Autumn is here and the usual confusion that arises on what to wear in this ‘in-between’ period is heightened when the weather seems to be doing everything it can to throw our wardrobes into disarray!

This, coupled with latest from recent fashion weeks can either lead to a state of apathy where we give up on attempts to mimic the Moss’ and Dahl’s of the world or send us into a trend frenzy wearing high-waisted, ankle-swinging, purple patent trousers!

So how do we stop ourselves from drowning in a chunky-jumpered abyss this autumn/winter? Clothes Show presenter and mum, Louise Redknapp joins us to deliver her key hints and tips on how to look glamorous this winter no matter how dreary the weather is.

The Redknapp household is an eventful one at this time of year with son Charley recently starting school, Louise filming for the Clothes Show and dad, Jamie busy with football commitments. With all of the family being so busy, Louise will be taking the family to Spain so they can spend some quality time together.

If you, like Louise, are too busy to trawl the high street and are also planning on getting away to warmer climes this autumn, then make the most of your time at the airport before you jet off. You can pick up everything you need for your holiday at the airport and because of the great savings you can make (majority of items discounted at a minimum of 15%!) why not indulge a little… bikinis are especially difficult to purchase on the high street at this time of year but you’re spoilt for choice at the airport all year round.

Louise Redknapp joins us live online on Thursday 18th October at 12:40

H: Host, Vicky Letch
L: Louise Redknapp

H: Hello and welcome to the Lifestyle show brought to you by BAA. I'm Vicky Letch and today we're going to be talking about what's hot and what's not for those Autumn / Winter wardrobes. Now I've been joined in the studio today by fashion expert Louise Redknapp, and she's going to give us some of those well-needed fashion tips. Hooray, thank you so much for coming in to talk to us

L: No thank you

H: Lovely to have your company. Now before we get stuck in –

L: Yes

H: Because they'll be no stopping us, I can tell you – we are live, we're totally live, so if you have any questions pop them in the box on the screen, click send and then we'll endeavour to get them answered for you quick smart. Now I want to start off with a personal problem

L: Ok

H: It's like I'm in fashion therapy

L: I feel pressure! I don't want to get it wrong for anyone

H: You won't get it wrong, you won't get it wrong. At the moment the weather is so in between

L: I know

H: So you leave in a coat, you break out into an unsightly sweat. You take the coat off, you get cold – how can we combat this in between weather?

L: Well I think the whole chunky knit cardigan is a really good way to go for a number of reasons. You can put it on over a vest or a t-shirt, especially you can buy all the different arm lengths and everything, so you can get a slightly more, you know cropped version. Looks great over a t-shirt, but then you can completely utilise it a) of an evening if you're going out over a cute dress or as a kind of more shruggy look or pair down a lovely dress, and when it gets really cold you can layer it up over huge big roll necks, other big jumpers, you can almost just keep on – keep on going with it, so I think a good knit cardigan is just a good way to go at the moment. I think it's very safe for our weather today, and it looks alright draped over your bag as well -

H: I like that, I like that

L: You know, if you're not wearing it

H: I love knits, I've always been a fan of the cardi. I even like to see boys in cardis

L: I love men in cardigans, I think they look so cute when they have a nice white shirt, a little cool tie and a nice kind of granddad cardigan, but I do think they're hard to wear, I think for men and women they can look old-fashioned, I think you have to play around with it and kind of style it up to suit you

H: Yes absolutely. Individual. There's a cardi out there for everyone

L: Absolutely

H: That's the message of the day! Now I've got to say congratulations, because a little birdie tells me we're going to be seeing lots more of you on our screens

L: Yes yes yes, I'm doing the Clothes Show at the moment and lots of new kind of fashiony programs coming out, so yes it's all good, I can't complain

H: Which is obviously why you're here giving us fashion advice

L: Yes well doing my best, yes.

H: Now let's start with the finer details, because us ladies we always notice those little details

L: Oh yes

H: The wrong pair of socks, they're out the door. What about accessorising for Autumn / Winter, what sort of things should we be leaning towards?

