I have had quite a few messages recently, asking how Mum and I tie our scarves, so I am going to try and address this below. For the purpose of clarity, I would call a ‘neckscarf’ the type that I am wearing in this post, and a ‘scarf’, the type that mum is wearing.

My first piece of advice is, don’t overthink it. I have been with many clients in front of the mirror whilst they fixate on the detail of an outfit that only they will notice (admittedly many of them were heading out onto live TV so we can forgive them for being a little pedantic!) but my point still stands. Nine times out of ten, we notice the slight imperfections but no one else does.

However, on a more practical note, for a square neckscarf I fold it in half to make a triangle and then roll the scarf from the point into the longest side, trying to make it as tight as possible. This way, everything is tucked in neatly. Once you have a long strip, tie a reef knot. For the sailers amongst you, you will know what I mean but if not, you tie the left side over the right and then the right side over the left. It’s probably easiest to google it. Then, once tied, run your hands over the ends in a downwards motion quite a few times so that they sit as neatly together as possible. Cotton and linen neckscarves tend to behave themselves better than silk as they retain their shape.

If you still can’t get the ends to sit right then either spin it around so that you have a simple band around your neck or tuck the ends into the collar of your top so that only the knot is exposed.

For the perfect looking neckscarf, I find that men’s hankies or pocket squares work extremely well. The one that I am wearing here is a Paul Smith pocket square.

The best tip that I can give you for a longer, fuller scarf like mum’s, is to hold one corner of it at a height and let the rest of the scarf hang down. In this way, when you tie the scarf around your neck, the ends will be in points and will therefore look neater and more purposeful. Or, if you’re looking for a tidier look then roll it into a strip (as I have described for a neckscarf) ) and wrap it a few times around the neck and tie the ends in a knot. You could also fold the scarf into a triangle, place the pointed end on your chest (like a bib), pull the ends around the back of your neck and either tie at the back of your neck (see this post for example) or bring the ends around again and tie at the front, on top of the triangular bib.

Confession time. I actually prefer mum’s outfit without the scarf as it hides the lovely collar of the jumpsuit. The lines of this all-in-one are so beautiful that the scarf ‘muddies the water’ so to speak. I am not however, going to write about how gorgeous this jumpsuit is as, disappointingly, it has sold out. This is not a new shape for Toast though so it may be that something similar comes along again soon.

What these pictures do demonstrate though, is that given the right cut, jumpsuits can look incredibly chic. In fact, they can be one of the most glamorous and flattering garments out there.

So let’s move on and talk about socks. Again, many of you have asked me about our love of a statement sock and how we approach this style detail. It’s difficult to impart actual rules as I don’t think that there are any!

However, if we are to take mum’s outfit here, I would not match a bright green sock with it - that would be overkill in my opinion. A much darker green, or indeed a paler green yes, but not an exact match. Otherwise, I would do as we have done here and go subtle with a navy sock or choose a completely different colour but one which is complimentary, like pale blue or a burnt orange.

What would also work here is a patterned sock. Although I don't usually advocate a patterned sock (as your outfit can become very busy, very quickly) mum’s outfit is extremely simple, comprised only of two colours. Therefore, breaking things up with a pattern would potentially look really cool.

On the other hand, if we are considering a colourful outfit, I would choose one of the least prominent hues to pick up in your socks, thus looking more subtle and not too contrived. Mum’s outfit from last week’s post demonstrates this well. There is a small amount of lilac in her scarf and yet that is the colour that we went for in her socks. To choose pink would have been too much.

I adore this bomber jacket. Mum wasn’t so keen on it but I am obsessed with finding her the perfect bomber as I think they look fantastic on all women or all ages. Once I get something in my head, I don’t usually give up until I have found it. So watch this space… If you are in the market for a bomber jacket, Graham St could be handing you the golden ticket…! (My daughter is reading Charlie and the Chocolate factory at the moment so golden tickets are on the brain).

Photography by Alexandra Mooney

Sue wears…

Jumpsuit, Toast, sold out (but worth trying in store)

Turtleneck, old but similar here

Scarf, sold out but this one is gorgeous

Cardigan (around shoulders) £260, Genevieve Sweeney

Black ballet pumps, old but very similar here

Hannah Wears…

Bomber jacket, old Zara but this would look great too

Cardigan, old Arket but similar here

Skirt, £49.99, Zara

Belt, very old Topshop

Sunglasses, £125, Ollie Quinn

-STYLE EDIT-

-Jumpsuits-