I don’t know about you, but I often find myself thinking that winter dresses are more hard work to wear than trousers. This is actually not true at all. The stumbling block is working out which tights and shoes, the rest is very straight forward. Here, mum is wearing the same burgundy tights from last week and the ballet pumps that I was wearing. I spoke about tights at length so I am not going to harp on about them again, all I will say is have a think about colours other than black. Navy is so much less harsh for example, particularly when your dress is not dark. Alternative footwear would be knee high boots (also mentioned last week).

This is an extremely voluminous dress. I have often had ladies worry that ‘oversized’ garments will make them look bigger than they actually are. I disagree. The generous amounts of fabric skim, rather than cling, meaning that no one knows where your body ends and the dress begins, letting the dress do the talking.

It is the detail in a garment that does it for me. Look at the sleeves on this dress. So elegant and so pretty.

It has a boat neck which would be lovely in summer but a bit chilly in winter so we have paired it with a ruffle neck shirt from COS which closes the gap (so to speak), and serves to lengthen the sleeves (as the cuffs stick out of the dress arms). So much of dressing well is about balance. If your shirt collar pokes out at the neck, then make sure that the cuffs poke out at your sleeve.

Then, in true Graham St style, we have tucked a neck scarf into the collar which ties all the colours together.

As you get older, there is absolutely no reason why dungarees should be off the agenda. I think the way to keep them less toddler chic and more suitable for mum, or indeed Granny, is to choose subtle colours and keep the rest of your outfit in tones of the same colour. Muted hues work well. This pair are by Mango. The soft oatmeal is understated, something that isn’t always readily available on the high street. I am constantly searching for colours that are a bit different from the obvious.

The turtleneck is a Uniqlo one that I wear all the time. The cream and beige is a marriage made in heaven, it’s such a chic combination. The cardigan is from Toast and at £245 is definitely an investment piece. If you are looking to buy some special knitwear this season, then this could be a really good bet. It is made from 90% wool (10% cotton) so it will be warm. I find cardigans are such a fantastic ‘thrown on’ not only for warmth but also for tying the colours of an outfit together. If you, like us, wear a lot of creams, browns, beiges and blue then this is the cardi for you! It is striking and different which is what you want from something that you have invested your hard-earned cash into.

Photography by Alexandra Mooney

Sue wears…

Dress, £150, Stalf

White blouse, £69, COS

Neckscarf, £39, Toast

Earrings, £199, Anni Lu at Wild Swans Boutique

Ballet pumps, £99, Jigsaw

Hannah wears…

Dungarees, £49.99, Mango

Turtleneck, £29.90, Uniqlo

Cardigan, £245, Toast

Loafers, £79.99, Mango

Tweed coat, old but similar here

-WINTER DRESSES-