No idea what suits me - help!

[ChillYoga]

Hi everyone, I’ve struggled a lot the past few years and have lost myself a bit. I fled an abusive relationship and couldn’t take any clothes so since I’ve just been taking friends hand me downs and buying from charity shops. I have a bonus from work this month and I’d like to treat myself to some new clothes but when I look there’s so many different styles now I don’t know where to start. currently I live in leggings and hoodies.

I do a lot of outdoor activities and camping so looking for mainly stuff suitable for that - but so many shops now and don’t know which ones are best online?

Also some casual outfits for day to day wear

And a few for when I’ve got to be smart at work, usually WFH so not often

Recommendations for trainers and footwear would also be appreciated

I tried to work out what colours would suit me best but two tools came back with different t answers so still clueless

im about 5’1 and about 57kg, mostly size 8 top and bottom. I used to be much slimmer due to stress and struggle mentally with the size of my thighs and stomach area now but learning to love it. Ive started the gym last month so toning up a bit. I’m in the UK so shorts is rare.. very rare!

I’ve added a photo so you can see my body type, I’ve brown hair with highlights.

thanks in advance for all you help

You've got a lovely figure. I'm a lot bigger/taller so no idea whether my recommendations would suit you but for workwear I love either a dress with ankle boots or wide trousers with a blouse tucked in. M&S is great for both. They stock a range called Nobody's Child that usually has a free lovely dresses. I would order a few different shapes and return the bits you're less keen on. Also Hobbs and Whistles do beautiful dresses in silk etc, you can often pick up some bargains on Vinted if you want to keep the cost down. The sizing is consistent so they're reliable to buy preloved.

For casual, try on a few different jeans shapes - whilst wide/barrel legs are most 'in' at the moment, pretty much anything goes so spend what you can/need to on the one pair that you find the most flattering. I'm currently obsessed with some navy flared ones from Next that were recommended on here. For shorts I have some denim ones and jersey ones, both from Next. You've got lovely legs.

As for activewear, I've splashed out on a couple of pairs of Lovall leggings recently and they're so sturdy and comfortable.

Happy shopping!

Given your outdoor lifestyle I immediately thought of this (purely for the look):

Uniqlo dress

Which you could wear long or shorten at the hem, whichever you prefer. You strike me as someone who definitely doesn’t need to spend much money to look good, so I’d really interrogate the Uniqlo site and get as much as you can there for everyday. (They have much more than the obvious loungewear.)

If you’re on a budget might it be an idea to look at pre-owned sources for outdoor / camping gear? Others here will have advice on that. That way you save money to spend on dressing up.

For which I’d suggest maybe …

Topshop

Everything built on a smaller scale, not just this dress.

It’s fantastic that you’re now able to have some fun with clothes. Don’t worry too much about extraneous ‘guidance’ on colour or style - just relax and experiment.

This also looks like something you’d look really good in:

https://www.arket.com/en-gb/product/gathered-v-neck-dress-red-1333221003/

So it may be worthwhile to investigate the rest of the Arket site. (IIRC their midi dresses are very long, but other things should be possible,)

This co-ord set in particular:

https://www.arket.com/en-gb/product/arket-and-laila-gohar-cropped-shirt-bluewhite-1326703001/