There are always  photographs of various celebrities taking their children to school, dressed in high fashion clothes that most of us would never wear, at any time of the day, let alone first thing in the morning.  Most of us are highly stressed at this time, trying to organise the rest of our family so they arrive at their destination, dressed, fed and with the right equipment, leaving very little time to organise ourselves.

Some women are very formally dressed in the playground because they are either on their way to or returning from work.  These women have to make time for their own prepartion and must get up extremely early in the morning to achieve all that needs to be done. It is quite rural where I live, so some mums and dads, who are farmers, pick their children up in their work clothes.

Some mornings I do the school run (dare I admit it!) in my gym kit because I go straight to the gym from school.  My kit of course is all in colours that really suit me and in styles that flatter my body shape.

Most of the other mums at school are usually dressed in a variation on the “jean theme” with either boots or ballet pumps, depending on the season.

I always think it is nice to make a bit of an effort to look nice even for the school run, but if my morning routine is anything to go by, week day mornings with children are a hectic part of the day, with little time for yourself once you have found the lost shoe, done the packed lunches and finally marshalled everybody to the door.

However, with just a little pre planning, you can still do all the above and spend five minutes just making yourself a little more glamorous.  Firstly, there is nothing wrong with jeans.  Jeans can look fantastic as long as they are the right fit for your body shape.  Just teaming your jeans with a colourful sweater or t-shirt (in your best colours of course), and a nice pair of shoes or boots can transform the look.

A quick coat of mascara, with eye pencil and a brush of lipstick in a colour that really flatters, takes about two minutes and can make you look as though you spent hours getting ready in the morning. If like me, you are on your way to the gym, make sure your sweatshirt and yoga pants are a good colour and style for you and although you look casual, you still look good.

During the winter months, if you really struggle to get out of bed early enough each morning, why not invest in a great looking coat that you can just put on over your pyjamas.....no one will ever know!