But what has actually influenced your wardrobe shopping choices?

[DeHumanaeMentisApatheia]

There are intermittent threads asking for lists of where people shop - I’m not sure how compelling these are for readers. (And where the OP takes no active role in the thread it’s hard to believe they’re not just some sort of AI generated thing.)

Surely the crucial thing is what shapes a person’s tastes and preferences - all the more so for mature women who have more hinterland. Whether that’s your parents’ interests when you were a child, or shopping with friends as a teen, or a revelation at university or in early jobs. As much as life stages, health, environment, finances.

My ‘reading Vogue from 13’ history is all over S&B.

What influenced you, before ‘influencers’? And how does that affect how you shop now?

Surely having a color and body shape analysis by a professional stylist is the first step? Otherwise you are just buying clothes that probably don’t suit your body or colors that just don’t compliment you.

this has been an enlightening for me. Almost all the clothes that I never reach for were just not in my color palette or suited my shape - but now I know why!

I’ve also chucked everything that is polyester. Stinky, cheap polyester.

But what I most admired were some voluminous printed skirts constructed from what looked like acres of heavy cotton.The only contemporary things I’ve ever seen to match them were from Casey Casey - so I don’t know how manufacturers were able to produce such loveliness 70 years ago at prices accessible to young women on tiny salaries

They were likely made in the UK and likely one reason they were affordable may have been because the people making them weren't being paid much, and if women, not paid equally with men.

I mentioned Laura Ashley. Laura Ashley kept manufacturing in Wales for as long as possible until it became too expensive. Unfortunately for the brand moving production out of the UK resulted in a huge drop in quality.

I have 2 of those Casey Casey dresses. The construction is amazing. They were made in France.

I'm sure that is helpful for some people who lack confidence in their style. However, most people who are self aware will know what works. I know beige, yellow and lilac look dreadful on me. I don't suit certain styles. However, I'm quite content with my choice to wear things that may not completely suit or flatter.

Some people naturally have an eye for colour and proportions so don’t need a stylist to advise them. Or they grew up / live / work with someone with “the eye” and have learnt from them (often subconsciously).

I think I only know one person who has “had her colours done”. Which seems to mean she wears a lot of blue and pink now. 😕

I get told by a lot of people (including random strangers) that I should be a stylist. I’m not sure if that’s a compliment or not to be honest. I just wear what I like. That often involves throwing lots of clothes around in a mad panic until something “looks right”. I can’t explain how my mind works or what my style ‘is” but I know it when I see it. 😂

As for polyester, it’s not all bad. Issey Miyake has made a LOT of money from polyester with his Pleats Please line and I admit to being somewhat very addicted to PP dresses. Actually I recently bought a skirt from his Homme Plisse line in a sample sale. I quite like the irony of a woman wearing a skirt that was designed for a man yet is traditionally an item of women’s clothing. It looks better on me than it does on the male model. 😉

Probably the fact that I’m very short and have massive boobs. Which means most things look somewhat ridiculous on me. Nothing with too much fabric, no voluminous sleeves or flounces, proportions are a nightmare as petite clothes are generally cut shorter in length but not always scaled down in other places.

Colour wise, I suit autumnal colours, pastels look awful. Nothing white as I’m clumsy.

Style-wise probably still far too stuck in my goth/punk teenage years despite being nearly 60. Jeans, t-shirts with DMs, definitely no dresses or skirts. I should really smarten up a bit but don’t know how.

Amazingly, @Makebelieveanotherlife, yours is not a desirable route for everyone! If you read my posts, or some others here, you’ll find a range of influences from childhood onwards that have nothing to do with physical analysis of one’s person.

Obviously if I were having a garment made specifically for me - a suit, or dress or even the shirts I’ve promised myself for my next significant birthday - the tailor would start with my measurements, and they would endeavour to find fabrics and colours that make me look my best - but honest, honestly, at least half the time I’m browsing clothes I fall in love with things that simply aren’t going to ‘flatter’ me. Maybe they’ll make me look a bit wide, or maybe the colour might be difficult - I Don’t Care. The items bring me joy through simply existing - and I’ll stride down the street in them feeling utterly splendid because some narrative in my head is entirely satisfied.