L: Accessories make a bigger statement every season, it's like when you think the accessory can't get any bigger or more important to your wardrobe it does, and it is a brilliant way to change your look, so I think it's a cheaper way and a more cost effective way and a trendier way to actually change up an outfit. So the belt around the waist, you can't beat a cute waisted belt now, again over a cardigan, a dress – literally anything you can stick the belt over, and necklace, earrings, chunky rings, big clutch bags can change an outfit, a pair of jeans and a top in the day, you know if you want to change up for the evening, out comes the clutch and a pair of shoes and a cool pair of earrings and you've got a good evening look, so for me accessories are always a really good buy because I always find I utilise them right through the year

H: Yes and they always fit

L: They always fit and you don't have to spend a lot of money on them, you can buy accessories for really reasonable prices now, shops like Top Shop and Hennes, you can go in there and pick up great clutch bags, great bangles, bracelets, some cool earrings. You can just play around and I think that's where you can add your own bit of style to a very classic look that maybe a lot of people are wearing

H: Absolutely. And is it all about oversized accessories again – big bags, big glasses?

L: Yes it is really big again, big rings, I mean I love the big clutch bag because I'm somebody that always needs to take a hairbrush with me and there's been that many a night when Jamie's been at the bottom of the stairs saying ‘hurry up' and I'm trying to rip the middle of my hairbrush out to fit it in my tiny clutch bag

H: Yes

L: You know thinking I need a brush for tonight, so yes it is quite oversized, but I do think I'm quite small, I'm 5'3” and I have to be careful how big I go, like big glasses, some big jewellery completely drowns me and looks a little bit kind of circus-like on me, so you have to go with the sizing that kind of compliments your size

H: Again it's just an individual experience for everyone

L: Yes

H: Now we're going to talk a bit more about fabrics and textures as we go into the wardrobe itself, but with the accessories, I go to the shop and I see sparkly things and patent things and -

L: Yes

H: It just seems we've injected so much fun into it

L: Yes there's a real crossover, like the whole fetish wear is really big this season

H: People are going to be getting excited by this!

L: I know but I think you've got to keep in mind that you know you do need to go about your everyday business, but when I say that I mean you know the odd patent belt and the odd fetish pair of cute gloves, or something. I'm not a big fan because I don't – I think it's hard to carry off but if you've got the guts to go for it

H: Yes

L: It's definitely a hot look to go for at the moment, you know the very tight, skinny kind of rubber leggings, but again it's how you pull it off, you know you dress it down with the right boots and the right top. Very few people can carry it, but you're dead right, I think colour is really big again this season, I do think there's lots of fun out there, there's lots of sparkles, it's fashionable to be in sparkles now where years ago it was like something your mum would buy for a big night out and you'd never be seen dead in loads of sparkles. Now you can do sparkle all the way down and you know it's cool, so I really think there's so much on offer out there and the colours are great, all these bright oranges and fuchsia pinks

H: I'm not too sure about the rubber, I might leave that well alone

L: No I'm not either

H: Redknapp in rubber, there's your next show!

L: No no no, I think it has to be very very tiny amounts

H:Yes

L: Like cute little belts

H: Just a little touch

L: Again yes I'm a bit scared by the whole look

H: Yes

L: But there's quite a lot of it about.

H: Now, talking about fabrics and textures, I really love all the metallic stuff

L: Yes

H: I think it's a great look. Is that something that's going to carry on do you think throughout Autumn / Winter?

L: Well this fashion week there was quite a lot of – like Julian Mcdonald did a big kind of – you know how there was lots of silver and metallic and that on his show, so I do think it's going to always carry on. I think it's quite safe, I think it's – anything metallicky / goldy / silver, it really dresses up. It works so well of an evening, you can have something very plain and normal one and if you add a bit of a metallic twist, you know whether it be a top with a pair of jeans you straight go into a slightly more evening feel, which I think now we're all so busy

H: Yes

L: We need things to carry us from the day into the evening and I think metallics work really well for carrying us through, we can – the right injection of it can lift us up into the evening, you know a little metallic jacket or something and bang we're ready to go out, so yes I think it'll always be around. I think it will just change kind of the intensity of it will change, but I do think that it will carry on for some time yet

H: And it's quite exciting because obviously you just so casually throw in Julian Mcdonald, like it's normal for us, but the exciting thing is that Joe Bloggs can now get that designer look, that designer feel so easily on the high street

L: There has never been a better time for the British high street I don't think

H: Yes I agree

L: Anybody that goes to the States or travels around the world and they go to the high street, it's really basic and I think in the UK you don't have to be wealthy to be dead on trend, I almost think it's the opposite. I think we're well known in the UK for an incredible amount of street style, we're quite – we've got a lot of people that you know that kind of eccentric cool. We're kind of well known that whole Camden, Notting Hill thing's kind of organic and cool, but I think that it's a bit circle and nowadays you're almost trendier if you dress in the high street I think

