone Rocha available second hand, as people who can afford [them] probably always want the newest pieces."

What happened to slow fashion & buying (maybe even saving up for!!) something you utterly love, & wearing it on & off for the next decade (or three)?

But those people are, IMO, all about fashion & not about style ...

I would me looking at brands like Wyse, Boden, Hugo Boss, Mint Velvet. For example Boden have a few shorter sift dresses that might suit eg the Cam dress.

https://www.reiss.com/style/su966988/g93071
This is gorgeous and you'd get a lot of bang for your buck as its so versatile

https://www.modainpelle.com/sandals-c29/heeled-sandals-c41/mallorie-off-white-porvair-p17098

Imo clothes look stylish on the wearer when they fit well, so petite ranges would probably be best for you, OP, in colours which suit the wearer's skin tone/colouring, made of good quality, usually natural fabrics. Why not take a friend whose opinion you value, shopping with you to find clothes that both think are appropriate for the occasion? Far better than asking people who have never met you to find something you will look good in.

I think if very much depends on what you like. Stylish means different things to different people. I don’t consider stylish to be anything girly/floral, or “pretty”, but others may. I think women look the most stylish in tailored suits or jumpsuits. I’d check out jumpsuits with very high heels, I think this is a great look for short women

Seriously who spends £425 on a CARDIGAN?! Only on MN would you get a suggestion like this. Spending outrageous sums of money on one item screams fashion victim a lot more than creative style and outfit planning. You don’t need to spend a fortune to look stylish.

OP I’d suggest looking through Vinted, filtering by brands you like and the types of outfits you want eg. Dress, jumpsuit etc. It’s time consuming but worth it, I’ve found some incredible bargains on there

Ok, I couldn't afford that either, but I do have clothes that originally had similar price tags. Where exactly do you think all those incredible second hand bargains come from? Could it be because women with bigger budgets than either you or me bought them and then resold or donated them before they were worn out?

Sorry for the derail op. I'll close the door behind me.

Spending outrageous sums of money on one item screams fashion victim a lot more than creative style and outfit planning.

Actually I don’t agree. I bought a suit in 2004 for £450 - the equivalent of about £800 now. It was my posh outfit for years and I still wear it from time to time. It’s probably the least fashion victim thing I’ve ever bought.

A viscose & nylon cardigan too ...

I do agree that you don't need vast sums of money to be stylish. In fact, I'd say that constraints often spur creativity.

When I was at art college in the late 80s/early 90s, there were some incredibly stylish students - male & female - who bought/borrowed/thrifted/made their clothes to fit in with their look. One guy I knew, who had a great 1940s Brylcreem'd hair, horn-rimmed specs & pinstriped suits thing going on - very dapper - revealed that he often bought his shirts & suits in C&A & re-tailored them ...!!

I think it's somewhere in between your two points of view. Something like your suit - like a winter coat or black cocktail dress - is a considered purchase that you know you'll get lots of wear out.

It's not like spending hundreds - or thousands - on a gimmicky or frivolous clothing item that's supposedly cutting-edge fashion this month - so applying the same logic means that it will be viewed as passé before the summer is out (by those who value fashion far ahead of style).

Really cutting edge/high fashion stuff is not the kind of clothing I buy though. But I have definitely benefitted from people selling clothes I couldn't normally afford, or things that sold out in my size. I'm delighted with my £500 Zadig & Voltaire Joe boots that I found for £75!