To get rid of all my clothes and start again..

[sunintheeast]

Dramatic title but thats how i feel.. am late 50s but i WFH mostly with the odd trip to the office. My life is casual but i caught sight of myself in a mirror in tkmax and i just thought i can do better than this !!! After 30 years on a corporate job I have lost my way and just can't get it right. Ive been following the minilalist posts and just want a dozen or so things i actalluly love, which last and make me feel good rather than a heap of rsndom meh... ideas ??? ..5 foot 8 size 14 mostly !!

T K Maxx was only ever any good when the Gold Label stuff was in a separate section.

Now … You definitely deserve better.

Don’t know your style - but one or two of these might suit:

https://www.and-daughter.com/

https://aimelondon.com/

https://babaa.es/

https://communityclothing.co.uk/

https://justinetabak.co.uk/

https://www.margarethowell.co.uk/

https://roheframes.com/en-uk

https://www.studionicholson.com/collections/womens-new-collection

https://www.youmustcreate.com/

You only need a tiny number of excellent things and you can fill in the gaps from Uniqlo.

Yes that's the ticket... i dont mind investing in good stuff and tbh I dont mind getting older as long as im healthy but I dont want to.rmbarras the kids my being Madame frumpy. .. capsule wardrobe ideas ??

Throwing everything out is wasteful.

By all means sell or send to the charity shops things you don't wear, and make an effort to buy decent quality things you love to replace them.

M & S. Honestly. Beautiful cashmere or merino basics. Online is excellent. Autograph is great for smart casual.

I would also add Joseph to the list. It's not fashion-led, but does do well-cut wide trousers, good knitwear etc.

One thing I would very definitely do if I were to set up a capsule wardrobe from scratch is to consider what colours you like wearing best, & also what shapes & fabrics, types of patterns etc that you're keen/not keen on. If you're not sure what colours suit you best, you could consider a colour analyst?

I know that for some people colour isn't that important - but for me I get great pleasure from wearing, say, a jumper that's in the absolutely perfect shade of pea-green, or dark red, or inky blue for me. It really lifts my mood & makes me happy! It also preferably has to be a lovely wool/alpaca/cashmere/mohair knit, & of course in a fit & style that I love - one that goes with many things I already own.

If you are cutting the contents of your wardrobe right back, & considering spending not inconsequential sums of money on new pieces, then I would want each one of those items to be utterly perfect ...!!!

It's not dissimilar to what I tell clients with small gardens. If they love, say, ornamental crab apples & only have room for one - then it has to be the perfect one. The variety that flowers longest/is the exact shade of pink to tone with the nearby tulips/has the most dramatic & long-lasting fruits. And I will always hand-select the specimen with the best form for them.

I think you should apply similar principles to your new capsule wardrobe!!

I did something similar when I'd had kids in my early 30s. Threw out all the polyester stuff from toyshop and new look which was too young for me and slowly built out a wardrobe of great quality (cashmere, linen, silk) designer clothes. It's taken years but it's all classic stuff and lasts and lasts.

So you are on the right track.

I find instagram influencers really helpful - I love Emma rose thatcher as she's a similar age to me so basically stuff that looks good on her looks good on me. That might not be the one for you but you can do some hunting.

Give some thought to what kind of shoes you want, too? Or at least don't end up with a bunch of wonderful outfits that only look good with the kinds of shoes you'll never, ever wear. Maybe it's just me that falls into this trap...!

What's your main issue? Fit? Outdated silhouettes? Wrong colours on you? Quality that could be better? Things that don't match?

i love Hush, Sahara and Baukjen, a few bits and bobs from each coordinate well with each other and being classic styles won’t look dated. Worth a look.
Edited to say have a look on eBay because I’ve found some amazing new with tags bargains on there.

I love the White Company, Mint Velvet and the odd Boden.

AirandFrock, I love all those designers you've listed. Really love them, but no ways can I afford those prices. Are there any cheaper you'd recommend, other than uniqlo..?