H: Yes I agree

L: You're almost more individual and it shows that you've got good fashion sense rather than having just a lot of money

H: Yes, too much money

L: You can't take it away from what the designers do, they do a great job

H: Yes

L: And they make such luxurious well-fit and well-cut clothes, some of my favourite designers I think you know I love them, I love what they do, but it's so important that you can be fashionable now on any budget and it doesn't, you don't get put into a category, you know you can see the wealthiest people in amazing outfits from TopShop and they look great and it's cost them £30, and it's just about having a good eye

H: Absolutely. A keen eye. Which lots of us ladies do

L: Yes

H: Now just a little reminder for all of you at home, we're live, aren't we live?

L: We are live

H: We're live! So if you have any questions this is your chance, this is your opportunity, so punch them in the box, click send – I love all of this technology, it's so clever

L: This is – I am so not good with technology, this is so new to me, I can't believe this is even going on!

H: Ok, any questions get them in and we'll have a little natter. Now you mentioned that you are busy of course a busy mum, a working mum – could say two kids, sometimes it feels like that I'm sure with the other half

L: Yes

H: How do you just manage to looking glamorous throughout the day?

L: Oh I'm not – it's really nice of you to say so, I don't look glamorous do I?

H: Yes you do

L: Thank you, no I don't feel glamorous ever actually even when I go for a big night out I don't feel that glamorous, I always feel glamorous till I get there and look at everybody else and think no not so glamorous, yes I'm a bit of a chilled – I'm not an over-kind of push myself, I love fashion, I like to look nice but I also really like looking relaxed and casual

H: Yes

L: Your clothes and the way you look has to fit in with your lifestyle, and what you do and for me it wouldn't work if I was tottering around in high heels and extremely sort of tight clothes all day, it just wouldn't fit in with my lifestyle, so you know I just get on with it

H: Fantastic. Now we have a question

L: Yes

H: This is from Jenna, Jenna thank you very much, Jenna wants to know ‘what should I wear for a first date – we're just going for a drink?'

L: I think first dates are quite hard actually

H: Yes

L: Because you need to say a lot in one instant and that is when you walk through the door, you kind of setting out the evening

H: Yes

L: I think if you're just going for a drink I think a cute little skirt, maybe a cute skirt and top or a cute dress with some thick opaque tights, cute pair of shoes, or jeans are always a safe option, and I am still a fan of the skinny jean, everyone keeps telling me they're out of fashion now, I don't care, I love them!

H: I like them, I can't wear them

L: You could wear them

H: I can't, I literally I can never pull them up, but I do love the look of them -

L: You can't pull them up! We're going to have a look at that after, there's skinny jeans for everybody

H: Ok

L: So yes either skinny jeans and a cute little ankle boot and a nice top, maybe cut away. I don't think go over risquι, it's great, I love it when you see shoulders, you know something cut around, maybe a nice little kind of negligee top with a cool little jacket over the top, a little boxy jacket. I think look cool, classy – trendy, but like you're going home alone!

H: Yes, first date – never go back to their house – ra ra

L: Look like you're going home alone

H: And is it still one or t'other, so either do legs or this area?

L: Yes for me, I'm in my early 30s now, I think there's a slight different rule if you're younger, I think you can get away with so much more, but I do think if you're going to go really skinny legs, bottom you know either a) – well if you're doing really skinny trousers, very tight trousers, I'd go for a slightly bigger top or a longer top with a cute little jacket

H: Yes

L: And then I would kind of like – I think this area's quite nice to be covered if you're in really tight thing. I think it's a real no-no, really tight top, really tight bottoms -

H: Yes

L: And absolutely if you're wearing a short skirt, always a covered top, and you know maybe take it easy on the make-up. I think you have to balance out the look all the time. And opaque tights are a God-send, you know -

H: I love them

L: Get them on

H: I love them – it hides all the lumps and bumps, the veins, they're just -

L: They're brilliant

H: How gorgeous am I – the veins, the lumps and bumps, but they're fabulous, I adore them. Also quite excited by the tailored look that's coming back in, because it's all been smock tops and baby doll dresses

L: Yes

H: Which is difficult to wear, it's nice to have that look

L: The men's trousers are great, the big square, you know heavy, men's trousers type – yes they're so sexy, I think women look so sexy when they dress like that. You know a really high kind of brogue shoe with a sexy man pair of tailored trousers, even just a cute little blouse tucked in

H: Yes

L: Or a vest. I actually think that's most probably the sexiest look a woman can wear. It beats any revealing dresses

H: Yes

L: Little waistcoat and men's trousers, I think it's -

H: I love that

L: A very chic look, it's very kind of – reminds me of ladies you see when you're in Paris or somewhere, it's very chic, it's very elegant and very cool, so I – yes a huge fan of the big square legged trouser

H: Now of course we have already touched on you being busy, we know that you're busy and we know that you're a bit of a jet-setter. How would you squeeze in – you've got a big event and you think no I can't wear this again, I can't wear this for a second time or a third time – how do you squeeze in that specific shopping trip, say if you're going away somewhere?

