Style Tips

If you are channeling Alexa Chung (or lulu, left) and are planning to have a fringe cut, ensure it is the right fringe for your face. Chung has a deep Cleopatra-style fringe, which works for most face shapes, except round, as it cuts the face in half. If your face is long and narrow, ensure your fringe is cut wide enough to open out your face. If your face is long, ensure your fringe is deep enough to balance out the lower half of your face

The bomber jacket, one of the key jacket shapes for spring and summer, is an especially good shape for those with "straight" body shapes, as it reflects the line of your silhouette. There are lots in the shops, including low-key ones in summery tweeds, bright floral and scarf print ones for making a fashion statement, and this elegant one by MaxMara (on our jackets pages).

Have you ever wondered why certain handbags look great and others don't? Like a dress or a piece of jewellery, the shape needs to suit you. So if you are a "straight", wear bags with angles and straight edges; if you are curvy, choose a bag with curves; if you are semi-straight, choose one that is not too rounded but not too angular, either, like the Ella Valentine Lola, pictured here (£185), which is perfect for semi-straights. Before buying any bag, always hold it and check your reflection in a full-length mirror to see if the shape works for you.

Pleats are a hot trend for this season. Straight figure shapes can wear any kind of pleats, but if you are curvy, look for a skirt with a wide, flat band over top hip so that the bulk from pleats does not add inches. Curvy girls should also look for pleats which swing out towards the hem, as in the Sonia Rykiel skirt here, £464

If you want a little bit of shaping under your clothing, but don't want to take the whole Spanx route, try some of the shaper tights that just hold in tummy area and gently streamline hips and thighs. Charnos "Killer Figure Hourglass control tights work wonders... We have them on our lingerie and hosiery pages.

Look instantly taller and slimmer by creating vertical lines with your clothing. For instance, wear a longish jacket, cardi or even a shirt open, showing a different colour top or blouse, that's the same length or longer, underneath. You could also add a long scarf, hanging like this one

When you have a mani or file your own nails, choose the nail shape that will most flatter your hands. If you want to elongate your fingers, have an almond or rounded shape, and if you want to take the eye away from not-so-fabulous fingers, add a gorgeous nail colour.

With pussybow blouses remaining one of the strong trends for this season, this is how to find the best way to wear them. To make your neck look longer, choose a neckline that is slightly scooped, so the bow isn't right up under your chin. And if you have a long face and/or short neck, this is a trend to ignore...

If you like chunky necklaces at your throat (rather than long beads or pearls), wear it so its sits just on your collar bone rather than tightly around your neck. That way, you create the illusion of a longer neck, rather than making your neck look short.

The summer's print trend can be a big help if you want to do a clever bit of disguising of figure flaws. Overall prints, or even placement prints if they are in the right place, can cover up a bit of midriff bulge or a bump far better than plain fabric.

With spring just around the corner and all the spring collections arriving on SoSensational, we are thinking about the base layers which we all need with the cobwebby knits, lace and sheer fabrics that are such key trends. So it's worth investing now in a smooth T-shirt bra and also a "body" or plain cami in skin-tone that you can wear under all the tops, knits and dresses that are slightly see-through. Flashdance Forming String Body £119 from Wolford

If you want to create the illusion of looking thinner and taller, choose a jacket or cardigan that reaches at least to the top of the thigh. Anything shorter will create a horizontal line at a point where it cuts your silhouette in two, thus making you look wider.

This week's style tip is for those who love bracelets, bangles and cuffs but don't have especially long arms. If you want to make your arms look longer - or rather, don't want to make them look shorter - choose a cuff or bangle in a colour very close to your skin tone. That way, you don't break up the line of your arm, creating the illusion of longer, leaner limbs

When you stand in front of a mirror, are your trouser pockets standing away so that your silhouette isn’t as streamlined as it could be? lf so, get the pockets stitched up. If you are a good dressmaker or know someone who is, take the pockets away completely. It’s best not to be using them in any case as they add inches unnecessarily – and we don’t need that!

