Rosie Green GLIDE INTO AUTUMN

How to nail this season's most challenging trends, whatever your age or body type

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Apples ripe for picking, a glut of Netflix greatness and offspring who are now someone else's responsibility all day... September is excellent for many reasons. For a fashion lover like me, its biggest appeal is that it ushers in a new season, offering the chance for a sartorial refresh.

Shops finally ship out the jumble of sale items (they've been looking low-key ransacked for weeks) and replace them with tantalising fresh stock. Thick issues of style magazines hit the shelves, promising the possibility of a chicer new you. It's a chance to reinvent and rejuvenate. After a summer of undone and relaxed, who doesn't relish feeling glossy and groomed?

But this autumn, there's a threat to the delight.

Many of the trends are challenging, either deliberately frumpy or the exact opposite - dauntingly outré.

They're easier to wear if you're sub-30 with model-esque proportions; not so much if you're a few decades older with areas you might be less than keen to expose. Plus, let's face it, it's harder to look "ironically middle-aged" if you are actually middle-aged.