What is it about French women and their sense of style? How do they make skinny blue jeans teamed with a short coat and a pair of runners look like an outfit that’s straight from the pages of Vogue?

Coco Chanel was a style leader who has stood the test of time. She created the Breton look and I doubt there’s a woman in the country who doesn’t own a stripy navy and white top, which was inspired by Chanel. She also gave us the little black dress – another great wardrobe stalwart. And as for those adorable two-piece suits, well they are just timeless.

I’m contemplating the French sense of style because every time I see the new French first lady on television or the papers, my jaw just drops in total awe at her appearance. Forget Melina Trump, Kate Middleton or Amal Clooney, the new style icon has to be Brigitte Trogneux.

This woman majors in high heels, navy cigarette slim trousers, above-the-knee A-line dresses and good handbags. She favours greys, blues and strong colour blocking with pastel shades. Great hair, sparkling white teeth, a size 10 figure and a tan complete the look.

If this woman was the same age as her husband (39) she’d be stunning, but she is 64 and a grandmother and looks incredible. It’s a look that’s not forced or false and nor does she appear to be high maintenance. This is a real woman who will certainly make any woman over the age of 50 take a good, hard look at themselves.

Being stylish is an art and some women are just born with it. I have three sisters and we all agree that if Carmel was wearing a sack she’d still look a million dollars. That couldn’t be said for the rest of us. I don’t think you can learn to be stylish, you just are. It’s not about money or labels or even body shape.

A couple of weeks ago, the Newcastlewest Business Association had fashion stylist Gok Wan give a style demonstration. A lady from the audience looked for advice on how to improve her appearance. The first thing he did was check her bra straps. Sure enough, he could pull them up six inches off her shoulders. After adjusting them, suddenly she was a more defined shape. He added a belt to her outfit and she had a waist. Add a smile to defined shoulders and a waist and that’s all people notice, he said. Brigitte Trogneux has all this and more and, if you like a bit of style, she is certainly one to watch.

Last week I was in Carlow for a meeting of the South East Women in Agriculture group. It was a good, informative meeting with lots of questions from the floor. In one session, we were divided into groups of six and each person in the group had two minutes to talk about a farming story that had happened to them. The best story from each group then got told to everyone.

I thought it was a great ice-breaker and ensured that by the end of the night everyone had spoken – something which doesn’t happen at most meetings. It’s certainly a tactic I’d recommend other groups to consider doing as well. CL