Do wear straight leg or boot cut trousers, or if you are following the trend for shorter trousers this season, wear the same colour shoes as your trousers. Do wear knee high boots that either touch the hem of your skirt, or wear co-ordinating opaque tights to give the illusion of higher boots. Do wear pointed toe shoes which lengthen the leg. Do wear jackets or tops that finish just below your rear, or higher if you can. Do wear belts that co-ordinate with your trousers or skirt, rather than your top. Don’t wear t-bar shoes which just shorten your leg, as demonstrated with the left foot, here. Don't wear trousers with turn-ups; they also shorten the leg.

If you are the hostess and have a lot of kissing to do, don’t choose a hat with a big brim over your face, or you will be constantly readjusting it as guests push it out of place. Pink fascinator hat from www.hatsnstuff.co.uk

Bra straps slip... If your bra straps slip, so that you don’t get as much support as you need from your bra, stitch the straps so that they stay exactly where they are supposed to. It’s always good to check that you can’t raise the straps more than an inch from your shoulders – anything more needs attention!

Coco Chanel said “The best colour in the whole world is the one that looks good on you”. What a smart woman – in all senses of the word! We would add, it is also the colour in which you FEEL your best. If the colour of a garment doesn’t make you feel good, don’t buy the garment. It will just sit in your wardrobe like a ‘wardrobe orphan’. And if you already have clothes in your wardrobe that don’t make you feel good when you wear them, give them to the charity shop and let someone else enjoy them. If you want to know what your best colours are, find a consultant at the International Federation of Image Consultants www.tfic.org.uk

A big, glamorous sunhat is the best way to look sensational by the pool or on the beach and, at the same time, you are protecting your face and hair from the drying and burning effects of the sun. Choose a hat you really love wearing, so you are not reluctant to put it on, and choose a neutral colour so that it doesn’t clash with your swimwear.

If your facial features are neither very angular, nor very curvy, then most earring shapes would suit you – just avoid extremes of very geometric or very circular shapes.

If – like Jan - you have more curves to your face then choose earrings which are rounded or curvy.

Ever stood in front of the jewellery counter and been bewildered about which shape earring or necklace to choose? As a general rule, if, like Cyndy, your face shape and features are angular – then go for geometric shapes with angles and avoid rounded shapes.

The most flattering necklines are those which reflect your face shape. If you have a very angular face, the most fabulous necklines are sharp V, slash, square or asymmetric, as well as sharp-collared shirts or shirt-dresses. If you have a very curvy face, necklines without angles will look great – choose from round, scoop, oval, cowl or U-necklines, as well as crew and turtle necks. If you are between the two – you can wear most necklines, but try to avoid extreme shapes, such as square or sharp V. Instead, choose a scoop, ballerina, boat, sweetheart or funnel neck.

The smallest alteration can make a HUGE difference to how a garment looks on you. When you buy something new, think like a French or Italian woman, and have the waist nipped in, or the shoulders lifted. Don’t settle for something that doesn’t quite fit. You would be amazed how much better clothes look if they truly fit properly. And never wear your sleeves too long – it makes your legs appear shorter.

Magic mirrors are becoming more common in women’s clothing shops. They are angled and very slightly convex to make you look slimmer in a garment when you look in the mirror to consider whether to make a purchase. Lovely in the shop, but not much fun when you get home and find it wasn’t such a flattering fit after all. There is a simple way to find out if you are being deceived: put a CD or a circle of card in your bag and hold it up in the mirror. If it looks even fractionally “stretched”, ask to look in another mirror and if they refuse, go elsewhere. And, of course, if you buy online, you can try on at home where we assume there are no magic mirrors to fool you!

Always put a handbag mirror (or make-up mirror, if you can bear the weight) in your handbag when you are shopping for clothing so that you can get a back view of anything you try on. Too few fitting rooms allow you a back view, and you should never, ever buy anything without checking the rear view for a good fit and flattering cut…

Looking stylish also means looking comfortable. When you are shopping and trying on a dress, jacket, shirt or blouse, lift your arms up to see whether you feel comfortable and can move easily. If your movement is restricted, the garment is a poor fit or a bad cut – put it back on the rack. With a dress, skirt or trousers, sit down to see if the garment creases badly, rides up or feels uncomfortable across the hips. If so, again, put the garment back (or send it back, if you bought it online). If it isn’t comfortable, you will never feel – or look – comfortable wearing it. With a dress, skirt or trousers, sit down to see if the garment creases badly, rides up or feels uncomfortable across the hips. If so, again, put the garment back (or send it back, if you bought it online). If it isn’t comfortable, you will never feel – or look – comfortable wearing it.

