“Why does my friend look good in anything?”

The truth is, this is highly unlikely. What your friend has learned to do is to find what suits her, celebrating what she has and concealing what she hasn’t, so that what you and others see is a successful style story.

“How can anyone enjoy shopping for clothes? It’s a nightmare.”

Of course it is. No one enjoys doing something that they are consistently bad at. (Take me and IT). However, there are tips that you can learn about how to be a successful shopper and I think that success will lead to a different perspective on the task.

“Why do I hate what I wear?”

Clothes, like our selves, need to change and develop. They are the window to who we are. If your clothes have not changed with you and reflect a self that is ten, twenty, thirty years younger you will not recognise yourself in the mirror. It goes without saying that this makes us uncomfortable and dissatisfied with what we wear. Sometimes we need an objective eye to help us get out of a style rut.

“How can I look less dowdy?”

Classic clothes are wonderful but you need to keep them looking contemporary with up to the minute accessories. They will bring your outfits alive and give you that element of surprise that is common to all good style. Remember too that the “one look” is out. You need to mix and match what you buy to look fashionable.

“I love wearing red but I had my colours done recently and I’ve been told that red is not for me.”

There are various ways of finding your “right” colours – seasonal and tonal being the two most popular. Use them as guidelines. No one colour is banned to your use but you may need to think about the shade you use and the time of year – what works with your skin in summer may not work in the winter. And, if the shade you love looks no good next to your skin use it for accessories instead.