My style

LULU GUINNESS bag designer

DESCRIBE WHAT YOU'RE WEARING: I got the black silk dress (left) in Legacy on Thompson Street in New York. All my dresses are made by them – I get them in different patterns and colours. The mock croc bag in vibrant blue is from my current collection.

YOU LIKE DRESSES OBVIOUSLYI always wear dresses, some in crepe, and usually with a cardigan. I prefer them to separates – I look terrible in trousers. My wedge shoes are Marni and I always wear shoes that make me look taller. I wish my legs were longer – that's my only complex really. I've got used to everything else.

WHERE DO YOU SHOP? I tend to shop when I am travelling. I do a lot of shopping with my teenage daughters in London and I like to see what's out there with them. I always look around a lot. If you are in fashion you have to embrace change and I love change.

FAVOURITE DESIGNERS? I really like Moschino, but I shop mid-range. I am not going to pay thousands of pounds – I look for good quality, so Moschino is my investment – it always lasts. I buy in their shop in London where I get a big discount.

WHAT'S THE MOST YOU'VE EVER SPENT? I suppose about £1,500 on a Moschino coat and dress when I got my OBE. Spending a ridiculous amount of money makes me feel uneasy. I don't like doing it. I prefer to put things together in an interesting way. In the current climate, it's all about who has the best ideas.

SHOES? If I see something I like that's comfortable, I buy them. I would spend under £300 for shoes, but not more. These were £200.

WHAT ABOUT JEWELLERY? I wear this red enamel lips ring by Solange Azagury-Partridge who has a shop near me in Westbourne Grove in London, as red lips are my signature. That's all I wear.

WHERE DO YOU GET YOUR HAIR CUT? At Toni Guy near me, by an amazing Japanese girl called Komiko. I never brush it and I get it cut every three weeks. My hair has always been one of my main attributes – it's always been easy and does what it's told.

AND THAT FAMOUS RED LIPSTICK? I started wearing red lipstick at 18 because I liked the look of the old glamour movies. When I don't have it on, people ask if I am all right. This one is by Terry de Gunzburg from Space NK. It's their biggest seller. She designed the make-up for YSL, she invented Touche Éclat and now she has her own brand, By Terry. Pale colours make me look grey.

HOW DO YOU DESCRIBE YOUR STYLE? It's a vintage look – though the clothes are not necessarily vintage – and it is glamorous. Above all my brand and my persona are close to each other, and it is feminine. My style is my brand and my brand is my style.

FASHION INFLUENCES? Elsa Schiaparelli is my heroine – I love the visual wit in her fashion. I also love beautiful appliqué and stitching going right back over the centuries. I also appreciate shape and form. I love the V A because it celebrates decorative art and I adore its exhibitions.

WHAT DOES WHAT YOU WEAR SAY ABOUT YOU? I lived in Paris for three years and that had a subconscious effect. I think that you have to dress for who you are rather than follow fashion – you have got to dress for your type. As you get older you refine your style. I am also quite graphic in my design and in what I choose. People think I am very frou frou and often their perceptions of me are very different from the person that I am.

Lulu Guinness bags are available from Brown Thomas, Dublin