Keep your sunglasses up to date Sunglasses are one of those accessories we can easily forget to update which is odd, because they can look horribly unfashionable after just a few seasons. We often take them out at the start of summer without considering whether the style is still current. We are in a retro phase right now, with Raybans, aviators, cat's eye shapes and anything reminiscent of the 50s and 60s totally on trend, though the oversize babies are fighting for their place in the sun. Better to buy a cheaper pair and change them every year, rather than invest in a designer pair and feel guilty at abandoning them.

You may not have to walk the red carpet with the flashbulbs popping when you next wear a posh frock, but you still want to look stunning, which means getting the shoes right. If you have ever wondered why some evening shoes work brilliantly and other don't, it is all about the balance - and there is a simple rule to follow: if you are wearing a strapless or strappy gown that reveals lots of bare flesh at your shoulders, you need very open evening sandals, and if you have covered shoulders and arms, you need an evening shoe rather than a sandal.

This is one from the image experts, and odd as it may sound, it works: the distance between your facial features is the key to the prints that will look most fabulous on you. If you have a lot of distance between your features, you need a print with a lot of space between areas of pattern. If you have small, close-together features, you need smaller patterns (ditsy florals, for instance). If you have medium space between features, you need medium space between pattern repeat. You also need to bear in mind the scale of the print: very big patterns suit tall women but overpower petite ones. Bold prints suit dramatic types; delicate prints suit those with a low-key look. Try it for yourself by holding different prints against you and seeing what works for you.

If you have hair that frizzes or bends slightly in humidity or light rain, you need the best secret weapon in the fight against frizz – L’Oreal’s Tecni-Art Fix Anti-Frizz. I use the “Force 4” version, and it keeps my hair sleek and straight between blow-dries like no other spray I have ever used – and it doesn’t make your hair feel “lacquered” (not as long as you don’t load it on too heavily).

If you hang your scarves on a multiple trouser hanger, you can instantly see the one you are looking for instead of having to rummage through them when they are folded in a drawer. And by hanging them this way, you free up precious drawer space and keep them crease-free

It has suddenly become received wisdom that back pockets on jeans are flattering and minimise your rear. Noooo, they’re not and they don’t! Pockets draw attention to your bottom, the more stitching, buttons and bling across your backside, the more the eye goes to your bottom. Fine if it is slender and shapely, but not so fine if it isn’t as slim as you’d like (and whose is?). The most flattering jeans have no pockets at all; next most flattering are pockets with unobtrusive stitching in the same shade as the denim; the very least flattering have flaps and buttons and crystal… AVOID!

We all do it - we go to the shop with the best of intensions, and buy virtual duplicates of what we already own, like another black jacket, or yet another pair of black trousers. You can avoid it, by using our clever Closet Confidential PDF to ensure you buy just what you need for your wardrobe. By completing the sections, you have an inventory of your existing wardrobe, which helps you see what you need to buy for the new season, and where there are gaps, so you can see exactly what will make existing pieces work harder.

Pushing up the sleeves on your jacket, knitwear or shirt gives the illusion of longer legs. Which we all love, don’t we...

If you want your legs to look longer and leaner when you are wearing trousers, make sure they have a nice sharp crease down the front. The vertical line gives the illusion of a longer leg - and longer legs look leaner. This clever trick works with any straight or wide-leg trousers, and is well worth keeping in mind with the current love-affair with the 70s.

If the tops of your arms are fuller than you would like, you can make them look instantly slimmer (and without spending hours at the gym) by making sure the lower part of the sleeve doesn’t narrow. If you ensure the sleeves of your dress or shirt don’t suddenly get narrower at the hem (or, if you are a shirt wearer, by folding back the cuffs) that will create balance with your upper arms which is very slimming.