L: There's so many different ways. I think a) online is a fabulous way to shop because you get the stuff, if it's not right they pick it up and you send it back. And b) shopping at the airport is a good way to go. I think now there are so many women that are busy – and men, I think men this, you know men should listen to this as well, and I think shopping online or shopping at the airport, if you're going away travelling there's so many good reasons why you should shop at the airport. You have to get there early anyway be3cause of the security reasons

H: Yes, yes

L: Get there that little bit earlier, go and have a coffee and go and have a look round – I mean some of my favourite stores they actually have at the airport, I love Reiss and I love French Connection

H: Yes

L: I like a bit of Mulberry and I like a bit of Kurt Geiger and I get it a little bit cheaper – you know who doesn't want a bargain?

H: Exactly

L: So you know for me, I kind of tend to pick things up on the hop, I try and take – make the most of opportunities whether it be kind of getting online if I'm you know somewhere about to do a TV or something and I can log on and do a little bit of internet shopping. And travelling at the airport, I mean there's lots of ways you can go about it now. I don't know many young women that have got children and work that have days to go walking around the shops

H: No, no

L: You don't want to do it on a Saturday

H: It's not fun

L: No it's not fun

H: It's not fun

L: So yes if you're travelling get down the airport, you'll get some great bargains and if not get online

H: Great. Now talking about jet-setting round and online, I hear that you've got a jet-setters' diary that we can all have a nosey at

L: Yes yes you can all get online on BAA.com/shopping I think it is

H: Yes

L: And on there you – there's all different – basically I've just done all my top tips, things that I think are good investments, things that I think you should buy, things that are really good to pick up at the airport, things that I've personally seen that I want to get my little mitts on! I always – I'm not a big jewellery person, but you can get good jewellery at the airport

H: Yes, yes

L: And when you've got a bit of time and you're in that holiday mode you think oh why not! You know that will look great in the sun. So yes there's lots of stuff on the website about kind of all different things that you can go and buy and what I would be spending my money on

H: Right, brilliant. Ash has now written in, thank you so much Ash. Ash wants to know ‘what's a fashion faux pas in your opinion?' There's probably loads!

L: I've got so many of myself, it's scary. I think blue PVC springs to mind is one of my worse ones. What was I doing? But the worst fashion faux pas – I think – do you know what it is, I think it's when people do too much

H: Yes

L: When spangles are in, tight trousers are in, hats are in, glasses are in, bags – you know it's when somebody puts in every trend, purple – and they do purple tight rubber leggings with the – you know everything goes on together. I think take one trend and one trend only. You can maybe mix two in together, but if there's 5 key trends of the season, don't put them all together

H: All together in one go

L: Not a good look

H: But it is ok of course to have a different look every day. It's quite eclectic at the moment isn't it, you can really experiment with your own personal style and

L: Yes you can get online or you can go into a shop and you'll see, you know the mini, like my mum said to me ‘Lou, skirts are back in but what length?'

H: Yes

L: I said mum, I think there's 3 key lengths, the mini is hot, maybe you're not going to want to go with the mini, no you know she doesn't want to go with the mini, she's in her 50s, she feels very uncomfortable, but the knee-length pencil skirt is a great length for that aged woman, and right, I mean right from young I think from in your 20s you can carry off a gorgeous kind of pencil skirt

H: Absolutely

L: And even if you want to wear it with tights it still works, and then of course the long maxi skirt which I think is always lovely with -

H: Yes

L: A pair of boots in the summer and quite chic

H: Yes I agree. We have another question ‘hello Louise'

L: Hello

H: She says hello. ‘What do you think of shoeboots? Do you really have to have skinny ankles to look good in them? How can I wear them the best, in the best way?'

