Natasha Kaplinsky?s recent move to Channel Five has had all the newspapers talking. It all started with the massive pay deal she was getting. How many of us could have resisted the kind of money she was offered? What better tribute to her skills and profile than a ?1 million golden handshake?

The next amusing instalment was Channel Five wanting to create the right ambience for their new programme. They decided Natasha should read the news wearing jeans and t-shirt. Channel Five it seems, wanted to make its bulletins more ?warm and friendly?.

To most of us, wearing jeans and t-shirt at work wouldn?t be a hardship, (especially for ?1 million) but to Natasha, it was a major deal. She says accepting the job was never about the money. She?s notoriously ambitious and okay, so Channel Five isn?t exactly the BBC, but she would be hosting the entire show herself. Instead of jockeying for position with other newsreaders she would now be top dog, anchorwoman extraordinaire.?

Which takes me back to the jeans and t-shirt; these two garments say so much about the wearer. On a scale of style, from authority through to approachability, jeans are at the very bottom of the scale. When you wear jeans (or any kind of denim) you will come across as relaxed, casual and informal. But why? Well, jeans have never shaken off their reputation as workwear. They were first worn in the eighteenth century, by the slaves working on cotton plantations. By the 1940s they were more widely worn, by American soldiers when they were off duty. What finally made denim fashionable, was James Dean?s jeans-wearing teenage rebel ? so began the trend for jeans being a cool, edgy piece of casual clothing.

A lot of people adore jeans and would probably feel like they?d had their right arm chopped off if they were taken away. Natasha Kaplinsky isn?t one of them. Her personality screams out sophisticated, aloof and regal ? not a hair out of place. Dress her up in a power suit and she?s completely aligned, both inside and out. Stick her in a pair of jeans and she becomes dull, ordinary and, horror of horrors, approachable. As if that wasn?t bad enough a t-shirt, unstructured, with no collar, is the most casual garment there is.?

So we all waited with baited breath to see how Natasha would look on her first news bulletin and, surprise, surprise, there was not a patch of denim in sight. She perched uneasily on the edge of an enormous, jolly looking sofa dressed in a matching shirt and trousers. She wasn?t in a power suit, but Natasha was taking no chances. The collar of her crisp shirt showed authority ? something that a t-shirt would certainly have stripped her of. Both shirt and trousers were a deep chocolate brown colour, this was no coincidence as dark colours present a more seriousness and professional image. She looked elegant, stately and most definitely in charge.

There are two really important lessons we can all learn from Natasha Kaplinsky. The way you dress defines who you are. Whenever we present ourselves to the world it?s what we look like that creates the strongest and most memorable impression. So make sure you are letting your image do most of the talking. It?s also important to be true to who you are on the inside. By all means follow fashion but make sure that what you?re wearing suits your personality as well as your body shape.

Be true to yourself and you?ll always be authentic, inside and out!