It can be such a slog changing over your handbag. There’s always the risk of leaving behind something vital, like house keys or your favourite lip-gloss. We have found a fabulous use for these clever, transparent cosmetic bags from M&S. Just use the correct size for your handbag, and use it to pack all your essentials. You can then just transfer all your handbag contents at once, simply and instantly, and you can see what’s inside at a glance.

Use small shoulder pads to broaden your shoulder line (while still keeping it natural – we’re not talking Dynasty power shoulders, here), helps balance your hips and keep you in proportion. Buy them at John Lewis or any good haberdashery department.

It is important to get the width of straps right for your shoulder line. If you have wide shoulders, choose wider straps for your swimwear, dress or top – they are more in proportion and will balance your shape far better. Narrow shoulders look better with narrow or skinny spaghetti straps. Dress by Bernshaw at Gray & Osbourn

If you have an angular face and wear your sunnies on your head, we have a fabulous style tip for you. Of course you know that the frames need to suit you. But, in addition, the shape that the pair of glasses form when they sit on your head, head-band style, needs to work with your face-shape, too. So, if you have an angular face, the glasses should not be the curvy, wraparound kind, but should form a right-angle at the sides.

Stand in front of a long mirror wearing tights (or bare legs) and a top. Take a long piece of fabric (or a towel, if you don’t have fabric) and hold it in front of you like an ankle-length skirt, keeping one end firmly at your waist. As you gradually roll the fabric up, you will see which length is the most flattering for your legs – just on, just above or just below the knee. If you can get a friend to help, they should measure the length from waist to “hem”; that is your best skirt length. If you wear skirts longer, as a general rule, a hem that hits the widest part of the calf will be the least flattering. Either go longer – midi and maxi are both big trends this season – or wear “your” best knee length, which has become a style classic.

It sounds too easy, but the right scarf perfectly knotted, tied or twisted can save a jacket or coat that is languishing in the back of your wardrobe. Sometimes, when a jacket, a coat, or even a dress, doesn't work, it is as simple as the neckline being wrong. It may have looked good in the shop (or it didn't, but we ignored that because it was a gorgeous colour or an unbelievable bargain). Find your perfect scarf, in a colour that not only works with the garment, but really does great things for you, and experiment with knotting it until you get it right. Then just accept that it will always be part of that garment...

When wearing short sleeves, ensure that the hem of the sleeve is (a) not in line with the crown of your bustline (as this will look like one continuous and widening line across the body - not a good look) and (b) does not end at the widest part of your arm, as this would make your arms look wider. And who needs that?

Raglan sleeves should be avoided if you have a big bust or very narrow shoulders. If you are busty, they will make your top half look as if you are even more generously endowed and they will make narrow shoulders look even narrower. Look for set-in sleeves instead. But if you have broad shoulders, especially if they are wider than your hips, then go for raglan. Image courtesy of Aston & Hayes

Ever wondered why you often put on trousers and they gape at the back at the waistline? It isn’t because of your shape – it’s because of the fabric. If you are curvy, with rounded hips, you will need trousers and jeans made in a fabric that has some stretch in it. Without the stretch, the fabric will just stand away from your body while fabric with stretch will work with your curves.

If you are are a "straight" figure type, who is not too curvy and has little waist definition, buying clothing in the right fabric will have a major impact on your appearance. Always choose tightly woven fabrics with little or no "give" ( i.e. avoid elastane and Lycra). In summer, look for fine linen, silk and crisp cotton; in winter look for twill, gaberdine, flannel and tweed. And this works whether you are a size 10 or a size 20.

Don't save your shapewear to wear under your LBD or a cocktail frock. With a pencil skirt likely to be one of your key buys for autumn, this is the time to slip on (or more likely wriggle into) your shapewear to smooth out your silhouette under your skirt. But don't buy it too tight. It should pull you in, but not so much it makes bulges above and below..

If you like to wear a shoulder bag - and we are talking a proper shoulder bag, with a long handle, not a bag with regular straps that fit on your shoulder - try to ensure that your bag sits around your waist level. If your bag sits right at hip level it will make you look wider.

