This month Louise answers questions sent in from women via Facebook on what to pack for a week in Spain, what to wear to a summer garden wedding BBQ and how to find the perfect pair of jeans! If you would like to ask Louise a question please email her on louise@createyourself.co.uk

Question 1

What to pack for a week’s beach holiday in Spain when the weather is changeable!?

The key when you are not sure what the weather will be like is to take layers, a pair of trousers or jeans and a jacket just incase it gets really cold. Hopefully Spain in Spring time won’t be too bad though!

Here is what I suggest for keeping yourpacking to a minimum:

* 2 bikini’s/ swimming costumes...it’s good to a couple of options to alternate, any longer than a week and you may like to take 3.
* 2 x Shorts/ dresses/ kaftans to wear over swim wear when you go for lunch/walk around
* 1 x Linen trousers (Monsoon do some great ones)
* A skirt that is versatile.....denim is always g a winner. Or shorts.
* 5 tops
* A couple of dresses to wear in the evening
* 2 x cardigans to put round shoulders if it gets chilly
* 1 x Jeans incase it gets cold
* Wear a jacket on the plane so you have it with you if you need it
* Sandals/flip flops
* Pair of evening shoes that go with everything. Wedges are always nice on holiday.
* Some pumps and a pair of socks just incase it rains/is cold

Have a great holiday!


Question 2

I'm getting married in July and the day after we are having a BBQ for friends and family. I want to look pretty and relaxed. The BBQ is in our garden and we live in a thatched cottage, there will be bunting, fairy lights and vintage china, English garden theme. What should I wear?

Sounds lovely! One idea that springs to mind is a Maxi dress, they are so feminine and pretty but relaxed at the same time. You could wear pretty sandals with or even run around barefoot. Top Shop have some lovely ones, especially in the concessions area in the basement of the Oxford St branch, French Connection have a few and Ted Baker. Wear your hair loose and natural, you could even get a little flower on a clip to wear in it.

I definitely think a dress is the way forward even if you don’t fancy a maxi one. There are so many pretty day dresses around and they are so easy to wear. Oliver Bonas is a great shop/ site for day dresses, they stock a few labels including Emily and Fin and Trollied Dolly who do fab 50s style tea dresses which are fun.

Question 3

I'd like to know how to find jeans that suit me - most of the look awful!

This is a question I get asked all the time, you are not alone!!! It seems like most people struggle with finding the perfect pair of jeans! There are 4 key things to look out for when you are trying jeans on:

The waistband: if like a lot of women you have a little bit of a tummy or squidge round the side (i.e. love handles/muffin top whatever you like to call it!) then make sure you go for a regular rise or high rise waist, this will hold it all in an avoid any overspill that can happen with low rise!! If you have a slim waist, then low rise jeans can actually help to make your bum look smaller as they cut it off a bit.

The back pockets: For me this is the most important thing to check, after all we are all concerned about how big our bottoms look! If the pockets are too small or close together then your bum will look bigger....heaven forbid! So make sure the pockets are a good size in proportion to your behind and have good spacing between them.

Shading: Expensive jeans started this, hence why they charged so much but now places like Top Shop are doing it. If there is lighter shading down the front of your thigh and darker shading on the side it gives the illusion that your legs are slimmer, what a result!

The cut: There are all sorts of cuts of jeans around now; the boyfriend, the carrot (!), boot cut, straight, skinny, crop, wide leg, flare etc. The thing to be aware of is that if you are concerned about the width of your thighs then it will be more flattering to balance them out by having some width at the bottom of your leg. A skinny jean will emphasise wide thighs, so try boot cut, flared, straight etc

Jeans I always find suit my clients are Seven , James jeans and often J Brand, they cost between £150-£200 but will last a few years and are really flattering for most shapes, especially if you are a bit curvy which most of us are. Lee and Top Shop are good high street brands to try.