I do get (or at least am trying to comprehend) that a body focused approach will work best for others. I would find it limiting because I want clothes for the clothes.

I’m also a hard no in the whole body analysis as inspiration for getting dressed or building a wardrobe. Styling clothes to suit your body is not that difficult if you’re prioritising a very fixed view of “ flattering” but it doesn’t give you a particular style. Posters have used terms like punk or androgyny or boho and I think those are much more inspirational starting points. I’ve lost a lot of weight and I now have a lot of fun playing with proportions eg oversized with oversized because I’m not particularly preoccupied with my weight or looking slim. Previously I would have prioritised it more.

I would like stylist though to come and help me sort through my wardrobe and put some unexpected looks together. I have a tendency to be too expected or resolved and I’d like a bit more weirdness or friction. I don’t think I can afford it though and actually I find a lot of stylists a bit corporate and paint by numbers for my taste.

For a long time I was influenced by having grown up struggling with a body that was very much not in fashion in the Kate Moss years. I'm 5'3" and a short waisted hourglass, generally a size 6-8, which sounds like it should be easy to dress, but isn't. Having real money to spend on clothes and the discovery of excellent alterations change my relationship with clothing from fractious to pleasurable. I'm often struck on here by how few people realise the massive difference that a little nip and tuck, not of them, but of the clothing, can make.

Like some others on this thread, I spent years dressing to be taken seriously by the men around me in the office. Primary consideration was, could I throw it on without much thought while we were wrangling one, two, and then, three children out the door and get to the office looking like I hadn't already spent the morning in the trenches. And since this was pre-me too, I was interested in a degree of severity.

Also like some others on this thread, I have a good eye for both clothing and interiors. I can look at the Net-a-Porter new arrivals and pretty instinctively know what will suit me and whether it's an item I'll reach for repeatedly. I've never had my colours done and just pretty much go by, does it make me look like a corpse, and if so, don't buy it. I have everything from white to beige to shocking orange and hot pink and love black.

Due to being short waisted and having boobs, I don't wear anything tucked in, so generally tend toward peasanty boho, structured or fitted tops - quite a range, as you can see. I prefer jumpers without ribbed waistbands, extra points if they nip in a bit at the waist. I wear some low key but significant jewellery and prefer my clothing to be tailored without ruffles or puffy sleeves or lots of tiers. I like closely tailored A-line dresses and love Dior New Look silhouettes. I have a couple Dior Bar Jackets that I love, love, love. I also really like the hippie-ish Chloe look of bell bottom jeans and clogs and a boho top, sometimes with a blazer over it. I love a platform shoe, but tend to not trot around London in them unless I'm going to something specific.

I'm aware of what's trendy and fashionable from moment to moment, but pick and choose. I try to avoid disposable fashion so am usually spending enough that I ask myself if I'm really going to get good wear out of it. I have clothes from 15 years ago that I still pull out. Weirdly, I only buy knitwear in cotton or cashmere, but overall don't have the same aversion to man made fibres as seemingly most on Mumsnet.

I did struggle when skinny jeans went out, as I was one of the rare people who they really flattered, while I look terrible in both massive wide legs and barrel shaped. I really liked the years of black skinnies, flat knee boots and a jumper, but have a hard time convincing myself to wear that now. DD is helpful, and now that she's at uni fewer things of mine seem to disappear into the abyss...

I struggle with shoes. I hate loafers and ballerinas and mary janes with a passion, don't love brogues, so am waiting for something I love to magically materialise.

My most recent purchase is this shirt and blazer.

https://www.net-a-porter.com/en-gb/shop/product/comme-des-garcons-girl/clothing/shirts/ruffled-cotton-poplin-shirt/46376663163145273

My clothing regret is not having had some Eponine London dresses and a coat made for me before she closed up shop. I kept intending to but never got around to it. I have one off-the-rack dress of theirs but wish I'd done more.

