If like me, you are a mother to young children, it can sometimes be a challenge to look stylish and feel great in your clothes. There are numerous obstacles when it comes to looking good including tiredness, children wiping messy hands and faces over your clothes and the practicalities of wearing high heel shoees or skirts whilst chasing a toddler around the park. When it comes to being a stylish mummy, it is all about find practical clothes that look and feel great (and are easy to wash).

I always think a key item for the stylish mummy is a really nice coat and pair of boots. No matter what you have been wearing around the house all day and how much tomato sauce has been smeared over your clothes, you can always throw them on and look smart when you need to pop to the shop of pick the children up from school.

A really well fitting pair of jeans is also a great buy for any Mum. It is worth investing in a nice pair of jeans as you will probably live in them. They are just about the most practical item of clothing you can get. You can combine jeans with different tops for just about any occassion.

A big hand bag is also a must for the stylish mummy. Great for carting a whole host of baby and children accessories around with you including wetwipes, dummies and bottles. The large shopper style is ideal and will fit in just about everything you will  need (except the kitchen sink).

Remember, as a Mum it is important to take time to look after yourself. The better you feel, the happier your children will be.

This long style military coat is great for a busy mum to ultra stylish on the school run.

Everyone needs a lovely winter coat to keep them snug and warm all winter long. This year the winter coat is all about being noticed. Statement coats were just about everywhere on the autumn winter 08 catwalk with so many different textures that you just wanted to reach out and touch them and as many bright colours as a rainbow. From soft and furry to glossy textured leathers, from deep pink satins to Autumnal Ochres, there was a statement coat to suit everyone (except those who don’t like to make a statement of course).

At Bottega Veneta, this artistic design of coat uses origami like folds and loops of material to create a thick and warm looking coat with a very interesting texture.

At Alberta Ferretti, this beautiful sculpturally designed satin cape is slightly reminiscent of Little Red Riding Hood. It doesn’t look too warm but would be great for evening out if you had a chaufeur to pick you up.

At Oscar De La Renta, the glitz was layered on with green metallic coat with an opulent fur collar.

At Marni, this coat made a statement in terms of colour and style. A very warm and eye catching choice of coat.

pictures from www.style.com

For a coat that makes a real style statement, try this deep damsom melange spot coat.

A big trend for this season is military. I love this trend for smart  and tailored clothes. Some military detail adds some interesting detail to a basic coat or jacket. Look out for lots of brass buttons, double breasted styles, eapauilettes and closely fitted tailoring. The double breated look is not great for petites as it makes you look shorter (I know this from personal experience) but the tight fitting tailoring will suit you really well. You can also wear the military trend by wear some fake military badges.

Temperley London - I love the cut of this elegant military dress. The gold trim looks really smart with the navy blue and the silver sparkley leggings give the outfit a bit of glitz and stop it being tooo  serious.

Alexander McQueen - a really striking military style outfit. The white chiffon skirt really contrasts with the strong solours and shapes of the gold, navy and red jacket and top half. Again this outfir has sparkly leggings, this time in gold.

Moschino - I love the blue of this jacket and the narrow double breasted style. The gold buttons and military badges give it a real military feel. The gloves are a great finishing touch.

pictures from www.style.com

This classic riding coat is a very wearable version of this seasons military trend. Wear with sparkly leggings for a really fashion forward look.

Being petite, anything with the word voluminous in it will make me run a mile.  A little trick that I learnt from my mother, keep your clothes fitted and you don’t look so short. I have learnt to live with the fact that, I will never really look great in anything that makes me look as wide as I am tall.

For those that are a bit taller than me (and my mum), you can probably wear the voluminous coat and look great in it. You will however still need to apply the rules of balance. A voluminous coat should be teamed with a non voluminous lower half, I’m talking skinny or fitted trousers or jeans or tights (obviously with some sort of dress or skirt that can almost be hidden or completely hidden by your voluminous coat).

I not sure I like this Marc Jacobs coat much and I don’t think I know many who could pull this off without looking like a sack of potatoes. 

This gorgous purple coat at Burberry Prorsum is easily the most wearable of the voluminous coats that I have seen.

At Louis Vuitton, it is clear that voluminous does not have to mean shapeless.

I don’t really know if this would be classed as a coat or a jacket but Marios Schwab has created a perfect example of how a voluminous top half should be balanced with a fitted lower half.

pictures from www.style.com

This Faux Shearling Coat is a great way to wear this winters trend for voluminous coats.