To celebrate the fact that my new co-ambassador for Huggies Wipes is none other than the stupidly cool Fearne Cotton, I’m upping my game. If I ever have to sit beside her at a photoshoot (or even appear in the same frame, in the background, blurry and several feet away), in contrast to her I’ll look every inch the dowdy housewife.

Despite my best efforts with #OpBabyWeight (well… I weighed myself twice, switched chips for grapes for like a whole week) I’m still fluctuating between a size 14-16. I read somewhere that drinking plenty of good old H₂O and getting 8 hours sleep per night is the true secret to losing weight - that’s me destined to languish in the fat-zone then as I only drink wine from 11am and average 2 hours shut-eye thanks to Heidi & Dexter’s nighttime shenanigans.

So I’ve enlisted the A-team and put my wardrobe woes to Wardrobe Coaches Alicia and Kay - I know, fancy right?! I’m thinking they must meet lazy, flabby and cellulite-ridden mums all the time. Maybe a tweak or two to my wardrobe will miraculously streamline my lumpy body - sort of like squeezing a Cumberland Sausage. It’s definitely preferable to donning Lycra and breaking a sweat in a gym.

So I asked Alicia & Kay this…

How do I dress my mummy bod? I’ve jumped from a curvy size 12 to a size 16 and tend to wear shapeless outfits. I have no idea how to feel sexy and confident again

Alicia & Kay say…

What’s fab is that you have curves! Mother Nature kindly gave them to you, and hiding them is a complete no-no. Don’t try and hide your figure and instead make the most of it.

Firstly, start with a good base. A decent bra is so important especially after having children and if you are large on the breast area. You’ll be surprised at how a bra can change your outfit, making your clothes fit better and hang nicely so that in fact, your whole outfit looks like a better fit and a your clothes a higher quality.

For bras, we’d suggest a brand like Prima Donna and avoid brands like Fantasie and Freya which tend to make boobs look matronly! Prima Donna are expensive but well worth the investment, trust us. Once you’ve purchased great bras, take good care of them by only ever hand washing them.

I say… I know I’m blessed with curves. I still have a pretty impressive bust that stays more or less where it did in my teens, and my waist does kind of nip in (albeit only briefly in-between gut and bum). Fortunately I owe a lot to Kim Kardashian who has made it cool to own a bum that has to be wedged into a tub chair at Costa.

Prima Donna is also a new one on me. I have tons of Fantasie and Freya bras and had not, until now, considered them matronly. In fact, I think Craig bought me most of these as a treat (I assume a treat for him rather than me). I hadn’t heard of Prima Donna until now, but a quick glance at the website and I’m sold. I haven’t aired my cleavage for years and maybe I should.

Dress for your positives

Something we encourage is thinking of your positives. Choose three things about your body that you love. Whether it’s your wrists, arms, legs, neck or even your ears, to feel more confident, learn to dress for your positives. The key to always looking and feeling amazing is knowing your positives, like your waist and legs! Choose your clothes wisely to accentuate these positive parts of your body and encourage confidence

I say… Righto - I pick my boobs, my lower legs, and my bum

Sleeve lengths and tailoring

Another important tip is sleeve length, make sure all of your jackets and coats sleeves finish just below your wrist bone not across the widest part of your hand as this will make your arms look shorter and wider.

A shorter sleeve will make you look slimmer, it might sound strange, but we know it really works! You don’t need to buy new blazers or jackets, instead you can have items tailored at a dry cleaners for a small fee.

Tailoring is a great way to adapt clothes to make you feel amazing in them, plus it’s very cost effective. You can spend a few pounds adding darts to tops, changing jacket lengths or changing hem lines rather than blowing the budget on new items.

I say… Hmm, Bingo wings out then. I’ve just looked back through some holiday snaps and it seems a mix of alcohol and sun led to me doing exactly this a few months back. I remain unconvinced anyone should see my arms, anywhere, ever.

Tailoring though, now this I can get onboard with. I definitely suit a shift dress. With sculpting knickers and a fair bit of sucking in, I love this look.

Make the most of your assets

You talk about wearing shapeless outfits, you should be making the most of your waist! If you wear tops and blazers that nip in at the waist, you’ll feel sexier.
Also look at the length of tops you wear, there can be a temptation to wear longer tops to ‘hide’ parts of your body but wearing longer tops can make your legs look shorter. Instead, shorter tops that sit at the top of your jeans can accentuate your legs. Show off your assets, don’t hide them!

I say…. Alicia & Kay are right - the temptation is most definitely there to wear longer tops. In fact, I don’t think I’ve worn a top that doesn’t skim my thighs in some 5 years!

In need of some inspiration I headed to SimplyBe and picked out the tops below. Teamed with a pencil skirt these could work. Popping them with leggings, jeans or leather-look trousers, not so much (I can picture the camel toe now). I don’t mind tucking things in to high-waisted skirts - so long as they’re well structured and don’t roll down when I sit. Maybe this is the way forward for me…

So that’s it. Professional style advice for body conscious plus sized women! Enjoy guys!