Style Tips from Joanna Lumley

• Don't worry about making mistakes: I was a model and quite poor when I started so I got the chance to try on lots of different looks. Don't be afraid. Even if you adore it on someone else, it may not work on you, but try it!
• A bit of cheap and cheerful from the high street: Be shrewd. We would all love a Hermes Birkin bag, but who can afford one? Look at the copies instead. I love reading how to copy a catwalk look for a sixpence.
• Don't spend like a kicking horse for one occasion: You're bound not to want to wear it again. If you're going to spend a lot on money on an item, think back to the French girls in the 1950s who would save up and have one cashmere jersey, one beautiful skirt, one very good pair of shoes.
• Dress sizes don't matter: Clothes that are too tight make you look bigger. If you've been trying to shed the pounds and it doesn't go, buy the next size up. I never care what size my clothes are. I cut the labels out because they always scratch the back of my neck. Even my grandest clothes don't have labels on them. I can't bear it.

Good Housekeeping, April 2014