I’m sure most of you have read or heard that some shops are going to be introducing ‘magic mirrors’ into their fitting rooms, but have any of you experienced them?
I’ve been in shops where they’ve obviously tilted the mirror away to create an elongated trimmer looking figure, but these curved mirrors are a new one on me. Apparently a new breed of curved mirrors that give shoppers the impression they’ve dropped a dress size are making an appearance on our high streets… this is only my opinion - but doesn’t it all seem rather like a con? How many times have you got home, excitedly clutching your new purchase, only to try it on in the comfort of your bedroom to be overcome with disappointment that it just doesn’t look as good as you thought it did?

We should embrace the fact that we’re all individual and different shapes. Every one of us has something good to show off and we shouldn’t need a fancy mirror to convince us to buy something. It’s just not true that to look good, we need to be slimmer; we just need to have some body-confidence.

My advice for confident shopping is to understand your body shape; I don’t just mean whether you’re pear, apple, hourglass or column, I mean really know your shape. Take some time to assess yourself in the mirror, be honest and don’t focus on the parts of your body you’re not too happy with. Try and look at your whole figure – from top to toe. What are its proportions? What are the assets you should be showing off – waist/legs/boobs, you get the idea. Now think about how you might balance out your proportions, for example if your top half is smaller than your bottom half then consider wearing clothes that will enhance your bust and broaden your shoulders, and avoid clothing that makes your bottom half appear bigger than it is(pleats and detailing around the hip area are a definite no no).

Once you start to understand your shape you can begin to balance out your proportions and most importantly, start to enhance your best bits! So, next time you go shopping and you think the mirrors are being unusually kind, ignore them. If you’ve picked styles that enhance your assets and balance out your proportions then you’ll look fab in the fitting room and at home.

I’d love to hear your comments about magic mirrors so please do share!

Saturday was a day of research (well, that’s what I like to call it).

I braved the snow and ice (I did, I literally ice skated down the road in my little car) and went to London. I spent the day with some of the other lovely Alicia Kite Image Consultants. We had such a girly day, drinking Lattes and talking about all the latest trends. We spent most of the day in the fashion Mecca that is Harrods. It looks like summer is going to be a great season for fashion, and I can’t wait. There’s something for everyone whether it’s floaty florals that take your fancy or you’re more of an eighties girl.

So, if you’ve started to think about what to wear when the sun eventually comes out then here are some handy tips before you part with your pennies:

Number one rule: Make sure you’re choosing items that work for your body shape. There’s no point in forking out lots of money for something because it’s deemed to be ‘the must have item’ for this season if it doesn’t work for your shape. Trust me you won’t feel good in it so you probably won’t wear it.

Try and focus on your positive attributes: Women spend most of the time trying to hide the parts of their body they don’t like that they forget to show off their best parts. If you’ve got a great waist then show it off!

Get out all your summer clothes from last season to remind yourself what you’ve got.

Does it go with at least two other things in your wardrobe? This sounds like a bore but believe me, if you want your wardrobe to work really hard for you then you need to be purchasing items that slot seamlessly into your wardrobe.

Is it the same as something you’ve already got? This is a mistake that a lot of us make. We get into a habit when we shop; do you find yourself shopping for the same things, in the same shops time after time?

Step out of your comfort zone a little and you might be pleasantly surprised!