Behind the gloss and glamour of the celebrity lifestyle is an army of style advisors grooming their clients for that paparazzi close-up.
Lou Doillon teams delicate fabrics with beaten-up boots
Money may be no object, but it takes a certain knack and know-how to throw those A-list looks together. Stick to these golden rules of style and you can beat Kate, Sienna and Nicole at their own game.
Try the lived-in look
Are you an artful scruff like Sienna Miller? Well-worn clothes are perfect for carefree spirits, so ignore designer boutiques and scour local charity shops and vintage markets for worn-in buys. Even if you're not a head-to-toe hippie, you can still learn a lesson from Sienna. The reason too-groomed girls like Victoria Beckham and Liz Hurley look fake is because everything is brand, spanking new. If the flea-market look isn't your thing, just choose one or two careworn pieces, such as a pair of beat-up boots or faded jeans to help give you that effortless air.
Wear something 'off'
Take a tip from Kate Moss and Chloë Sevigny and wear something not quite right. Whether it's Kate's bed-head hair, pirate boots or bought-in-Ibiza kaftans, it's the unexpected surprises that catch the eye. The best bit is this can all be done on the cheap. Stylists' favourites include army surplus shops for regulation plimsolls and beaten-up parkas, vintage shops for shrunken tees and cowboy boots and your dad's wardrobe for hand-me-down V-neck cardis (baggy cardis are so Prada) and shirts. Finish your ensemble with something totally 'you', like an heirloom pendant or signature scarf.
Mix high- and low-end buys
Honey, no one wears designer head to toe anymore. Thanks to SJP it's naff, naff, naff! Nowadays it's all about mixing your Manolos with your Gap, your Armani with army issue. The French are brilliant at this. Jane Birkin's daughter Lou Doillon is a pro at teaming delicate chiffon couture with bashed-up biker boots or grungy denim. If there's one tip, it's choose good shoes and bags. Sport a pair of sexy Louboutin heels or a Chanel bag and people will automatically assume your jeans are Marc Jacobs, not MK One.
Don't follow trends wholesale
The knack to this is knowing your look. This doesn't mean being stuck in a rut. Your style should be definable, so identify your look and update it in your own way using labels that suit you. Chrissie Hynde practically invented the androgynous look and she would look wrong in Dior's brash logo T-shirts and butt-flashing minis, but Dior for Men, with its skinny trousers and tuxedo jackets, would be right up her street.
Dress for your shape
Scarlett Johansson is pretty sussed when it comes to her style. Not for her the never-quite-thin-enough diets and fitness programmes of other haunted Hollywood starlets. She knows her shape is curvaceous, and dresses to flatter. If you have an hourglass figure, show it off in sexy evening gowns and cocktail dresses. If you're on the waifish side, make the most of ethereal chiffon frocks like Vanessa Paradis. Straight up and down? Do a Nicole Kidman in boyish tailoring from Helmut Lang, Gucci or YSL. The art is in knowing your shape and working with it. And if your shape changes, your look should change too.
