All Sarah Vine wants is some well-fitting, flattering clothes. On a trip to Turin, she found them...
When I go shopping for clothes, I don't want to be fashionable. Don't get me wrong, I don't want to look like a terrible frump either; it's just that most high street shops make me feel depressed. They're full of clothes that are either too short or too tight, clothes that are cut not to flatter but to look like vastly more expensive clothes in a magazine, clothes that only really look any good if you're a size ten.
What I want are clothes that make me look slim, elegant and vaguely stylish. Slim is key. I've always been a curvy girl, even when I was at my skinniest. And like most curvy girls, I have to watch that I don't stray into barmaid territory. I need clean lines, good fabrics and flattering shapes. Oh, and I don't want to spend a fortune.
And so when I come across a shop or a brand that manages all this, I stock up. On a visit to Turin last week, my mother (who is pin-thin, and yet has an impeccable eye) took me to a Martino Midali shop.
There is nothing more depressing than seeing something you like and finding it makes you look like a pig in a condom. I had precisely the opposite experience. Everything I tried on looked fabulous, and I mean everything. I could have bought the lot, if only my credit card would have taken it.
Best of all, he (I think there is actually a Mr Midali, although I can't be sure) has a website, www.martinomidali.com.
The trousers are amazing, they fall well and don't cling; the dresses, of which I bought several, are adorable, comfortable and versatile - and again, they hang beautifully. Best of all, the prices are sensible. Ignore the rather weird looking model, she doesn't do the clothes much credit.