How to dress like a grown up: What the fashionista in your life really wants

• From gilets to dressing gowns, these are the five gifts you can buy a fashionista
• READ MORE: A service that brings the changing room to your home instead 

What do you give the fashion conscious woman for Christmas? Nothing fashion-related, if you want to save yourself a lot of heartache, because (no need to tell you this) we are picky when it comes to clothes and accessories and unless we’ve given specific instructions (the product code, the size and the colour), it will be going straight back on January 2.

Everyone knows this, yet husbands in particular, are irresistibly drawn to buying us tops and bags and, once, a pair of lace-up espadrilles.

So, there are two options: one, start talking loudly about your urgent need for a Thermomix all-in-one multi cooker or lemon tree for the garden; or two, leave this Christmas wish list lying around somewhere obvious.

I can’t be sure what you have your heart set on, but these five items have broad appeal and are pretty much disaster proof. Your daughter will love them if by chance they don’t hit the spot.

Kendall Jenner is seen on February 5, 2022 in jeans, a white tshirt and cardigan in Los Angeles, California

Olivia Palermo attending Elie Saab’s fashion show during Paris Fashion Week in Paris, France, in 2016

Tekla dressing gown

I’ve never been interested in dressing gowns and have always gone for the most basic option until I discovered the label Tekla. These hooded organic cotton towelling dressing gowns are to the regular towelling dressing gown what a Dryrobe is to a threadbare old swimming towel.

They’re luxurious, cool, unisex and work for any age. You look at them and you don’t know whether you love the cream and chocolate stripe or the sky blue and navy stripe more; and when you try one on (which I have) you want to keep it on for ever and answer the door in it, a lot.

They’re made of fat, delicious towelling, cut like a proper boxer’s robe and, better still, they’re 30 per cent off in the sale (£104.30, net-a-porter.com). This is a can’t-go-wrong purchase for the woman who doesn’t know she needs a great dressing gown.

A furry gilet

Zara has a faux fur glossy black cropped gilet (£59.99, zara.com) I’ve been eyeing up for weeks (but not buying it, so someone else can). A gilet like this adds lashings of glamour worn over something plain such as a silk shirt with velvet trousers and you won’t have to take it off indoors (the downside of fur jackets).

I’d also wear it over a dress with boots, or on top of a sweater on those nights when you’re going to the house where they don’t believe in central heating.

It’s elegant with evening wear, puts the cocktail in black trousers or a long skirt, and you can sling it on in the day with jeans and instantly look like someone whose other house is a chalet in Gstaad.

It doesn’t have to be this particular gilet, and if it’s sold out by the time you read this then there are plenty of options out there. Not every woman loves a tank top, but who doesn’t love a gilet?

Boston Birkenstocks

We’ve moved on from the two-strap Arizona Birkenstock sandal with the moulded footbed to the Boston clog, sometimes also described as a backless loafer.

These are turning out to be even more popular than their strappy cousins, partly because models like Kendall Jenner, and grown-up celebrities like Sarah Jessica Parker keep being photographed in theirs and because you can wear them winter or summer.

The most coveted colour is taupe suede (£150, birkenstock.com) and I wouldn’t say no to latte (£130, office.co.uk), but it’s important to stick to pale neutrals — on no account stray into black or navy.

Kristen Stewart spotted out and about in Los Angeles on May 23, 2018

Classic Ray-Ban Aviators

They were good enough for Gwyneth Paltrow during her ski trial and of all the classic sunglass styles, this is the one that’s maintained its position in the top five since the 1970s. The advantage of Classic Aviators (£147, ray-ban.com), besides looking cool, is they go with everything from your wedding best to denim, and they suit all seasons, the city and the beach, which you can’t say of some big round tortoiseshell numbers.

A chain with a blob

The most coveted piece of jewellery of the moment, and the first item in her new collection to sell out, is Phoebe Philo’s 3D necklace featuring the word MUM over and over, but most women over 50 would far prefer the other big jewellery of the moment — a chain with a blob, be it a glass pendant (another Philo piece), a stone or a baroque pearl.

If feeling flush seek out Pippa Small (pippasmall.com). For something around the £100 mark, try Daisy London (daisyjewellery.com) or Missoma (missoma.com), and chains with blobs of every variety are available at Zara and & Other Stories (stories.com). Otherwise pretty pearls are going strong and I love Zara’s faux pearl and one rhinestone necklace (£17.99, zara.com). Happy Christmas!

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