Women over 40 told style hack to create 'very flattering' outfits and 'spectacular silhouettes' with no effort

Ensuring you have the right basics is a good place to start and neutral tones are essential, distinguished fashion stylist and Emmy award-winning costume designer Brenda Cooper explained.

She told GB News to find basic items in these shades, such as "a tank top, t-shirt, turtleneck or square neck top".

For the bottom, find pieces in similar shades. Think "a straight leg trouser (or jeans), a palazzo trouser, a pencil, A-line, pleated or maxi skirt".

Once you have these basics to hand, you can use them to create a stylish outfit for any occasion.

Brenda said: "To put together a spectacular silhouette outfit effortlessly, combine one of the tops with one of the bottoms and add a shoe of your choice to create a foundational outfit.

"The top and bottom must be in the same colour. It's best to stick with always available classic neutrals such as black, white, navy, olive, tan, grey or brown."

This is a simple tactic that requires very little thought and effort when you are getting ready for an event. However, "the result will be a very flattering outfit with a simple and sophisticated look".

This is the best way to create a base look for any occasion and women can spruce up the outfit with statement pieces.

Brenda explained that once you have your "canvas" you can "add a variety of colourful, textured or printed over garments and accessories".

By following these tips, Brenda said "you have a style of dressing that flatters all body types and also flatters your body as it changes through pregnancy, maturity, weight gain and loss and whatever other challenges you may have".

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Looking for more style anti-ageing advice? One woman shared a "frumpy" outfit choice she would never wear.

The style enthusiast said: "Something that tends to make us look a bit frumpier is wearing a whole all pastel-coloured outfit.

"I love pastel shades - they're so pretty - but what I'm talking about here is all-over pastel. There's something about an all-pastel outfit that just makes us look a little bit granny-ish - don't get me wrong, grannies are wonderful people."