Threads is the world's best sewing magazine, aimed at what Americans call 'sewists', which is just a way of avoiding the word 'sewers' really, given the double meaning. In other words, people who sew, but not professional dressmakers. With apologies to the author Linda Lee, here are the main points of the article on dressing over 50, tweaked to apply them to ready to wear, along with my opinion. See if you agree:

1 Most women look best in a just-below-waist length jacket, or one that comes to the high hip. Below-the-hip length jackets are hard to wear unless the fabric is very drapy or very sheer, showing the body underneath.

Broadly, I'd agree with that. Very long jackets can look very boxy, and they also make your legs look shorter, which isn't something most women want.

2 Diagonal lines trick the eye. While horizontal lines divide your body into blocks, diagonal lines encourage the eye to move up and down, so look for ways to incorporate diagonals into your wardrobe.

Great advice for dressmakers, where there is a multitude of patterns available, especially from the fabulous Sewing Workshop, but it's much harder in ready to wear. Issey Miyake, Junya Watanabe and other Japanese designers often incorporate diagonals, as do high-end retailers like Wall.

3 You may think that layering is too young a look but actually it's a great way to mix interesting textures and patterns, and combine colours in interesting ways.

Layering takes a bit of talent, which some women lack, and most women over 50 carry more weight than they'd like, so layering can add to bulk. Get it right and it looks great, though - I'd stick to tonal and textural layering rather than using colour.

4 Get rid of your dropped-shoulder garments - this is an old-fashioned look. Instead, wear garments fitted to the shoulderline.

Very good advice. Garments that fit to the shoulder give a more flattering silhouette. Also, dropped-shoulder garments such as shirts are a pain to wear under a fitted garment, as you end up with too much fabric in the armpit.

5 Go for necklines with height that frame your face and hair, including interesting collars that you can wear up or down. Use interesting collar details if you don't have the right necklace for a particular event.

I would generally advise deep front necklines for older women (who tend to have bigger breasts), at least for top layers. High necks can make your boobs look like a shelf. But the advice on flexibility is good. The author also suggests cutting blouses with a slightly high stand: this is a good tip (it makes the blouse come further up the back of your neck) but it's not an option unless you sew. Flipping up a collar at the back has a similar face-framing effect, which, when combined with a deepish v front is very flattering - it's worth checking blouses and shirts for their potential in this regard before you buy them.

6 Bracelet-length sleeves are the best length for most women - not as long as wrist length, but a little longer than three-quarters. They look light and jaunty and allow you to show off a little arm candy.

Totally agree with this, unless you're really tall and thin with skinny arms. About half my tops have this length of sleeve, and when I wear long sleeves I roll them up to this length. This is a distinctively feminine look, as it's a length men don't wear, and it's great for showing off a nice bracelet or watch. Besides, most women - even those with fat arms - have thin wrists. The only problem is that it can leave you with a gap between gloves, if you wear them, and your jacket, which can be chilly - I keep a close lookout for gauntlet gloves for this reason.

7 Wear enough ease in your clothes - clothes that are too tight make you look fatter. And go for good drape, which will make you look more svelte.

Ease can be a tricky concept even for sewists to get their heads around, and I'll be writing about it at more length another time, but broadly speaking, ease is the difference in size between you and the garment. Stretch items like t-shirts have 'negative ease', because they're smaller than you are, and everything else has positive ease. Your clothes should have a skimming fit, not tight, not too loose, for the most flattering silhouette. As for drape, if you carry any weight at all and therefore have soft curves, you absolutely need clothes with drape - anything stiffly tailored can make you look the size of a house.

8 When it comes to colours you can never go wrong with an assortment of dark bottoms in navy, black, brown and grey, paired with tops in your favourite colours and light neutrals like white and off-white.

Mmn. Tricky. Dress like this and you can end up with a uniform of black pants and clashing bright tops, which looks terrible, especially if the fabrics are cheap. If the colours are strongly different, it also chops your body in half, usually at the waist or hip. I prefer to go for a long, unbroken line and dress in monochrome or tonal combinations from head to foot, which is more slenderising, no matter what the colour.

9 Keep everything in moderation, and keep bold patterns away from your face. Save the boldest patterns for casual trousers and skirts to draw the eye down the body.

Again, I wouldn't do this. Moderation is always good, but I would keep the boldest patterns and textures closest to my face because that's the bit I want to draw attention to. Casual, bulky, brightly printed skirts in styles like dirndle are the absolute death of style, along with the arse-enlarging elephant pants that so many middle-aged women wear in summer. In fact, once over 40, unless you're thin, I'd be very wary of boldly printed garments altogether, as they just scream 'woman of a certain age' - especially something like a big flowery shirt.

10 One piece of great jewellery is plenty - don't wear a knockout necklace with knockout earrings, and remember that your glasses are jewellery too.

Agree with this one, unless you have a parure - a matching set of jewellery that is all designed to go together, which can look really stunning on an absolutely plain garment. Otherwise, I stick to just one thing, usually earrings.

So, dear readers, what do you think?