Kate Eccles' time saving style tips

Meet Kate Eccles, Founder of Ruby London, Mother of two, and Style Guru. She wants to tell you how you can look picture perfect everyday, with minimal styling time! Well known in the industry as the ‘go-to’ person for denim and jersey, along with running her own brand, Ruby London, Kate also lectures in fashion and has been involved in several TV shows, either as a guest panelist or the main presenter. Kate lives with her husband and two children in Sussex and in any spare time, she enjoys acting, walking, reading and gardening. 

"Time is the greatest commodity we have, even more precious to multi-tasking, working mothers. Whether that's running the home (a full time job in itself), or a mothers working part-time or full time, time is a gift we probably wish for a lot more than diamonds!

For me I try to have 30 minutes to style my look each day.  In order to do this, you need a good tool kit, so it’s all in the prep:

• First things first - declutter that wardrobe! Anything not worn in 8 weeks should go or be put in storage.  That might sound harsh, but you are very unlikely to wear those items again on a day-to-day basis

• Opt for classic base colours for your bottom half, with bolder colours on top

• With trousers or denim go for clean lines and stretch is a must-have, because if you don't have time for a workout every week, the stretch will hold you in all the right places

• Make sure your clothing waistline is above the tummy and into the curve of the back

• Team bottoms with a classic iron free top, such as a jersey stretch top, or a stretch organic shirt. Use colours as top layers in loose knits to give a lift and warmth to your outfit and always have a classic tailored jacket or quilted sports jacket in the wardrobe, to instantly change the overall look

• Go for mid heel boots perfect to give you a lift, but still allowing you to jump in and out of the car for that school run.  For summer months, flats with an open toe are key with nicely painted toenails, a vibrant colour on the toes always helps give a lift to the feet. And for the hands, just go for neat manicured nails with plain neutral varnish

• My secret tip? Put your hair in rollers and cover with a shower cap. Jump in the shower, the steam from the shower gives you a natural wave and a voluminous bounce.

• For jewellery go for studs in the day and a hoop or drop to shake it up for an evening event or cocktails with the girls

• The key to keeping trim is a 5 minute workout each morning, to get the heart racing, consisting of 21 x jumping jacks and alternate running on the spot. Complete four times, creating the shape of a square as you progress, to break things up. Stretch up and down 21 times, then into three rounds of Sun Salutations and end with a meditation and spiritual reading to fill you up with the correct source to move on with your day "