L: Do you know what, I love shoeboots and I can really know where she's coming from because

H: Yes, me too

L: Because I bought a pair of shoeboots the other day and I have to say I love them, but when I put them on, I keep taking them off

H: Yes

L: And I think it's because they don't do a lot for my legs, and so I think the best way to wear them and how I ended up wearing mine, if you are concerned that you're not – like I haven't got really skinny legs so I do have to play around with looks, and I think wear them with an opaque tight because I think that straight away will lengthen your leg, and I keep trying to wear mine with a skinny jean and having the same problem, feeling that I haven't got – that it doesn't elongate my ankle into my foot, it kind of cuts it off, but I think you've just got to be careful how you wear it, so I think maybe a slightly shorter jean just so it kind of gives you a little bit of space when you walk

H: Yes

L: Or a good opaque tight, but they are rock and roll aren't they? They are sexy

H: They are so rock and roll but I can't pull them off

L: I really think everyone can pull them off it's just about wearing them right

H: Ok

L: And having a bit of guts just to go with it sometimes, you know what we look at and we look at our ankles and go ‘oh our ankles look fat I hate my ankles' – other people aren't checking out your ankles

H: Yes the ankles aren't the problem, it's the thigh that's the problem but anyway we'll talk about that afterwards. Martin has now written in, thanks Martin, he wants to know ‘what is the new black this year?'

L: I just – black, I'm a big fan of black, I'm so sorry, all the fashionistas that might be watching this, they're going to be throwing things, and I love black and I think it's such a slimming colour and women feel so safe and sexy in it, but I – colour, I think the new black is orange, purple, pink, fuchsia pink, I just think block, bold colours, you know people – I've seen amazing coats, bright coloured coats, bright coloured dresses and they look great

H: Yes

L: And again you can team them up with a black opaque tight just to bring them back down, little shoe boot and you're away

H: She's going to keep going back to the shoe boot!

L: Yes

H: See it's quite nice that we can have that exciting splash of colour in our winter wardrobes as well

L: This is the first year I've had lots of colour in my wardrobe, I can't remember the last time I opened my wardrobe and I've got a royal blue in there, a pink and an orange, all next to each other and it's like whehey, where did that come from?

H: Absolutely

L: I mean every year it's kind of tans, greys – so it's good

H: Brilliant. We have an anonymous -

L: Oh no

H: ‘Hi Louise, how do you stay looking so lovely over the years?'

L: What did they really say?

H: So damn lovely!

L: Oh – oh God -

H: But seriously how do you?

L: I don't know

H: Good genes

L: Oh I don't know – next question. No I don't, I would love to sit here and say I take a huge amount of time out on myself and I don't even do that, I think it's something that – it's very nice of anyone to say that anyway and I think it's something you just – I think what's nice is when you meet somebody or – and they kind of just go with the flow, I think that's more endearing than any fashion statement or any hairdo or anything else. I don't know

H: Just be true to yourself

L: Just be – yes just get on with it and I think wear a smile, can't go wrong

H: Ah. And some clothes if you're out in public

L: Maybe.

H: Now really quickly I just want to go back, because as a curvier lady as I am, I love all of this 40 fashion, 40s fashion coming up -

L: Yes

H: The pencil skirts, they're really good for those sort of hourglass figures

L: Yes

H: Not necessarily about being waif-like at the moment is it?

L: No. Well the shift dress did work for everybody and I thought you know that's been around for a few years now and it kind of did flatter everybody because it was very loose and then everybody could have the nice legs out the bottom but it wasn't really sexy, where I think the look at the moment with the waisted belt and the pencil skirt

H: Yes it's hot!

L: It's really sexy and kind of just slightly berry lip and hair back. It's very – I think it's quite hard to pull off, I don't think it's you know, always easy, it's not every day clothes with the shift dress you could stick on an d you know bustle out for the day, I think it's a look that is slightly more up and you have to present it well, but oh it is so sexy, and it works brilliantly for – you know your different sizes, if you're a size you know 12 /14, whatever, 16, you know you can get away with a gorgeous waisted top and a slinky skirt

H: Exactly

L: And it looks great

H: Excellent. Louise thank you so much

L: Thank you

H: You have opened up my eyes, shoeboots, skinny jeans, celebrate the curves, be the woman that you are, don't be afraid -

L: Sparkles, colour

H: Colours, textures, fabrics – ah I'm so overcome! Thank you so much, if you want to find out more information and of course shopping at the airport and to have a little sneaky peak, Louise Redknapp's diaries and do go onto baa.com/shopping. Did you write that down? It's on your screens anyway, thank you so much for joining us and I'll see you next time

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