If you are big busted, avoid cross-body shoulder bags because the strap will inevitably sit between your boobs and possibly hook around just one which is not a good look! If you were using this type of bag for security or to be 'hands free', why not try a 'bum bag' which goes round your waist, or a 'back pack' type bag. There are some gorgeous ones out there for grown up women which won't make you look like you're about to go camping.

When you go shopping and you are trying on a dress or skirt, sit down in the fitting room to ensure it is comfortable across the hips. You can also see if it rides up too high, or creases badly. When you are trying on a dress, top, blouse or jacket, lift your arms up to check that you can move easily in it...

Now that we have all put our strappy sandals away for the winter, and have unpacked the pop-socks or socks to wear under a pair of tailored trousers, it is important to ensure socks are long enough (knee length is best). Otherwise, when you sit or cross your legs, tops of socks/pop-socks are on show - not an elegant look. Socks by M&S

We are as in love with leopard-print and animal print as the next girl, but if you want to look fabulously on-trend in animal print, never wear more than one piece at a time, please. Two items looks matchy-matchy or, worse, like a Bet Lynch clone... (Dress at Debenhams)

If you are curvy, and want to wear skinny jeans, buy the kind with little vertical zips at the ankle, and leave the zips undone. That little bit of extra width will help balance out your hips and make you look slimmer.

If you want to give your winter coat an update, you have two choices that will give it a totally 2011 look. Either wrap a faux fur tippet or a fur scarf around your neck, or have the sleeves shortened to bracelet length, or even shorter. Either will totally transform your coat.

If you are very long waisted, wear a belt in a colour that contrasts with your top half. If you are short-waisted, wear a belt in the same, or very similar colour to your top half, so you lengthen your waist. Thanks to Gray & Osbourn for the image.

If you want to make your legs look longer, and your overall silhouette longer and more streamlined, wear skirt (or dress), opaques and shoes in one colour. Thank you to Precis at John Lewis for the image.

This week's Style Tip is designed to help you through the party season: get a pair of foldaway ballerinas to keep in your bag, for walking back to the tube, or just for dancing when those vertiginous party heels get too painful. Foldable flats from www.katielongshoes.co.uk

When you are deciding which party shoes to wear (or buy), keep in mind that a strappy or strapless dress needs strappy, open sandals while a dress that covers your shoulders and has any kind of sleeve needs a closed shoe. Cosmos sandal from Reiss £169

Wear flat, comfy shoes (and pack a pair of heels), take a hand mirror for the back view and carry a small bottle of water and a small bag of almonds and raisins to raise energy levels when you are flagging. We realise that, strictly speaking, this isn't a style tip - except if you ignore it, you may finish up buying the "that will do" piece instead of the sensational bargain. Shoes by Tory Burch at SimplyBe £240

Since we are all guilty of buying in our comfort zone, use the sales to buy something you love but would usually resist at full price because it's different from what you normally wear. Make it a colour you don't usually wear (but one that SUITS you, obviously), or a shape that you haven't worn before.

Don't ditch the opaques when spring arrives. Yup, for all of you who use opaques as we do, as a kind of sartorial security blanket, there's good news. Instead of having to go bare-legged on a nippy March morning, or wear translucent tights (they just feel so wrong with so many outfits), you can stay with your 40 denier opaque Lycra lovelies this season because pastel, nude and murky neutral tones are arriving for spring. (Opaques at Tightsplease)

If you thought skinny jeans were only for skinny girls, think again. The "skinny" refers to the shape of the jeans, not the wearer. And they are especially flattering if you are an "apple" shape - carry any weight around your middle. Just wear a longer top, tunic or jacket - something that hits mid thigh is usually pretty good. And the same trick works if you are pear shaped - narrow jeans, plus longer top equals a slimline, on-trend look.

We love brilliant adorable Adele, who swept the board at last weekend's Grammy's. We not only love her voice and the fact that she doesn't aspire to be a size 6 quasi anorexic, we also love her gorgeusly retro, slightly bouffant hairstyle. It totally flatters her and proves that if you are a curvy girl, a bit of volume creates a better balance with your silhouette. To create root lift when you are blow-drying, just spray in some volumizer.