Having just run my second The Art of Style programme, I am so aware of the absolute importance of  dressing your values and honouring your needs when choosing what to wear.

I’ve been really fortunate to have Sarah Stuart staying with me. She is a fabulous new and exciting fashion design graduate and image consultant from New Zealand who is going places – believe me. We had to go shopping. It’s a necessary event for someone who has travelled from elsewhere and a fantastic opportunity for both of us to have another professional alongside to critique potential purchases.

We wne to to Stamford, a fabulous olde English town with independent (though less now due to the economic climate) boutiques and very few national chains. We me in mind, we both swooped on a fabulous Alexander McQueen dress. Sarah agreed that it fitted my body perfectly, it flattered my colouring, it was funky, it was quirky, it was fashionable, it was comfortable  and within my budget (well, I would have squared it somehow) but I still didn’t buy it.  Why not? It creased when I sat down. Not a huge problem as the dress would have still looked good, but I didn’t feel good. Looking ‘creased’ makes me feel like I’ve forgotten to iron my clothing, that I’m not professional, that I’m not as good as I could be and that I’m slipshod in my standards of care. Wearing  this dress would have adversely affected my performance when meeting people and that really isn’t good. 

It was sad to walk away but if I had bought it, I know for sure that it would have stayed in the wardrobe with the labels still on because I was not confident in its performance. My clothing needs to honour my values and my principles and this dress could not deliver. What a shame. It was beautifully tailored but without the substance required to be perfect.

but in a really different format. No longer ‘BIG’ on our TV screens, they pondered hard and long about what to do next and hence the title of their latest offering ‘ What Trinny & Susannah Did Next’.  I’ll leave you to make your own mind up! Beware bad language. www.trinnyandsusannahwhattheydidnext.com

I decided to take a  few days off, as I don’t seem to have had any kind of break for a very long time, and of course, the weather completely changed. No more tropical sunlight but rain and cold weather all day long. So what’s a girl to do but go shopping for her Autumn collection.

I LOVE winter clothes so you can only imagine my sheer joy when I found this. A bright pink and purple kilt. Designed, of course, by my favourite lady Dame Vivienne. The pleats aren’t fully attached to the skirt and move 90 degrees when you swirl around. And ladies, that is exactly what I was doing in the shop. I may be 52 years old but I felt like a schoolgirl with her new uniform. All I needed was a satchel and an apple for the teacher. I actually felt like skipping!!

If your clothes shopping doesn’t excite you in this way, ask yourself, why not?

The beauty editors are forecasting that mascara, as we know it, will soon be a thing of the past. We are about to be hit by a wave of serums that not only lengthen but also condition our lashes, something we need at any age but especially as we get older. THE one to buy is RapidLash Eyelash Enhancing Serum which gives you surefire results in 4 days. I’m telling you this so you can get the date of release into your diary. 14th July at Boots price £39.99.  I predict a stampede.

Whether or not you choose to wear make up on a daily basis, as we get older it’s helpful to put some kind of glow onto your skin. Make up artists advise us to look as natural as possible in the summer so the new cheek colour from Clarins has appeared at just the right time.

Clarins Instant Blush Magic Colour is a sheer, potted gloss. Advertised as suiting all skin tones, it intensifies in colour on contact with the skin. Apply a little to the apples of your cheeks with the tip of your finger and then tap gently to spread and blend the colour towards your hairline. Instant uplift! Watch out for it in the shops soon. At £16.50 it’s not cheap but apparently very effective.

Remember when you were a teenager and  too lazy or too tired to wash your hair? Greasy roots weren’t a problem because we had the miracle dry shampoo (or  talcum powder if you were really broke) back then. It seems that we were onto something because the dry shampoo has made a comeback. The All Nighter Styling Powder might sound like something we no longer need (nostalgic thoughts of having the energy to not go to bed and survive the next day seems like a lifetime ago) but it promises to give volume, shine, body and a lovely smell with no nasty chemicals. It also comes in 5 shades, so no tell-tale white marks to give you away.  www.beingcontent.com £15.50

….. whoever it was that decided the new trend for Autumn Winter 10 is wearing socks with high shoes. As you know, my feel suffer from blisters and I need all the comfort I can get. Marni was showing ribbed versions with high heels and Kurt Keiger has introduced their own range of beautiful socks just for this purpose. I shall be first in line ,though at my age, I could end up looking more like Nora Batty than a style icon!

The fabulous style guru Gok Wan, loved by every woman on the planet, has done it again. In his recent series of Fashion Fix programmes, he has managed to prove that High Street can look just as good as High End lables and a bit of  ‘customising’ means we still retain our uniqueness. What does this mean? It means that ALL of us can afford to look great and feel fabulous, whatever our budget, whatever our age, whatever our lifestyle. We just need to know where to look and how to put it altogether. That’s where I come in.  His philosophy of ‘buy less, wear more’ is one that we image professionals have advocated since time began but if it takes a Gok character to put the message across, I’m not complaining.

Gok’s Fashion Fix Tuesdays Channel 4 8pm