Lisa’s makeovers: ‘I’ve lost my mojo – can you transform me into a glam granny?’

Scroll down for full details of Caroline’s outfit - Kristina Varaksina

For the second in our new series of reader makeovers, we’re helping Caroline Steinsberg, 67, a charity volunteer and retired teacher from Oxford. Caroline has recently become a grandmother and wants a style refresh to reflect this new stage in life without losing who she was before.

Like Julie Ingleson – who last week found her ideal mother-of-the-bride look – she was one of hundreds of subscribers to The Telegraph’s Fashion Newsletter who applied to take part, and attended a styling experience day in London with our team.

Caroline’s dilemma

Caroline before her makeover - Kristina Varaksina

Caroline says:

My new grandson was only three weeks old when I applied to take part in the Reader Makeover series. It was winter, I needed a boost, and I thought Lisa and the fashion team could give me some new ideas.

I want my grandson to grow up seeing me as fun and active, rather than old or a stuffy image of a granny. I want to be glamorous, not a frumpy bore.

I find it particularly hard to find casual clothes that are both elegant and fun. I have always enjoyed dressing for work and special occasions, but now I need more casual pieces and my wardrobe is still full of old work clothes. I walk my dogs every day and am very involved in voluntary community work, which means I end up living in trousers, even though I really enjoy skirts and dresses.

I had rather lost my mojo and felt I needed a bit of help to find it again and build my confidence.

Lisa’s solution

Our new first-time granny, Caroline, wanted a style reboot and was clear that it shouldn’t be too dramatic or fussy. Like all the readers who emailed in, her chief goal was to look modern and refreshed. We loved the way she wanted to embrace her new role as a hands-on granny with a spot of glamour.

It’s been interesting to see how often those two words modern and relaxed came up in your correspondence. Looking polished but not try-hard, current but in a grown-up, customised way, are the holy grails of contemporary, grown-up dressing. They should be a breeze to achieve, but if you’re stuck in a rut, getting it right is a bit like learning a new language: you need some vocabulary and grammar to keep you coherent.

Makeover-Caroline BTS2

For Caroline, the grammar consists of the silhouettes that suit her. Skirts, it turns out, can be every bit as versatile and easy to wear as trousers, and often more flattering. It’s a smallish shift. They’re still separates, after all, with all the versatility that implies. However, once you get used to it, it makes an enormous difference, offering a cleaner, often slightly sharper, forgiving outline.

Our amazing stylist, Anna Berkeley, who has her own consultancy and customised styling app called Think Shape, found Caroline a taupe cotton skirt that sits in a similar category to cargo pants, but can be dressed up. That topstitching creates a handy, leg-lengthening vertical line and elevates the skirt. The fabric contains some all-important stretch, so it is comfortable and practical for kneeling on the floor and playing with her small grandson.

Caroline has an elegant longer neck – something many of us would love. But to keep things looking balanced above and below the waist, and to ensure she did not end up looking too long from the waist up, Anna looked for a shirt with some structure across the shoulders and an open neckline.

Caroline before and after her makeover - Kristina Varaksina

Shoes? Caroline was adamant: comfortable but not bland. She is in luck, because flat shoes and flatforms are abundantly available in an array of styles, from dainty to “interesting”. Interesting does a lot of heavy lifting here. It can have a Marmite effect, but after the fiftieth or so sighting, your eyes adjust. The key is finding a sole with generous cushioning, particularly at the front, where many of us lose fat and pavements start to feel punishing. Anna suggested these slingback clogs in silver-studded chocolate brown leather. Definitely more striking than the average Birkenstock, but crucially just as comfortable.

Caroline likes wearing make-up but did not want a 15-step routine. “Glamorous granny was the tone, polished enough for day but never overdone,” says make-up artist Oonagh Connor. “I kept the base sheer and luminous, with a rose-flush cheek using Merit cream blush. It is quick, flattering and low-maintenance, perfect for someone who enjoys make-up but has no time for a complicated routine.”

Caroline’s verdict

Makeover-Caroline BTS3

I love the outfit; it’s chic, and yet I can do things in it. I was very much a jeans-and-jumper woman before I came here, and it’s been so good to think outside the box.

I particularly like the skirt, as it’s stretchy, so I’ll be able to move and run around after my grandson just as easily as I could in jeans. Layering with the camisole, too, is a useful tip, and now I think I will do that under many different things.

Having advice on my body shape was eye-opening, and having my hair and make-up done has made me feel younger and more revitalised. I read all of Lisa and the fashion team’s articles, so when I applied I knew I was in good hands. Most of all, though, the experience has been enormous fun. I just pinged an email off, never thinking that I’d actually get the chance, and it’s been so exciting to come to London and meet the team.

I wanted to be modern and up to date for my new grandson, and this makeover has definitely met the brief.

Caroline wears...

Kristina Varaksina

Cotton blend shirt, £99, Hobbs at John Lewis; Organic cotton tank top, £12, John Lewis; Cotton blend skirt, £38, Topshop; Leather slingback clog sandals, £79, John Lewis; Recycled acrylic bangle, £44.99, Pilgrim; Gold bangles, stylist’s own. Similar available at Monica Vinader

Photographer: Kristina Varaksina; Make-up: Oonagh Connor; Hair: Amanda Clarke; Photographer’s assistant: Thomas Beck; Hair and make-up assistant: Jes Standish; Styling assistants: Sophie Tobin and Alice Dench; Commissioner: Caroline Leaper; Video: Hana Kelly

The readers featured in this series received an outfit from John Lewis as part of their prize.

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