Fashion gurus tell us to expand our closets by mixing and matching, but every woman knows how frustrating it can be when you simply can't find the perfect combination. Knowing how to pick the right top to go with your favourite pants or choosing accessories to set off a dress is not easy when you need to look stylish.

But don't despair. Fashion veteran and founder of trendy brand S318 Kornkanok Sanitwongse na Ayudhya admits that masterful matching is an art and takes time to acquire.

That's one of the reasons she's created S318, an exuberant, young line that mixes vivid colours with contemporary style, making the outfits more accessible and easier to wear.

"I want to see my clients look 'expensive'. That means terrific and stylish," she says.

For fashion buffs who want to turn heads Kornkanok has this advice.

"When you mix and match, first think about the kind of person you are. Then ask yourself whether the clothes you choose fit your character and lifestyle or not."

Identifying prominent features and weak points of your body is also crucial. Then it's just a matter of presenting the good and hiding the bad. Keeping up with trends is exhausting and impractical, Kornkanok advises.

"Imagine a woman who's dressed in the latest fashion, but has stuck to an old-fashioned hairstyle. She'll look ridiculous as the two are quite incompatible," she comments. "Being chic, for me, means showing that your attitude, lifestyle and your character are chic too, not only your outward appearance. When you wear chic outfits, make sure you really are chic from the inside."

And confidence is essential. The stylist makes it clear that if you want to get dolled up, go ahead with confidence even if, in other peoples' eyes, the garb doesn't suit you.

"One of the bad habits Thai people have is to comment on the weak points of others as part of their greeting! It's really dispiriting. If you are overweight and you have failed time and time again to slim down, then be proud and be confident that you can be beautiful in your own way," she suggests.

Magazines, books and movies are all useful in strengthening your knowledge of how to dress and accessorise. "You can also sharpen your skills through practice and trial and error. They are good teachers," she adds.

In her opinion, future trends will be easier to adopt as fashion cycles have become so short-lived that people will be forced to interchange the contents of their wardrobes.

"Styles and designs will change so rapidly that and people will no longer be able to keep up with the trends. Mixing and matching will be the only solution."

Weeranuch Puttachartsaewee

The Nation