I suspect that your lowest-hanging fruit right now is probably losing weight, although I appreciate that that’s easier said than done. I don’t have any experience with that, so I won’t try and offer any advice regarding it, but I can weigh in with a few words of advice on dressing well:
I don’t think ‘fashion’ in the sense of buying and wearing expensive brands is particularly important, but having some taste and competence in telling a good outfit from a bad one goes a long way. I would say that things to consider are fit, quality, and patterning/colour/other embellishments, roughly in that order. ‘Quality’ comes down in part to what fibres the garment is made from. Natural fibres like cotton and wool are preferable to artificial fibres like polyester, as they signal (and, in fact, are) nicer quality. You can also consider things like the stitching, but I’m not going to pretend to be expert enough to be able to convey what you’re looking for there. As for patterns, colours, and other embellishments, my general feeling is the subtler and fewer, the better. I think in general, it’s best to dress simply—not in terms of wearing fewer garments, but having those garments not be too embellished. A plain shirt, or one with subtle patterning, is, I think, generally more attractive than one with a gaudy or loud pattern, or a too-prominent logo of any kind. Ditto neutral vs. bright colours, although there might be more lee-way there for negotiation.
Also worth considering is matching the clothes that make up an outfit with regard to colour and so on—I don’t think I have any verbalizable tips on this front, although I’d note again that it’s easier if your clothes are relatively neutral and plain. Other aspects of grooming and appearance, such as haircut, are also worth considering.
I hope none of that came over as too patronizing—I don’t know where you’re starting from, so I tried to offer advice that was as general as possible and didn’t assume anything. Good luck!
I suspect that your lowest-hanging fruit right now is probably losing weight, although I appreciate that that’s easier said than done. I don’t have any experience with that, so I won’t try and offer any advice regarding it, but I can weigh in with a few words of advice on dressing well:
I don’t think ‘fashion’ in the sense of buying and wearing expensive brands is particularly important, but having some taste and competence in telling a good outfit from a bad one goes a long way. I would say that things to consider are fit, quality, and patterning/colour/other embellishments, roughly in that order. ‘Quality’ comes down in part to what fibres the garment is made from. Natural fibres like cotton and wool are preferable to artificial fibres like polyester, as they signal (and, in fact, are) nicer quality. You can also consider things like the stitching, but I’m not going to pretend to be expert enough to be able to convey what you’re looking for there. As for patterns, colours, and other embellishments, my general feeling is the subtler and fewer, the better. I think in general, it’s best to dress simply—not in terms of wearing fewer garments, but having those garments not be too embellished. A plain shirt, or one with subtle patterning, is, I think, generally more attractive than one with a gaudy or loud pattern, or a too-prominent logo of any kind. Ditto neutral vs. bright colours, although there might be more lee-way there for negotiation.
Also worth considering is matching the clothes that make up an outfit with regard to colour and so on—I don’t think I have any verbalizable tips on this front, although I’d note again that it’s easier if your clothes are relatively neutral and plain. Other aspects of grooming and appearance, such as haircut, are also worth considering.
I hope none of that came over as too patronizing—I don’t know where you’re starting from, so I tried to offer advice that was as general as possible and didn’t assume anything. Good luck!