Before we go any farther, go look at yourself in the mirror. Use a full-length one if you have it. Go ahead. What are you wearing?

Blue jeans and a t-shirt? Sweats? Pajamas?

In the house is one thing. What do you wear when you go out in public? The same thing?

Stop right there!

Jeans and a t-shirt are okay to wear, depending. Unless you're going to the gym, don't wear pajamas. Never, under any circumstances, wear your pajamas out of the house unless there's a fire in the middle of the night.

If you think it's just me, think again. Look at all the people around you in line at the bank, at the grocery store, or in line dropping your children off at school. How many of them do you see wearing their pajamas?

You think you don't wear your PJs in public? You say you wear lounge pants instead?

Let's get one thing straight: Lounge pants = pajamas. End of discussion.

You think I'm the one in the minority, disliking pajamas/lounge pants in public? On almost any episode of What Not to Wear on TLC, you can hear Stacy London and Clinton Kelly talk about the same thing.

Moving on from pajamas: Sweats.

I personally have nothing against sweats. I have some I wear when the weather is cold. But here's the key: I don't wear them anywhere but to the gym or around the house.

Neither should you.

Sweats--pants and shirts--are too comfortable. I see nothing wrong with being comfortable. If you're like me, though, and even a little overweight, the only thing sweats do for you is to make you feel frumpy and look dumpy. They don't give you any shape and add lumps where you most likely don't have any. Plus, since there isn't any support and the elastic waists continue to give, they can accommodate an increasing belly. Nobody looks good in skin-tight clothes, no matter what clothes or what size.

Everybody wears jeans and t-shirts, right? True. But look at the t-shirt you wear. There's a difference between a tailored, nice shirt and one of the commercial t-shirts with slogans on them. Let's not talk about the blue jeans. Just make sure they fit and know that dark, straight-legged jeans are better than light, tapered ones. With all the "nots" what do you wear?

Here are some tips for you:

• Avoid horizontal stripes, particularly wide ones. Horizontal stripes widen. Vertical and chevron stripes lengthen.
• Don't wear pants or jeans with tapered legs. If you wear tapered legs, you run the risk of looking like a giant ice-cream cone. That's not a good look for anyone.
• Wear straight cut jeans and pants. These fall straight from the hip and give a long line to your leg, creating an overall slimming effect.
• Wear jackets/blazers instead of bulky sweatshirts. Layering can contribute to a slimming effect. Watch out for the cut and styling there, too, though. Too long and they cut you at an odd level, shortening the look. To create an hourglass effect, look for jackets and blazers that create a back-to-back "C" with the seams when you look at it from the back.

These are only a few tips to help you (and me) look better. They're not that hard to follow. I'll see what I can do about finding more tips for you.