Dear annie

I have a wonderful cotton coat that I bought years ago. It's black cotton jersey and I wear it with everything. The problem is that I went to a dinner party and the hostess put my coat on a chair that was underneath a candle and now I have candle wax all over it I've tried picking it off but it doesn't work. Should I wash it?

Sue Paige, Southampton

5 Sue the stupid hostess. Damn nuisance. Nah, don't bother picking it off and don't wash it. What you do is put some brown paper over it and iron it. The wax will melt and be absorbed by the brown paper and will disappear from your beloved coat. Make sure the iron is clean (when it's cool) before you use it again and next time make sure the dippy hostess trying to recreate a scene from Dracula has a proper place to hang your coat. Damn nuisance.

I really love wearing stockings and suspenders but can't wear them with some tight things as they show through. Hold-ups are good but they don't seem to flatter me: they dig into my thighs and then the fat seems to splodge out over the top. Hardly sexy.

Georgina Roberts, Esher

5 No. Hold-ups are great if you have perfect rock-solid legs, but anything normal or human spills out over the thin lacey top like cream out of a greedily consumed chocolate eclair. When you can't wear stockings and suspenders try the Rolls-Royce of hold-ups - Elbeo's Luxury Sheer Satine Lace-Top Hold Ups which have a lovely shimmer to them, are available in two sizes, are 10 denier and come in black, barely black, white and champagne from department stores nationwide, enquiries 01623 552500. They have about five inches of lace at the top, which is much more flattering than cheap ones with 2mm of lace because they don't clutch at your leg like a tourniquet. Thus the hold-up quality is much gentler.

You seem very good on bra-related questions. I have a size 34D bust and want to wear a Wonderbra, but they only go up to a cup size C. Just because I have a D-cup bosom doesn't mean I don't also want to wear a Wonderbra.

D Collins, Derby

5 Being a bit greedy aren't you? Only joking. Well the good news is that Wonderbras now go up to a D-cup. Or you may want to follow the advice of the American writer (and bosom and flirt expert) Dianne Brill and get a cup size smaller and a chest size bigger than you would normally wear (ie in your case a 36C). Hasn't done her any harm. And yes, if I had a pound for every bra-related question I was asked I'd be really rich, so if anyone has a bra-related problem, please send pounds 1 in with your query.

If I buy only one leather jacket this season,what shape should it be?

R Lyle, Hayes (Ms)

5 Something very fitted and simple. Karen Millen have done a superb fitted one in highest quality Italian cowhide (best leather apparently comes from Italian cows) with zip front which costs pounds 350. It is very Bond Girl meets the Avengers and is available from their branches nationwide in sizes 8-14, enquiries 01622 664032. Or Warehouse have a double breasted, black, fitted, belted hipster jacket at pounds 140, which is also lovely, though its styling is slightly more conservative so would suit the older woman or the one who doesn't have fantasies to look like Purdey. From selected branches nationwide in sizes small, medium and large in black only, enquiries 0181 910 1400.

I am going on holiday with some new friends to the Virgin Islands and I am keen to impress. I have a pretty good figure with a touch of cellulite on my upper thighs. I'd like to know about some good expensive swimsuits that have one of those little skirts attached that would disguise this.

Kathryn Hart, Hampshire

5 I'm not sure what you seriously expect me to advise you. Chanel/Versace/Donna Karan have done some fantastic swimsuits that will spare your embarrassment? Maybe they have, but you have a pretty good figure and a bit of cellulite. Sod it and show it off. Do you really care? Do your friends really care? Remember that starving people do not have the luxury of cellulite. Cellulite is due to too much good living and not enough exercise and I don't give a toning-table toss who says otherwise. Donate your holiday to a good cause, get off your butt and get it moving. But I doubt you'll do any of these. So why not stick pounds 50 notes over the offending area. That way people will know that you are filthy rich, and will be too bothered being your new best friends to notice a bit of podge.

I have a long satin pale pink skirt which I would like to get more wear out of. How can I make it look more casual?

L Holderness, Edinburgh (Miss)

5 Wearing satin, essentially an evening fabric, during the day became big fashion news a couple of years ago and is still going strong today. Long satin skirts such as the one you have look great with little angora jumpers (Racing Green tel: 0345 331177 and Marks & Spencer do some good ones) or big sloppy joe type jumpers. With biker boots or lace-up ankle boots, you can wear this skirt comfortably during the day.