Am sorely tempted to throw out my entire wardrobe and start again. Help!

[WhiteWineAndJaffaCakes]

I am despairing of the tired old state of pretty much everything in my wardrobe. I didn't buy anything when I was pg and when my dd (now 16m) was born I stopped work and didn't have the money to do much shopping. Now I'm back working part-time I can afford a small budget for clothes again but all my clothes are at least 2 years old and very well worn and I'm at a loss where to start to update things!

I need to shop online as I don't have the time to go out to shops. I need to look smart for work, but I don't really like wearing suits.

Any suggestions as to what good basics to get and what to add to them to make nice outfits, both for work and for more casual mummy/toddler groups etc?

I LOVE these threads but am skint and useless so I will simply watch!

Start by seeing what you can salvage.

Good jeans. Long sleeved tops. Vests, cardies. Grey casualish trousers. Tank tops.

Converse, brown chunky boots, knee length aline skirt.

Loads of scarves and necklaces so you look finished.

For work - trousers or knee length skirts with smart shoes and blouse/cardie or shirt tank top.

Home - skirt, bootstights or ballet shoes. Tops to go or long sleeved tops with tank top over.

Any good to you?

Or trews/jeans for at home obv

I would get a cord skirt and a nice denim one. You can wear the denim one in summer with t shirts/vests and shrugs, flip flops or sandals.

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Good idea - start from scratch, as then you won't feel bound by your old worn-out unfashionable clothing and will have a free rein to reinvent your look. Don't try to salvage anything at all as it will hamper your makeover.

Buy whole outfits, rather than bits and pieces. It's still very early in the season and lots of shops haven't got their S/S09 range in so keep browsing web sites but don't buy quite yet.

Can you post a full-length picture of yourself to give an idea of what you look like?

What sort of work environment are you in? Conventional with a strong dress code (if so, what?) or can you pretty much dress how you wish?

Oooh fab ideas. I think tomorrow will be spent going through my wardrobe. Might have to hang on to some old rubbish stuff for the rest of this cold weather then order lovely new stuff for spring. .

Feel slightly nervous about posting a full length photo (what would I wear!?!) - but I am 37 and a size 12 on top and 14 bottom. Apple-shaped rather than pear-shaped so I have nice legs/bum but an awkward tummy that is sometimes larger than my boobs .

Work isn't particularly conventional. It's a small firm and lots of people wear jeans in the office but I have go out and see clients so I have to make a bit of an effort.

I had a similar dilemma last year and for my birthday my lovely DH bought me a colour me beautiful consultation which I supplemented with the style consultation.

It was expensive but completely worth it as for the first time in my life I have a guideline about what shapes and colours suit me. Sadly none of the shops seem to sell many of said items, but hey ho can't have everything.

You seem to be pretty aware of your body shape so if you either bought the CMB book or borrowed it from the library then should give you lots of ideas about what shapes and styles would suit you.

You've already had some fab advice from everyone so I won't add to purchasing ideas......but I will give some de-cluttering ideas:

Anything that is worn, faded, poor quality, stained or just never likely to come back into fashion must be binned!

Next, organise your cupboards so that you have everything grouped according to what it is: long sleeve t-shirt pile, short sleeved t-shirt pile, cardigans, jumpers etc. That way, you will be able to see at a glance what you have and will make choosing outfits much easier. Organise your accessories in the same way: I have a draw for scarves and wraps, another for belts.

Of the stuff you are keeping: do any buttons need replacing? Threads hanging off or hems need fixing? Do you need to launder/dry clean any items which haven't been worn for a seriously long time? (although you may find just giving them an airing will do the trick).

Do you love an item but have nothing to go with it? Then make it your priority to buy the bits to go with before any "brand new start" purchases. Otherwise they will still be hanging there unworn in 2 years time.

Polish your shoes/boots, get them re-heeled/soled where necessary and have them neatly on shoe-racks rather than shoved in boxes where you will forget about them.

Some great advice on here already.
I would always have a good fitting pair of black trousers, you can then match them with anything.
Same with boots, buy a pair that you feel good in-probably stick to black/tan.
Basic neutral colours such as black/white/beige/navy will always be in fashion and you can jazz up with bold prints/colours.
Another good combo is the nautical look eg white linen trousers with navy and white stripe t shirt, ballet pumps, red/white or navy cardi etc.

totally agree with rookiemater. I've had colour and style analysis done and it has transformed my shopping. Now everything I have goes, and is right, and makes me feel good wearing it. If you are anywhere near Sheffield I can recommend a company - independent rather than one of teh big firms, but really good!

ooh I live near Sheffield. What are they called & roughly how much does it cost

they are called True Colours here cost is £90 for colours and £130 for style (I just looked on the site for up to date prices)

I had money for my birthday a couple of years ago and used it for the style analysis - was a really good use of the money - I make far fewer mistakes now - and shopping is so much quicker cos you know what to look for.

I live in Manchester and it would be difficult for me to find the time to go to Sheffield for that. Might try out department store personal shoppers though - anybody know which are the best ones?

There is a good book- Colour me Confident- that can replace a real colour analysis- you can often pick it up on ebay for not much £.

I have a consultation with Colour me Beautiful years back- unfortunately, she said I was between 2 "types"!! Great. Now, they seem to have divided the types into sub types- so it might be better.

I was told to ditch black, and wear more neutral shades near my face- just that has made a difference!

What I have discovered is it is not so much about the colours, but more about the tone/depth of colours.

It is also about whether you are a yellow based or pink based person; you can try this yourself by putting a peachy/orange scarf then a pink one next to your face - and seeing whcih makes you look washed out.

I look better in the cool shades- teal and turquoise rather than olive/moss greens, and pinks instead of apricots /peach.

Try it at home and you needn't spend a fortune.

I agree with what the other mums have said here - try to salvage what you can and buy new wardrobe bits to update your look. Funky accessories can easily funk up your look - check out this site for quality pieces that you will find yourself wearing them time and time again (I know I have done!)
funky jewellery

Is that your site Louloumum?

Well I've not had the chance yet to go through my wardrobe - sounds like a job for the weekend. I have put together a list of what I think I need for a 'capsule' wardrobe though, and I have a good idea about what colours suit me (warm autumn colours) so that's a start. Am a bit daunted by the prospect of having an empty wardrobe on Monday morning though! Wish I had the time to spend a day at the shops...

Will definitely take the advice and stock up on jewellery & scarves etc. DH has wonderful taste in jewellery but tends to buy me 'dressy' stuff.

Try Kew - great for a capsule wardrobe, I'd definitely go there if I were starting from scratch.

So I have been through my winter stuff, throwing out anything that's a bit rubbish and I am left with - NOTHING! Well almost. I need to buy the following online to get me started for the rest of the winter...

dark brown smart trousers

wrap dress (autumnal colours - not black!)

brown smart jacket

any suggestions?

WhiteWine - why brown??? It's nearly Spring. Get some new spring clothes in cheerful colours.

I suit warm colours so brown seems a good staple to mix other colours with (green/orange/mustard/etc). I'm open to suggestions though...