'When you wear a dress with a waistband and a pencil skirt, your posture is guaranteed for the rest of the day'
Since the days of arguments over leaving homework until Sunday night, it has been drummed into us all that delayed gratification is the secret of success. But it's so square. I mean: snore. Except now it's 2013, everyone's on the 5:2 diet and delayed gratification is zeitgeisty cocktail party chat, so it is time to jump on the bandwagon.
When you come to think of it, though, serious fashionistas have always gone in for delayed gratification, and not just the starving-yourself kind. For instance, packing. The diligent put in the work in advance of their holiday. What they absolutely do not do is tip a bag of summer clothes into their suitcase (along with a black cardigan, on the basis that it works with everything) and then add a carrier bag of Accessorize hats and scarves at the airport. Oh no.
Instead, they plan their outfits with a strategic vision that would shame a chess champion. They decide on a "colour palette" for the trip – neutrals and blues, say – and stick to it in everything they pack, so every piece works together. Stereotypically joyless fashionista behaviour, right? Except they are the ones enjoying their holiday and basking in the glow of Instagram glory for weeks after, while the rest of us spend every evening in the same black cardie we wore in Kefalonia the summer of Captain Corelli's Mandolin.
Delayed gratification also pays dividends on a daily basis. What I am wearing today is a structured day dress, which is a case in point. You might think the easiest thing to wear on a busy day would be a loose dress; something basic and comfortable. But while a structured dress might be slightly more effort to put on – what with doing up the zip, and not being able to take the stairs three at a time when the toast is burning – it will save you time and effort the rest of the day. When you wear a dress with a waistband and a pencil skirt, your posture is guaranteed all day. And at 4.30pm, when you are clean out of poise and presence, and have another meeting to go to, a structured dress can carry you through. It will walk the walk for you, in other words. Delayed gratification is the secret of success. And you don't even have to skip breakfast, although the toast might be a bit burnt.
• Jess wears dress, £699, by Preen, from fenwick.co.uk. Sandals, £42, asos.com.
Styling: Melanie Wilkinson. Hair and makeup: Tonee Roberio using Mac Cosmetics.