Essentials: Julien MacDonald, Designer

My style is pretty effortless. I've had the same staple wardrobe for years, revolving around black jeans, a black Dior blazer (below, www.dior.com) and a black shirt from Zara (www.zara.com), which makes perfect affordable basics. It doesn't really matter how expensive a black shirt is, it will fade to grey after a few washes, so I buy mine in bulk and bin them after five wears.

I like to keep it simple – I design for very glamorous women but in terms of my own look I admire old-fashioned film stars such as James Dean and Clint Eastwood in his youth (right), although I do think David Beckham is a great modern style icon.

I'm updating my wardrobe this summer with some military-style T-shirts from John Galliano (www.johngalliano.com) and some beach jewellery from Melissa Odabash (www.odabash.com). The area around London's Portobello Market is my shopping territory – it has so many interesting little boutiques. Rellik is my favourite because it's great for funky vintage pieces (www.relliklondon.co.uk).

I'm a big fan of Elemis skincare, particularly its Marine range (www.elemis.com). I also like Eve Lom products (www.evelom.co.uk, below) and I go the Space NK spa for a cleansing facial (www.spacenk.co.uk). One of my favourite treatments is a flotation tank at Float (www.float.co.uk) it's amazingly relaxing and you come out feeling and looking a million times better than when you went in.

My one style rule is "If in doubt, stick to classics." Unless you're a natural fashionista, don't bother trying to look fashionable. Just try to look good.