Avoid crimes of fashion by learning how to work the trickiest of this season's trends.

From see-through fabrics to volumnous skirts, when it comes to following fashion trends it is important to select styles and cuts carefully that are appropriate for both your age and your shape. Many designs this year tend to favor the younger set and are tricky to wear but it is possible for more mature women to work the look, by applying a few of the following tips:

Man-Style Dressing

Think oversized man blazers and pleated pants. The slightly bulky, double breasted box-jacket is back, but this time to be worn over skinny jeans and cigarette pants. To work this look you need to think lean and sexy. Don’t wear it with a skirt unless you want to look as if you haven’t moved on from the ‘80s, but take a tip from Gwyneth Paltrow’s fashion book and throw it over a ruffle dress for an unexpected twist. According to Ellecanada.com, “if you only buy one thing this year make it a structured menswear inspired jacket.”

Nautical and Naval

Play it safe with sailor chic or risk the gangplank with Jean Paul Gaultier’s pirate versions, with swashbuckling jodhpurs and gathered blouses.

Nautical navys, reds and sailor whites add a touch of class but keep the look edgy and not boring. Pirated booty should be worn with caution for risk of being mistaken as a drop out from a fancy-dress party. If you don’t go overboard for the trend then consider a nautical barrel bag, a hot item this season.

Ombré Dip-Dye

The ombré dyeing trend (color beeding) has taken on a chic and elegant feel this season, with maxi dresses, minis, jumpsuits and full-on skirts from Zoran Dobric, Diane Von Furstenberg and Alexander McQueen. Given its versatility, this is a trend which is getting hotter by the moment, according to Shop Til U Drop magazine, April 2008.

If you want a more hippy, Janis Joplin look then incorporate its younger sister, the tie-dye into your wardrobe.

Virtually any age can wear an ombré dress, especially in the form of a glamorous Grecian gown. Ombré sundresses are chic enough to take you from brunch to bar, but if you are 30-something or above, leave the tie-dyed versions for the beach.

Ruffles

This season’s ruffles and fringes look great on a boyish figure, but if you are closer to an apple shape (big bust and stomach) then do ruffles in moderation. If you are pear-shaped, then concentrate the ruffles on your top half to draw attention away from your bottom and hips. There are ruffled a plenty for both summer and the coming fall so watch for high street stores to take on an even more ruffled look.

If you are more mature go for sleek, simple lines with touch of ruffle. Avoid tiered miniskirts and toughen up frilly blouses with a man-style pair of pants. Whether it is a ruffly blouse or a ruffle skirt, don’t overdo the bling. Keep accessories simple and let the ruffles do the talking.

Sheer and Transparent

A tricky trend if ever there was one! Whilst transparent designer collections such as Marc Jacobs and Jill Stuart are hailed by the fashion indistry as trendy and chic, for most women over the age of twenty-two, showing off your underwear is never classy! However, with the appropriate intimate apparel (e.g a pair of boys’ shorts or nude colored underwear), this see-through look can be glamorous; the secret is down to layering. The downside is that sheer fabrics are not particularly forgiving when it comes to hiding those lumps and bumps.

In addition to see-through tops and blouses, the transparency trend is gaining momentum with pretty sheer-layered dresses, skirts and even pants. Retain your dignity by wearing a camisole or vest under a transparent blouse and wear see-through skirts and dresses over opaque slips or shorts.

Volumnous (or Full Flow) Skirts

“When it comes to skirts,” says the Telegraph in its article "Notes on a Trend," 26 March 2008, “only the full and flowing will do this spring.” Seasonal runways have been full of bouncy, flouncy full-flow skirts but whilst this style oozes femininity, it can be a little girlie unless teamed with more classic, sophisticated pieces. Keep skirts sitting high on your waist, all other (less fussy) pieces fitted, and show off your shape by cinching everything in with a belt.

Avoid the balloon look by carefully selecting a length to suit your frame, knee-length or just below are elegant and give you a feminine feel. Embrace the elegance of designers’ Carolina Herrera and Donna Karan’s pieces.

A full flowing skirt, whether designer or high street, is a summer must-have; but choose the length wisely. Save short minis for the younger set and go for a full length or just-below the knee, to reflect a ripening in years! Work it with a simple feminine, fitted top, so as not to swamp your figure. For fall 2008, these volumnous skirts continue to be a major feature of runway collections. Gavin Douglas give skirts a new lease of life by adding swishing, crinoline lining.

Other pieces to get the volume treatment this season are cocktail dresses, sundresses, trenchcoats and tops.