For those amongst us, dare I say it, with a shopping addiction, giving up a twenty a day habit is preferable to never setting foot in a shopping mall again. Take it from me, the person who put the word "shopaholic" in the O.E.D. But like any bad habit when the fix is temporary and only leaves you wanting more money for more wardrobe space and ultimately more shopping, I learnt in Hollywood you can do one of only two things; Die under a mountain of unworn clothes and final demand notices or learn how to work with what you’ve got.

Styling is a basic skill that appears to elude many of us in the U.K. Like many in Hollywood, encouraged by the Housewives of Beverley Hills and the Kardashians the pioneers of infuencing, we have chosen to shop till we drop instead, the fashion industry’s answer to reaching fashionista’s nirvana, the place celebrities in magazines tell us they go in between rehab. Despite the rising cost of everything the price of clothes is actually lower than twenty years ago, one of the key factors keeping inflation statistics unrealistically low, a phenomenon attributed to either volume sales of ignominious proportions, slave labour or likely a combination of both.

The TV gives us our weekly dose of fashion shows which all talk of styling without actually delivering any concrete "how tos" (got to keep those advertisers happy) and the constant use of "on trend" and "must haves" puts us once again firmly in that subliminal, inescapable shopaholic matrix. So if like me, you are sick of being a slave to the fashion industry’s rhythm but could never swap your stilettos for sneakers, (unless you’re exercising of course) here’s what you do.

Firstly learn these two simple mantras,

Mantra Number 1.

STYLE EQUALS CONFIDENCE, STYLE DOES NOT EQUAL FASHION

Mantra Number 2.

STYLE IS FREE, FASHION  COSTS

Here's my style guide.

Sort out your clothes into seven groups; tops, bottoms, dresses, jackets, shoes, bags and accessories. The largest group should always be accessories (hats, belts, jewellery, hosiery, scarves, hair clips) as they fit you on fat days, take up minimum storage space and last a lifetime. Beware the single largest mistake when it comes to styling is too many clothes and not enough accessories. The desired ratio; accessories to separates is 3:1.

Practise does make perfect so find a look in a magazine you love and have a go at copying it piece by piece. It doesn’t have to be exact, copy colours if you can’t match shapes or vice versa. By experimenting with what you have you’ll start to recognise duplicate items are pointless when it comes to styling as are things that don’t fit. For each outfit you style add at least three items from your accessories. It is these additions that make your look unique to you. As you work, gaps in your wardrobe will start to appear. When you do decide you deserve a little retail therapy, resist the temptation to be drawn to the High Street and do what every savvy style guru does. Pick up your individual must haves, a.k.a. another shopaholics mistakes, from a charity or thrift shop or a vintage/resale store. Take it from me, as an expert at conquering addiction (and trust me you never escape it) the buzz is even better when you get what you need not just what you want.

Photo by: Baylee Gramling Unsplash