This summer’s hottest looks for plus size women

Fashion’s a minefield, these days, isn’t it? Wear the wrong thing at the wrong time and you’re guaranteed to end up feeling a mess, even when you’ve spent time – and a small fortune – planning an outfit in advance.

There’s good news, though, if you’re one of the forty-seven per cent of British women who fall into the ’size 16 and over’ category. Plus size fashion has never looked so good.

Clothes for the more generously proportioned amongst us come in a range of great fashion colours and shapes, these days, and there’s no need to confine yourself to the matronly tents in sludgy colours that our poor old grandmothers wore.

We all know that vertical stripes are slimming, so look for clothing that accentuates the vertical, and reject clothing with those obvious – or even less obvious – horizontal lines. This is easier than you might think! Take a good long, hard look, and assess each and every piece of clothing that you’re considering buying for its horizontal and vertical lines.

So, as for the Safari jacket with those figure-slicing, broad and chunky pockets? Forget it! Instead, opt for Kate Moss’s easy to wear look of a sleek, lightly fitted Boyfriend Blazer which will automatically draw the eye to your length, not your breadth.

Try it worn open, over a lighter, contrasting shirt, and it’ll instantly get people asking, ‘Have you lost weight recently?’

Similarly, leave the skinny jeans and corset belts to the scrawny teenagers and aim for draping, elegant skirts and trousers that will balance your hips.

Taking note of this year’s fashion colours is a great way to instantly update your look – good news for women everywhere as after years of neutrals and black, blue is tipped to be the summer colour of choice. It suits all sizes, ages, shapes and colours, and it’s one of the easiest colours to wear in a way that’ll pull your look together with minimal effort.

Don’t forget the little touches – a great pair of heels to lengthen your legs, and some devastating jewellery is sure to knock ‘em dead!