Where to shop in London for stylish, colourful outfits at 46

[PurpleParent]

In need of clothing inspiration - I’m 46 and struggle to know where to shop for my age or how to put good outfits together, would like to shake off the ‘mumsy’ look. I’m in London for the weekend so access to plenty of shops - can anyone recommend some shops to try. I like bright colours, comfortable but stylish!

What sort of thing do you like? It's hard to give suggestions with nothing as everyone's preferences differ - is there any sort of thing you know you like?

(I object to the sexist/ageist word mumsy, but understand you want a change)

I find Zara good. There’s a mixture of styles - crop tops for the youngsters, and also items for us oldies 😂

Unless you’re buying super expensive designer stuff, anything colourful is likely to read as ‘mumsy’ (using wholly objectionable shorthand) as ‘the young’ (🤮) currently lean exclusively towards the drab and colourless. Faded floppy jeans and ‘if not black, beige’ sweatshirts and crop tops. Or flesh coloured leggings. 🤮🤮

I shop online, so my first suggestion would be to scour

Net-aPorter

and

Collagerie

and see which brands appeal to you. Then look at their own sites. Obviously if they have physical stores in London it would be worth visiting them.

Sister Jane https://sisterjane.com/pages/sister-jane-townhouse?srsltid=AfmBOopFVPaLRuxYvZLgRjx0u6kqUMjKoNDN4bV3kU8JEbs0Rfuf3ZyF

website to see if it’s your cup of tea https://sisterjane.com/?srsltid=AfmBOoprocrjKMCHbtVycS8cNY1e0nKZ6FOJcZ3FpESaTF_UWUMyjcwk

Me+Em can be good for colour, although block colour more than prints.

I’d go to John Lewis

I went shopping today and there was a lot of beige and brown, but there were some pockets of red and blue in H&M and M&S.

Oliver Bonas? Other Stories?

Both high street but the physical stores seem to be only in the London area

If you're over on the east side of Central London Spitalfields Market and around is worth a look

If you like bright colours, have you considered Sahara? The shop in Crawford Street is lovely. https://saharalondon.com/pages/london

Hate the word "Mumsy"

Palava is super colourful, very ethical and has a tiny shop near King's Cross with a much larger online stock. Or Liberty.

https://palava.co/

NRBY in Elizabeth Street

https://nrbyclothing.com/

I'd go to the second floor of Liberty and have a good browse and try-on session. Everything there will be very contemporary and "in". If you find brands you like but brand new is out of budget, you can then go away and search the brands you like on Vinted or other second-hand sites (I realise shopping second-hand can risk you buying pieces that look dated, but I shop mostly on Vinted and in charity shops and I'm told I scrub up well).

I'd also browse some of the French brands like Claudie Pierlot, Maje, Sandro, Gerard Darel, and Sezane.

Thanks everyone, I don’t really know what I like, that’s the problem - probably nice fitted trousers, blouses or other tops, don’t suit skirts, fitted dresses that tie at the waist are good. I’m a size 10/12 but no curves. Hate the word mumsy too but I definitely don’t have style haha. Spend wfh days in leggings and jumpers

I bought a lovely brightly patterned shirt in Zara last weekend. I wore it in the week and felt great.

You don’t have to know what you like. You simply need to be prepared to experiment and allow your tastes to evolve as you do.

I’d head to Covent Garden as it has lots of boutiquey brands really close together.

John Lewis Oxford street has a really fantastic range of brands
From there, you could try Selfridges where you will get more high-end stuff again.
You are also close to Marylebone High Street which has a number of really nice brands like Sezane, Me + Em, Maje, Wyse, Gerald Darel

I agree with Me+Em and Sezane. I’d also throw in Ba&sh.