Q&A with Christopher Hopkins - The Makeover Guy

I'm 64, my dress size is 14 and my skirt size 8 or 10. The dress size is all in the shoulders as my bust is barely 'B'. At the moment I tend to wear "age appropriate" garments, but as I gain confidence I would like to move down the age range slightly. I can usually pass for mid to late 50s, even with the "granny" hair style I'm wearing now.

I would really like any sort of pointers as to where I should concentrate. I have a lot to learn as I'm just over 17 months from transition (MtF) and don't really have a full wardrobe yet.

Can you help with a suitable hairstyle? My hair is very thick and coarse and naturally curly. I'm only 5 feet tall and my hair makes me look frumpy.
Have tried straightening tongs but it looks worse!
Please help me make the best of what I have. I'm 68 but look younger as I have good skin fortunately.

I was, gulp, 69 this January, and will NEVER ' dress my age ', why should I? I don't dress inappropriately or in an old fashioned style, which is all I seem to see in the major stores for what the buyers think is all women like me want.
I pick and mix from what I like and the styles and colours that suit me, but it takes a bit of effort.
You don't have to slavishly follow a fashion which is absolutely not your style, but you can add accessories to just touch on the latest trends.

Helpful friend's have said that my long hair is making me look 'old' I'm 66 what age do they want me to look? It's now a natural silver/grey as I've also stopped dyeing it. My question is, Is it always a no-no for us mature ladies to go long and if we don't care anyway,are there any styles he can recommend to enhance these flowing locks? Many thanks

I'm with you, Muddyboots & FlicketyB! I love Phase Eight for the style and East for their colours and my family has permission to shoot me if I ever set foot in Jacques Vert - or Jimmy Green as we call it!

I'm a short lady with an apple shape & have enjoyed wearing the short dress/tunic over trousers look. It makes me look taller and covers my 57 year old knees - which no one wants to see! I also love a shift dress (worn with heels) but I always get the dresses altered to fit. I buy the dress to fit over my boobs, which invariably means the skirt is too big. I know alteration adds to the cost but it's good for the soul to have 4" shaved off the side seams of the skirt!

Like most people I've pretty well given up with M&S but I did buy a gorgeous suede biker jacket from their Twiggy (ha ha, I wish) range. My son says it makes me look like a rock Grandma!

Hi I want to keep my hair long but often find it unstylish or it gets pulled back into pony tail or band any ideas...does it need layering? I do keep it professionally trimmed its down to my shoulders with a gray streak as I no longer dye the hair.....

In the 60's at 23 I did a bit of modelling after loosing 5 stones on amphetamines! I always dressed to make an entrance to ensure everyone in the room had a good look. How vain! However, now I'm 67, fat and invisible. I used to have an hourglass figure which I'm desperately trying to recapture as it has escaped and is hiding somewhere under my present size 22 on top and 18 on the bottom. I still have a good face partly due to the facelift I had 8 years ago. I'm told I look about 50 except that I hobble about on badly arthritic knees. I have worn full slap since I was 16 and my hair is now short with a very dark colour on it - red/almost purple/a bit black and I love it. What on earth do I wear to look stunning again? Please help. Very desperate! Thank you in advance.

I have worn full makeup every day since I was 15- now 62. If I was on a desert island alone I would still reach for the mascara. I came out of hospital after my first (10lb.8oz) baby in false eyelashes. However I sometimes feel I need to lighten up my 'look'. I do change my colour palette regularly & try new things but I woud really like to see a new style. I have had makeovers in department store but they always go for the natural look & I like some eyes! Plus I can no longer afford to buy all their products.
I really like Bare Minerals & I am very lucky that my skin is good & not too many wrinkles although I do have some broken veins that need covering. I also have no eyebrows to speak of- never plucked just never had many!
Any tips? & please a good - not too expensive mascara that lengthens & gives volume- I confess I still wear falsies for nights out ( discreet ones these days!)

I dress to feel comfortable. A couple of weeks ago DD 'took me shopping' as, as usual, I have all the wrong things for Oz. I came home with a short denim skirt in lieu of shorts (which make me look like my old gym mistress who was the size of a bus with an a* * * to match) and, eureka, I haven't stopped wearing it even though my knees are on view - it's so comfortable and 'right' (although I don't think it will see the light of day once home in Scotland!). My point is that maybe, just maybe, we should step out of our comfort zone once in a while and give Uncomfortable a shot. I may be on a roll here - big posh wedding in July so could do with a few tips Mr Hopkins!

Why do older women seem to think they have to dress 'suitably' for their age? Wear what you like, what you feel comfortable in and to h**l with snotty shop assistants. I do not mean join the purple dress and red hat brigade, that always sounds too old battish to me, but hang on, if old bat is your style, why not?

Did anyone see the pictures of Princess Lilian of Sweden who died a few weeks ago aged 97. Nearly all of the papers ran pictures of her taken in her early 90s, immaculately made up, beautifully coiffed and in an elegant lilac suit a woman 50 years her junior could have worn. Not at all the kind of get up that would usually be considered 'suitable' for a woman in her 90s.

What always bothers me about make-overs like this, is that the results are always so conventional and safe. Do none of these women want to go, not mad, but certainly kick over the traces slightly, go a bit Boho for example?

Muddyboots, I shop in Fat Face, Monsoon, Phase 8, New Look, Next, Wallis. I avoid like the plague M&S and M & Co, which used to be good but has gone very mumsy in the last couple of years, all drapes, lace trim (not in a fashionable way) and hard cheap colours.

I have broad shoulders and Jaque vert is too narrow across the back for me! I wear phase eight for evenings nut need smart and not short suits for work. What can you recommend. Oh and I have to wear very wide flat shoes due to oa!

I like to think I'm quite stylish for my page but the worry I have is people thinking I'm dressing too young for my age. Don't get me wrong, I'm not sporting mini skirts and boob tubes! But when I'm browsing through shops like Topshop and Zara, I often get funny looks as if to say, are you lost? What are you doing here? And I'm only looking at the knitwear or blouses!!

My question is: What is an easy way for an older (60+) woman to look stylish? Are there any shops you can recommend? Or are well all doomed to Jacques Vert?