Hello,

I am frequent visitor, not so frequent poster.

I am thinking I need to tweak my style a bit. I live in a casual place. Nobody dresses up since it's a beach town. I like preppy, sporty, casual, although sometimes my clothing choices come off as looking frumpy, mumsy, or average.

I don't think I have enough trendy or "cool" items. For instance, I could easily buy a pair of trendy sunglasses but instead wear a pedestrian, dated pair. Another example it that I'm drawn to prints and sometimes they look more schoolmarm than cool. I might not be able to erase the frumpy look completely because I have some weight I would like to lose, and I tend to wear capris and t-shirts because I don't like to expose my legs too much.

I'm wondering what you would advise to inject some style if you lived in a hot climate. I'm wanting cool, effortless, slightly sexy if possible, maybe?

Who should I look to for inspiration? Specific item recommendations and shops are appreciated. I am posting a pic of myself to show my body shape. Thank you for any advice.