I want to reinvent myself - but into what?

[sushistar]

I'm 26, ds is 8 months, and none of my prepregnancy clothes look/feel right anymore. I am going to reinvent myself. I'm 5ft1, sz 12 (but hopefully heading towards a 10!) and have long blond hair and pale skin. I want to be FUNKY. I have no money, so we're talking primark, asda, ebay...

Help me find some images/key items / trends to give me an idea of what to aim for?

these shoes are funky and will make you taller and you can walk in them

Those are nice shoes. They are £65. No way.
But something to aim for - anything like that cheaper?
these are lovely too but again way too much!

But where do I go from there?
Say wedge shoes, wideleg jeans - what top?
I want to look 26 and coool.

Yeah I have the ones you posted! they're v comfortable and I feel TALL in them but I didn't pay the full price for them. They were on Amazon.

I'm going to look in on this thread and see what the stylists (??!) have suggested for you tomorrow.

Heeeelp any other suggestions?

I have seen some of the Fly yuna shoes on Ebay. There is a pair in a size 4 and another pair in a size 3.here
and here

I'm size 5 or 6 :0(

I must stop looking at them! I'll buy something I can't afford!!

What I want is some pics of funky outfits to get inspiration from. Thing is, I can be brave about wearing different things, but I don't want to get it wrong, and go over the top...

those shoes are MINGING.... but i'm ancient and know nothing....

at controlfreaky!! FInd us some shoes then... I am open to all suggestions!
How ancient are you btw?

These are apparently the trends for Autumn/Winter 2008: www.elleuk.com/fashion/trends
however I prefer to browse the street style section. Who do you admire celeb wise? Do you want to look smart or casual? How about wearing skirts/dresses if you normally wear jeans/trousers or vice versa...

Cheap shop suggestions: Topshop, H&M, Uniqulo and if you choose carefully, Dorothy Perkins. Also vintage stuff on ebay can be cheap and original.

some of these are nice... and cheap....

www.topshop.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/CategoryDisplay?catalogId=19551&storeId=12556&categoryId=7 3930&parentcategoryrn=42358&langId=-1&top=Y

Oh dear - the ell trends for autumn 2008 are ALL DOG UGLY.
I like boho-type style, but the problem is I have no money and struggle to spend 4 hours searching for bargains like I used to with an 8 month old in tow! And internet buys never seem to fit - i've barely bought anything online.

Also, my wardrobe needs to work for:
baby groups with ds
going out to the uber-funky market / coffee bars near where we live at weekends with dh
chilled days in the park
looking smartish for things now and again

So I think I need like a key set of items that I can dress up / down?

control freaky - they're all very flat
I dunno, I just seem to gain a stone in flats...

My advice is, beofore you do anything, buy some fashion magazines. I would go for Marie Claire as they have a good mix of designer and high street (but I am not meaning for you do buy these things in the magazine, just get an idea of the looks that are around, and what to look for whilst you are out on the high st)

Since you are petite in height, I would go for leg lengthening jeans like skinny or skinny flare. Wide-legged jeans may make you look squatty.