, The Sunday Times
The best of fashion is in the details, meaning it’s often not what you wear but how you wear it. With this in mind, we enlisted our fashion editor Helen Atkin to take some of this season’s key pieces and show us how to style them. From the complexities of belt-wearing — this spring they can be worn low-slung on the hips or off-centre — to the many ways to style a shirt (tucked, untucked and everything in between), read on for Helen’s expert hacks.
Pure belter
Just as there is more than one way to crack an egg, there is more than one way to wear a belt. In fact, according to some of your favourite designers, there are three different ways to belt up this spring. From low-slung on your hips to knotting it (who needs a buckle?), playing around with the classic accessory is one of the quickest ways to modernise a look. Our favourite styling trick? Move the buckle off-centre. We don’t make the rules…
Silk jumper, £2,785, Prince of Wales check silk jacket, £5,310, matching skirt, £4,090, burgundy wool and silk briefs, £1,395, shoes, £1,045, and belt, £795, Chanel
T-shirt, £85, Coach. Layered jacket, £1,790, and trousers, £890, Stella McCartney. Belt, £435, Michael Kors Collection
T-shirt, as before. Leather overshirt, price on application, Victoria Beckham. Waxed trousers and belt, POA, Acne Studios
Shirting the issue
The most important thing in a woman’s wardrobe isn’t her handbag or even the blazer she was certain she would wear with everything — it’s her collection of shirts. Certainly, in 2026, these pieces sort the fashion elite from the merely fashion literate. With the power to lift even the most basic of jumpers from the doldrums, they are there to be experimented with. So how to do it? Don’t be afraid to wear multiple shirts at once. The fashion lords also suggest buttoning yours in jaunty ways: try top button only if you want to join the style leaders. Not into all that ironing? Wearing yours untucked under your jumper, with the collar and cuffs proudly on display, looks bang on trend — just as you did in sixth form.
Multi-shirt dress, £1,750, Loewe
V-neck T-shirt, £510, print silk twill shirt, £1,210, print skirt, £1,830, shoes, £790, and bag, £2,040, Versace
Shirt, £130, With Nothing Underneath. Jumper, £365, Arch4. Trousers, POA, Schiaparelli
Hair and make-up Amy Brandon Model Tannu at Supa Model Management Thanks to Scotti’s Snack Bar, Botanique Workshop and Farringdon Locksmith & Tool Supplies