Check out Styled By Susie on Instagram. She and her team do a range of online or in-person style services including colour analysis, personal shopping and capsule wardrobes. Even if you’re not interested in the services, she’s a similar height and size so could be good for some inspo. And on Fridays she does a Q&A which can be helpful too.

Hard to give more advice without knowing your style but if you want to DIY it maybe start with the things you feel the best in from your wardrobe and see if there’s any consistency, a colour palette or style may emerge that you can build on.

I'll out myself as a bloke but your local branch of M&S will be awful fo men's clothes; almost as if someone is playing a practical joke on the public, or the whole place is a front for illegal activity, or some Producers-style racket.

The M&S website however - for men, at any rate - seems to be a different thing and well worth a look; seems to mean ordering in stuff to your local branch however and being prepared to return it after trying it on. So the same may apply with women's clothes.

I have worn cheap stuff but if you wear the same kind of thing every week it's best to have quality stuff instead.

What would you like to have been wearing when you saw yourself in the mirror?
This might help
Page 2 | Would like a restyle and don’t know where to start… help! | Mumsnet

I clicked on the first link £375 for a basic jumper 🫠😭

I'm guessing that by the age of 50 you have a good idea of which colours and shapes suit you.

So browse online all the sites whose clothes you think fall within your budget. Look first for the styles that you know suit you, then narrow those garments down by choosing the colours that suit you. Do NOT worry about what is 'fashionable'. If you are choosing classic clothes, just choose what suits you in good quality, preferably natural, fabrics,

That Rohe deconstructed trench coat skirt is just stunning. Timeless and extraordinary. Don't doubt it's worth every penny of the £775 price tag

I found ChatGPT really helpful in refining my style. It recognised that I prefer/look best with a “column” style with a defined waist. That doesn’t mean straight fitted or bodycon dresses - I’m currently too menopause belly for that and have a large chest - more that simple styles with longer proportions suit me, usually neutral colours not prints. Shirt dresses, fit and flare dresses, shift dress with the buckles on waist, suits, trench coats etc. I’ve also paid more attention to belts and jewellery for adding style, though I tend to wear classic styles, not big and chunky.

So you didn’t get as far as Community Clothing, @MaryBeardsShoes? They’re very firm about having the smallest mark-up they possibly can for their wonderful and ethically made in Britain clothes - so you might find the price of their ‘basic’ jumpers more acceptable. All their knitwear is impressive.

Truthfully, @Eddielizzard I’m not good at the space in between. I like the 5% of Zara that exceeds expectation, but find High St brands a sad and disappointing waste of time and money so don’t bother with them. (I moved to a city I like, anticipating being near a physical Cos store again - it closed before I moved in.) & Other Stories does great styling- but everything is thin and limp these days. Mango often looks exciting but I haven’t bought anything there this century. H&M did come up trumps with exactly the boots I wanted earlier this year, from their premium range, in a sale - but that was the first thing I’ve bought from them in more than fifteen years. I used to enjoy Jigsaw, and maybe Whistles when it first opened … Reiss I don’t really understand and it’s so expensive - I’d far rather spend that sort of money at Margaret Howell, where just gazing at the finishing of a seam, or the quality of a fabric, can keep me happy for years. So most of my shopping is done very carefully in the sales, or occasionally pre-owned. (And I’m never on threads like the current M&S one complaining about terrible quality.)

@NewspaperTaxis As an old hand at ordering M&S on line, you can get home delivery! You can try on your order with what you might wear it with and I return stuff via my local food store. There are other options but trying on at home is pleasant in my view. Yes, the full range is on line. M&S rank stores so few carry the full range. A handful.

This kind of look might be what you’re after? Instagram might be your friend here searching for: timeless, classic, quiet luxury. I then followed some bright young things recreating this look with high street and higher-ish shops like Sezane & Me&Em etc.

God, I would find that look so bland …

(Sorry! It’s just so very instagram. I don’t generally last more than two minutes on any site that sticks rigidly and timidly to beige, cream, black …)

I know it works well for lots of people and they look perfectly lovely.

Maybe the OP might prefer:

https://www.lafetiche.com/shop/

The quality is epic.

Perfect but I have cats.