FASHION: study in brown

Last year's lipstick was a deep, dark, sexy red: dramatic, yes, but tarty. But this year the spectrum has shifted, and a rich, warm brown has taken its place. Last seen on lips in the early Seventies, brown lipstick is glamorous, unthreatening and, most important, classy - when did you ever hear someone called "the sort of woman who would wear brown lipstick"?

Main picture: black crepe shirt, £169, by Pearce Fionda at Liberty, Regent Street, W1 and Harvey Nichols, Knightsbridge, SW1 (0171 734 0123); Lilac silk taffeta single-breasted jacket, £169, by Sonnentag Mulligan at Jones, 15 Floral Street, WC2, and Pellicano, 63 South Molton Street, W1

Opposite: purple and black mandarin dress, £195, by Liza Bruce (to order, telephone 0181 749 2020)

Make-up: Fresh Essence Lip Colour, Clay, £10; Fresh Essence Lip Sheer, Silk, £10; Velvet Powder Eyeshadow, Haze, £7.50, highlighted with Velvet Powder Eyeshadow, Moon, £7.50; Maximum Lash Mascara, Raven, £11; Silk Powder Blush, Nutmeg, £10; Equilibrium Fluide Foundation, Flaxen No.3, £14; all by Aveda from Liberty, Regent Street, W1; Harvey Nichols, Knightsbridge, SW1; Dickens & Jones, Regent Street, W1 (for nearest stockists and mail order, telephone 0171 636 7911)