The sales are on and we all love to shop and have a bargain! It is very easy to get carried away and buy something simply because it is reduced but you still need to think, will I wear it and does it have a place in my wardrobe? You should be careful and look out for the following items, which are what I call, “wardrobe classics” which will see you through the whole year and they are:-

1/ A White Shirt

Forget frou frou blouses - a white shirt should be completely classic. The best are crisp and well cut with a little bit of stretch to help the fit. Team it with a pair of jeans and you have a great easy chic look.

2/ A Little Black Dress

A great black dress never goes out of favour and can be worn throughout the whole year. It can do that clever thing of being both pretty and cool depending on what you team it with.

3/ A Blazer

This sharp piece of tailoring has a transformative effect. A blazer can smarten any outfit and can be worn in many different ways. An oversized boyfriend blazer has a very cool look but if you want a sexier look buy a slightly smaller size and cinch in with a belt. Team with your skinny jeans to smarten up the look or use as a cover up over a print silk dress.

4/ The ankle boot

The reason I say ankle boot rather than long boot is simply that you can wear them well past April and teamed with a print silk dress you can achieve a very retro 40’s look. If a more ladylike look is you, then wear with thick black opaque tights and a short black dress.

This time of year is also the perfect time to organise your wardrobe and de-clutter it! We are all guilty of hoarding clothes and shoes simply because we think they’ll come back into fashion, or we are going to slim back into them! You have to be strong and try things on and say “is this still really me?”. If it’s not right, then send it to the charity shop to make room for new Spring clothes!

I hope this helps you to survive the cold days and my next column will be about the spring/summer trends and what you should be buying.