@Floisme My great grandmother had a button box. You've brought back some wonderful memories of being allowed to choose one every time I visited. My mum is the most fabulously skilled knitter and has taught DD, but sadly the talent seems to have skipped a generation.

Apologies if I sound a bit dismissive, @Makebelieveanotherlife. I’m just so emotionally invested in the whole evolving life of fashion and design - I can’t imagine making getting dressed all about my own waist measurement or skin tone.

I think it’s a bit of a never ending journey.

I grew up with a body size obsessed mother in a time where very thin was in style. I am short, narrow shouldered and have boobs, hips and bum and always thought that fashion just wasn’t for me as a child/teenager. Then I had kids in my 30s, gained some weight and again thought fashion wasn’t for me. Probably the fact that in the 00s and 2010s the fashion was for low waists and then skinny jeans which really didn’t suit me didn’t help.

In the last few years I’ve got back to a healthy weight and got more confidence in myself and my body. I’ve been working to figure out what I like rather than what I should like and have moved away from dressing for my shape. I think we naturally gravitate towards colours that suit us and I’m happy to wear colours that don’t really suit if I like them! I love experimenting with trouser shapes and mixing tailoring with more relaxed clothes. I think it’s foolish to think we aren’t influenced by trends and current fashion but I like to think I’m getting better at choosing the trends that work for me!

I’ve learned over my many years what suits me and have had to hunt out places that will accommodate my short leg length!

On a deeper level, on the inside it’s still 1985 and I’m at uni being a cool and trendy black wearing goth type. It’s very hard to shake off younger me as now there are certain cuts and styles/combinations that just don’t fit that template 🤣

On the other hand having adult daughters I think we influence each others’ clothes choices, so they’ve introduced me to some looks I would never gave considered and I’ve introduced them to M&S 😆

No joke - my 20 something daughter absolutely loves M&S, as her current job is near one of the big London stores and she goes in at lunchtime. She says they’re nailing it this year and I’m guessing she’s not alone among her peers thinking that.

I think we have a lot in common 🤣

Absolutely no puffy, voluminous sleeves or gathered shoulders, nothing fussy round the neck.

I do wear dresses sometimes as they can disguise my waist, even skirts can work if they’re the right length and don’t have huge gathers coming out from the waist band.
Sleek on top half, flared out bottom half works best for me in whichever format.

Polyester fans - doesn’t it make you horribly sweaty and stinky?

What has influenced me.

A picture of Farrah Fawcett-Majors on a skateboard wearing flared jeans, trainers and a red hoodie. I’ve loved that look since I was 14. Ninety percent of my shoe collection is trainers and I have far too many pairs of jeans.

I adore proper woolly jumpers and cardigans.

Having had had to wear suits and corporate type clothing for many years. I am so over office wear and particularly detest smart black trousers. I do not and never will own another pair.

I love a scarf.

DM and GM were seamstresses for M&S back in the 70s and always sewing at home so I grew up understanding how clothes were made and what decent fabrics looked like.

Not being outraged by the idea that everything has to be natural fabrics doesn't make one a "polyester fan"

It just makes you a person that understands different fabrics do different things. In some cases (Issey Miyake Pleats Please and most jacquard are only going to work better in polyester)

And there is plenty of really not nice cotton and silk at the cheaper end.

Most of my clothes are natural fabrics, but not all. To answer your question, no the items which are, polyester or which have polyester content, do not make me "horribly sweaty and stinky"

With reference to your last sentence, op, I want to say (respectfully) that I imagine you are of average size. Average height, average weight, average boobs, etc. Therefore, you don't understand people who are say taller or shorter than average and who have to deal with that. For instance, Short women wwho wear very high heels all the time so that they feel part of the adults. I, with my height, which was always commented on, and my big boobs, which were also always commented on by both men and women and navigating social relations with these things.
One point that has been repeated on this thread is dressing in the male workspace. As a a young woman I found that my height and boobs intimidated men, so I made a decision to wear more pastel colours to make myself look less threatening. It absolutely didn't work.

