Styling is now four-fifths of fashion. Master a few tricks and you can vastly reduce the amount of churn in your wardrobe as well as customising purchases so they’re more flattering and individual.
Take this cardigan, which although a decent weight and yarn, was quite shapeless and mundane. Anna Berkeley, one of The Telegraph Fashion desk’s favourite personal stylists, transformed it with some fuss-free techniques.
First, she cinched it, knotting the hem at the back and tucking it into the waistband of this simple, but modern midi skirt (made from a kind of scuba-like fabric). Next, those long sleeves were creating a lot of… brown knit. Roll them up and you show off your wrists and introduce the ultimate neutral into the equation: your own skin.
Merino wool cardigan, £85, Cos
The round neck was fine but dull. We added a matching scarf for interest and introduced a red bag – I’ve never owned a red bag but this convinced me they have a place. The courts are another classic – arresting because of the extra-low, leg-elongating V.
Before? The outfit looked like something a bluestocking with a no-frills, no-thrills policy would wear. The after is my idea of a Berlin bookshop owner. This is most likely wildly inaccurate but boring, literal references are precisely what this isn’t about.
Style tweaking is what Berkeley does for a living. Her app, Think Shape, is a brilliant source of information, inspiration and practical shopping resources, customised according to your body shape and colouring. So, I asked her for more suggestions.
What about that tweed jacket you’ve exhausted? “Change small details,” counsels Berkeley. “Switch up the buttons for soft gold vintage, add a long brooch to the upper lapel; line up a bright pop of colour on the lining under the collar. Remove or add shoulder pads. Try it over a slim polo neck with a shirt layered between them. Or, be super of the moment and add a silk scarf – in a triangle shape low on the neck.
To update a blazer, belt it – Think Shape can tell you whether your frame suits wide or narrow. Don’t confine yourself to leather when tying a scarf as a belt could be interesting.
Level up your shirt game. Wear fabrics such as denim or cord, as you would a spring jacket. Use them unbuttoned over simple knits and roll the sleeves to reveal the knit below (perfect if you have longer arms). Or use knitted tanks on top and pull out the shirt tails for a casual look. You can also wear a cuff over the sleeves.
Then there is the double shirt (see Loewe Spring 2026). Use white or blue as your base (in a thin cotton or even silk) and add a bigger, contrasting colourful shirt on top. If you have oversized shirts and are at a loss at how to wear them, with the shirt undone, try crossing the shirt tails over each other, like a wrap. Then tuck each side into your jeans. Find the corresponding buttons and do a couple up. Et voilà! A new way to wear it.
Turn up the dimmer switch on your old midi dresses, too, by swapping white trainers for colour co-ordinated ones, slip a jumper over the top and knot it at the side if it’s too long. Layer it over a T-shirt or shirt, or change the mood with a sporty nylon blouson jacket.
Lisa wears: Merino wool cardigan, £85, Cos; Cashmere foulard, £225, & Daughter; Midi skirt, £109, &Other Stories; Calf hair shoes, £510, Aeyde; Leather bag, £119, John Lewis; Earrings, £58, Reiss; Gold-plated bracelet, £87, Shyla; Gold-plated bangle, £215, PD Paola
Try these combinations...
Photography: Sarah Brick. Hair and makeup: Oonagh Connor at Joy Goodman. Styling: Sophie Tobin. Stylist assistant: Chelsea Clay.