You don’t need to spend a fortune to look chic. Our highstreet is having a hard time at the moment but there are still some fantastic pieces out there. Mum’s outfit is a mixture of COS, Boden, Arket, M&S and Zara. It is the mixture of tones and fabrics, as well as fit, that make this outfit look chic.

Let’s start with the M&S trench coat. Unless you can afford to buy a Burberry one (in which case do it) then I would stick to the high street. It is something that M&S do very well. Mum is a standard UK10 but this trench coat is a UK12. Going up a size is often a good hack - you get more fabric for your buck which looks more luxurious (just make sure that it is not too big on the shoulders, the shoulder seam should sit on the edge of your outer shoulder). I would also choose a trench coat that is nice and long, the short ones (knee length and above) have a tendency to look less elegant.

You may have noticed that wide leg trousers are back. It definitely helps to be tall - mum is around 5.8” and fits these jeans beautifully. That is not to say that you won’t suit them if you are less than 5.8” but you may need to wear a heel - which can be a pain. I am 5.6” and with this particular style, the hem almost sits on the ground. I don’t mind per se, but if I wore them outside, they would soon fray at the bottom.

As a rule, I would say that the waist should be high and fitted to balance the wide fabric of the leg.

The snug, boxy, slightly cropped suede jacket works perfectly with the wide leg jeans. A good outfit is all about balance. If mum was wearing a more oversized, voluminous jacket then she might look swamped in material. It also works to keep the top underneath the jacket simple and ‘clean’. By this I mean no messiness with buttons, collars or zips.

The chunky gold necklace breaks up the beige and ties in the gold of the buckle on the belt, as do the simple hoop earrings.

For a more contemporary look, wear your shoulder bag across the body and a little shorter than you might usually do. We’ve kept the look classic with a pair of brown suede loafers but If you wanted something more modern then trainers would work equally well.

In my opinion, stripes go with everything. It is such an excellent pattern for keeping an outfit fresh and not too ‘matchy matchy’. A striped, fitted polo neck is an excellent piece of clothing to have in your wardrobe. It looks great under a jumper (poking out at the neck and the sleeves), under a dress or loose shirt or worn on its own with high waisted bottoms. The extra fine merino wool style from Uniqlo is good value.

A subtle mixture of different patterns is also an effective way of keeping your outfit looking more high end than high street. I am wearing pinstriped trousers from M&S, a tweed jacket from Arket and the striped polo neck from Uniqlo. It works because the trousers and the jacket are tonally similar whilst the black and white stripes work with everything. The khaki green and red are juxtaposed but complimentary. The red of my cardigan is tied in with the red stripes on my trainers.

I have sized up in the trousers so that they sit a bit lower on my hips, giving a more ‘slouchy’ vibe. Mum would wear her actual size so that they were fitted around her waist, hanging straighter and neater. The way that each of us would choose to wear these trousers represents the difference in our own style which, as I have said before, has little to do with our ages and everything to do with our personal preference…!