Surely having a color and body shape analysis by a professional stylist is the first step?

I would find that so limiting. There are currently at least three threads with this type of comment " I think you have to be willowy and tall to wear that".

According to some posters there's almost nothing that can be worn if one isn't "tall and willowy" or its variations "teenage/young/model" .

And then add in all the " I can't wear x colour because I'm a luke warm, drizzly day in October"

But surely it’s common sense that some of what suits my 5ft 10” willowy friend will look ridiculous on my 4ft 11” 30J frame. Clothes aren’t designed for women with my measurements so I’m stuck with either baggy monstrosities to go over the boobs and swamp the rest of me or very carefully chosen tops that don’t give the Bet Lynch vibe.

I’m usually just grateful to find something that fits. If it’s stylish and I actually like it then it’s an added bonus.

With reference to your last sentence, op, I want to say (respectfully) that I imagine you are of average size. Average height, average weight, average boobs, etc. Therefore, you don't understand people who are say taller or shorter than average and who have to deal with that.

I hear what you’re saying, honestly I do …

For me there are two things that spring to mind.

Firstly - I could easily start a thread asking for advice on how to dress my under 5’3, broad shouldered, flat chested, long armed, short waisted, vast footed self. But that just isn’t how I think when I’m looking for clothes. Of course I’ve learned that there are various shapes and proportions and colours that work less well on me. They’re easy to avoid and there are a million other options. I’ve also learned that (in general) the better the quality of any garment the more likely it is to render my own physical ‘imperfections’ irrelevant. (This is why I feel impatient when posters arrive with limitless perceived physical faults and want perfection for £35. And insist than spending a penny more would be unspeakable profligacy.)

Secondly, truly, I’ve had a lot more to contend with - existentially if you like - than my waist or shoe size. Clothes are play for me, somewhere where I feel supremely confident and happy and engaged and can be entirely myself. It’s not an area where I’m prepared to find fault with, or limit, myself unnecessarily.

@Iheartmysmart

1. Obviously, first find the labels / brands that come closest to working for you.

2. Make friends with a decent alterations service and factor the cost of alterations into your budget.

Make friends with a decent alterations service and factor the cost of alterations into your budget.

I can't stress enough how key this is for those of us without runway height and bodies. It can really be the difference between loving and hating the way you look and feel in clothing. And, truthfully, everyone from runway models to actors to Kate Middleton have had this done, which is one of the reasons they look so effortlessly perfect.

I didn’t mean to cause offence.
I genuinely would love to be able to wear polyester - it would open up so many more options for me.
It was an honest question - it makes me sweat a lot. I’m glad that that is not the case for you.

On style/colour analysis, I had one done with an independent image consultant. I had young dcs and felt I'd lost my style mojo. I chose her because I met her at a barbecue and we were both wearing a dress in the same shade of red, both into vintage and ex-goths 😁. She was great, as she absolutely didn't give restrictive rules and was very focused on personal style. She helped me find myself again.

I prefer natural fibres, generally, but there's polyester and polyester.

I wouldn't say I'm a polyester fan, but I would say that there is polyester and polyester, if you know what I mean? If I like the quality of the garment and the feel of the fabric, I'm not going to be overly worried about it. I realise it's not ideal for the environment, but nothing about 99% of garment manufacturing is. There are some extremely high end makers who use polyester in their clothing lines.

I just don't seem to be a hugely sweaty and stinky person, although the one thing does does make me feel sweaty is, surprisingly, silk shirts, especially thinner ones.

I can actually sew and knit to a pretty good standard. My nan was a tailor and taught me to cut a pattern years ago and I made all my own clothes for a long time. Unfortunately a full time job and an elderly parent means time is limited now otherwise I’d happily dig out the sewing machine again. It would be nice though to buy something that fits without having to alter it.