Shan Williams, award-winning personal stylist, trained with Colour Me Beautiful and now works out of her own studio at Abbey Brewery, Markiet Cross, Malmesbury. www.charismaeffect.co.uk

Things about clothes that boys just don’t get

"When men and women are able to respect and accept their differences then love has a chance to blossom.”

 John Gray, Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus

A quote from one of the best relationship books ever published. I love this book and at times of confusion, I have often dived into it for a little of John Gray’s wisdom.

I had two Mars and Venus moments recently.

Two weeks ago, my oldest son Ross announced he had bought a 2nd car. When asked why? He said he needed an everyday car. He has a Subaru Impreza turbo already, which he has lovingly restored. Then my husband, who has an every day car already plus a Land Rover because he likes driving it, announced he had spent a couple of hundred pounds on a track-day car as he wanted to drive it around Castle Combe circuit this summer. When I asked who he was buying it from, he said from a man whose wife wanted him to get the car off the drive, as her husband already had four others he was restoring. Hummm! Thanks for that, Mrs Wife – now I have to look at it, not you!! I just don’t get it!

So what don’t the boys get about us – our obsession with clothes, that’s what?

A survey shows that during a lifetime we will find the time to try on 21,500 items of clothing. Many of which have been tried on, whilst the boys were waiting outside the changing room!

Here’s some wardrobe wisdom to help you celebrate the differences between men and women even more rather than fight against them.

Bags: why we love them

Women love bags for the same reason they love shoes; they don’t make you feel fat, you don’t have to get undressed to try them on, size is either a non-issue or simply not related to your stomach, and they don’t necessarily suit Kate Moss any better than you.

Dresses: God’s gift to women

There is no garment more liberating to women than a dress (except maybe a nice hotel bathrobe, but we’re not allowed to go to work in those yet). A good dress will never make you feel fat either, can be worn with flats or heals, and everybody has a style to suit them. These statements can’t by applied to trousers, which squeeze round your waist and thighs generating the question to your partner – does my bum look big in this?

Jewellery: the icing on the cake

In my book, (probably because I can’t afford it), there is no point in real jewellery except to show off how rich you are. Often women think that if the jewellery is coming out, they may as well go the whole. Think oversized clanging earrings or a great big necklace. The truth is your accessories should balance with your scale and are the sprinkles on your cake. They are there to improve not form the whole meal.

So next time either my husband or son buy a car, I shall just feel smug and enjoy the fact that I love clothes instead. I take pleasure from being on Venus, don’t you?