MAKEOVER: Help me get a look for summer

If you are stuck in a summer fashion rut take heart in the fact that most of us struggle to look stylish when the temperature goes up. Emma Harrowing shows reader Emily Barclay how she can change her style for the summer.

Now that the weather has started to get warmer and you dare to leave the house without a coat, did you start to panic when upon looking in your wardrobe you were met with a plethora of winter clothes?

Maybe there was the occasional flimsy summer dress or a tunic top that you could wear without the customary opaque tights or leggings, but on the whole you struggled to put together an outfit that looked summery without looking like you were heading for a day on the beach.

Emily Barclay, from Earlham, is quite practical when it comes to her clothes.

She set up her own wine business, The Perfect Wine, a few years ago and spends her day meeting people and carrying boxes.

Therefore she prefers comfort over style and can often be seen wearing a pair of baggy jeans, a T-shirt and flat shoes. She embraces colour and will always incorporate a bright colour into her look.

My aim is to show Emily how she can inject a touch of style into her summer look while maintaining the practical comfort factor her lifestyle dictates.

The key to looking stylish is to know what shape clothes suit you. Emily is slightly bigger on her bottom half than her top and she has a very slim waist. At the moment she is hiding her slimmest part under baggy tops.By wearing a top or dress with an empire line she will instantly look slimmer as the empire line style will form a horizontal line just under the bust (Emily's slimmest part). The shape will also skim over her slightly larger hips.

I took Emily to see Jarrold personal shopper Judy Chapman for a bit of summer style advice.

Says Judy: 'Emily is only 33 years old so it would be great to see her wearing a splash of bright colours, which are at the height of fashion this season. Emily doesn't normally wear a dress, but by putting her in a patterned empire line dress teamed with a pair of skinny white jeans, some wedge canvas pumps and a polka dot lightweight mac, her legs will look longer, she will look slimmer as your eye will immediately be drawn to the empire line on the dress, and her tummy area, which she is conscience of, will be disguised.

'Her new look will still make her feel comfortable, but will look effortlessly stylish; perfect for the summer months.'

Emily's practical look has also transferred to her hairstyle. She likes to just get up and go in the mornings and doesn't have time to faff around with hair styling products. At the moment her hair is in the classic bob shape, which she has modernised with a few streaks of colour.

Emily is happy with her colour as it is, so it's down to stylist David at Regis hair salon in Jarrold to give her a stylish and easy-to-manage cut.

Says David: 'The bob is a nice shape to have as it can be cut into to create many different looks. As Emily wants a cut that is easy to style I'm going to cut out a lot of the weight which will make it quicker to blow dry.

'To complement her quirky style I am going to change her look dramatically by cutting her hair in a isometric style bob. This means that her hair will be cut at an angle so that one side of her hair will be shorter than the other. This will create a verstaile look that Emily can take back off her face while she is working or pull forward for a demure evening look.'

To complete Emily's new look I took her to see Marlene Knights on the Laura Mercier counter in Jarrold's SkinSpa.

Emily rarely wears makeup and when she does she tends to wear a lot of colour on her eyes, leaving her lips and cheeks nude. Laura Mercier is famed for its 'Flawless Face Technique' which aims to accentuate your features rather than caking them in makeup. This technique is perfect if, like Emily, you prefer the natural look.

For the base: After cleansing, toning and moisturising the skin Marlene applied a foundation primer over the skin. This acts as a base to the foundation and is an important step in achieving a flawless complexion.

For the foundation Laura Mercier's new mineral based makeup was applied with a brush. Next any redness or blemishes were covered with concealer and an under eye concealer was used along the eye socket to banish any dark circles. Translucent powder finished the base.

For the eyes: A neutral eye base was brushed over the lids up to the brow bone to get rid of any redness and to provide an even base.

Next eyeliner was applied underneath the eye lashes (rather than along the lash line) to create amore natural 'open eye' effect.

To add colour to the eyes a powder eye shadow in Bamboo was applied with a brush across the eyelid up to the crease, then a darker eyeshadow in Cognac was applied from the middle to the outer edge of the eyelid. Both colours were blended with a brush.

To complete the eyes black eye liner was applied along the top and bottom lash line and Emily's eyebrows were defined with a eyebrown pencil.

For the cheeks: To give a natural colour to the cheeks, a pink blush was applied with a brush on the apples of the cheeks and blended up towards the hair line.

For the lips: To keep lipstick in place a lip sealent was used over the lips to smooth out any dryness or cracks. Then a sheer lipstick in Poppy was applied with a brush over the lips.

Says Laura: 'I love my new look, especially the polka dot mac, which is now at the top of my 'to buy' list! I would never have picked up the dress if I saw it in a shop, but as soon as I put it on it felt and looked like it was made for me.

'I like the fact that I can wear the dress with jeans or leggings, as I'm conscience of my legs; but that I can also wear it on its own with flip flops when the weather is very hot.

'The makeup looks very natural but it will take a bit of getting used to as I'm not used to wearing makeup; it makes me look so different!

'As for my hair, I love it! The cut is funky but should be easy to manage.

'The style also brings out the colours I already have in my hair. I've never really had a proper hair 'style' before - it's

amazing!'