Do you dream of having the perfect body shape?  Do you think if only I could stick to a diet or do more exercise I'd have a perfect figure?  We all do it, we look at celebrities, TV stars, movie stars and models and wonder what if?!  But the reality is that they have a small army of stylists, personal trainers, make up artists and hair stylists to help them.  Not to mention the best lighting at a photo shoot and clever photoshopping! And what is perfect anyway?  Isn't it just about embracing our own confidence and working with what we have been given to make the best of ourselves?

My recent post How a colour stylist can help with your confidence was all about my colour analysis consultation with Jo Haley, The Positive Image Coach and following on from this Jo invited me back to have a style consultation which is about understanding your own unique body shape and learning how to dress it to fit and flatter and give you confidence.

I'm not going to do a full Christmas gift guide post this year.  I just don't think we all need to be buying more stuff just for the sake of it.  Sorry if that sounds anti-Christmas!  Last year I did a small series of gift guides where I focussed on supporting small businesses and suggesting that we consider gifts that are ethical, reusable or longer lasting and I especially love the idea of days out, family time, making memories and having experiences. 

So instead I am going to pick some of my favourite ideas that keep to this mantra and share with you my own plans for gifting this year.  Plus I love the blog post that Jo from Less is More has written so I will share the link to this further down.

I am all for no limits based on age - so there is absolutely no reason why us 50 plus women can't wear pleather or leather trousers.  But which pair?!  Pleather is all over the High Street again this season and we are also seeing lots of new shapes - not just leggings - so paperbag waist, high waisted and wide leg styles.

The quality of the 'pleather' is fantastic so we don't need to spend huge amounts on real leather - unless we want to.  I have tried a few leather pairs in the past and always sent them back, I prefer pleather for the stretch and comfort, and I just find them more flattering and of course a better price - and they can be washed in the machine.

And if you are not quite brave enough to go with pleather then definitely look at the coated jeans or waxed jeans.  These are so popular again this year.  I think they are a winter must have.  I don't bother with black jeans now - I wear my pleather leggings or my coated jeans on repeat, with my indigo denim skinnies thrown in!  See my post here for my current favourite pair.