If you think you’re one of those who looks fantastic in sportswear, JD Sports may be looking for you. They are searching out “real people with real style” to replace their usual models for their next promotional campaign. Using Facebook and an app that allows people to log in, enter themselves, or friends in the contest, and vote on the winners, they will choose a top twenty potential models, who will be whittled down to the final eight winners.

To look good in sports clothing, it’s important to wear items that are properly weather-appropriate. Clothing should keep you warm, but not trap sweat, allow you to move freely and – to look really good – be in colours and styles that make the most of your features.

Consider the winter sports look by layering. A bright-coloured polo-shirt looks great worn under a fleece and allows good arm muscles to be revealed without the goose bumps marring the appearance of the would-be model. Pink, orange and bright green are good colours to wear, although if you have an excellent tan and good teeth, a pure white polo-shirt or T-shirt may give an impression of extra health.

For women, wearing long shorts with trainers is a good move, as this is considered to be one of the hot looks for 2012, so showing how well you can work the look may move you into the shortlisted twenty.

According to Richard Sutcliffe, writing in the Yorkshire Post last week, chat in Sofia city’s bars after the England match covered three topics, the match, the price of beer (dirt cheap!) and ‘the mess the new away shirt looked’ with complaints suggesting the watching fans thought it was ‘more like a polo shirt rather than a team shirt’.

Really?

This came as something of a surprise to me, given that the last time I stood on the terraces (admittedly, back in the days when Alan Shearer had hair) men did not discuss fashion. Even sports fashion.

So I went looking for some evidence of this new discussion subject, and found it almost straight away: Nick Carbone writing in Time magazine points out that the language used to discuss men’s fashion is not very masculine. The idea of a ‘murse’ as seen on the catwalk this year (man+purse = murse) is apparently cringe-making to the average chap.

He also points out that market research group NPD claim that men’s clothing spending rose 4.6% in the first half of 2011, while women’s spending dropped 0.8%.

So it’s a subject of discussion (vocabulary allowing) and a big share of the market, but what are men really focused on?

Clothing that makes them look fit is the key requirement, apparently. Which is why the new football strip was such a disappointment. Each time there’s a new strip, it give the average man a change to wear some new styles without admitting to fashion interest. V-necks for example sell in much greater quantities whenever England are in the World Cup, as it legitimises ordinary men to wear a long-sleeved, v-necked top without feeling embarrassed. Similarly, long socks, snoods, gloves and short shorts all get purchased and worn much more readily when Beckham, Rooney, Ferdinand etc have demonstrated their usefulness on the pitch.

It’s the time of year when teenagers migrate to their new homes: student dorms, digs, shared flats and other accommodation where they will live (and maybe learn) for the next few years.

New students are easy to spot: they arrive laden with possessions and with Mum and Dad in tow – some have packed the family cars to the roof, others have even hired a van to help them move in, but how useful is all that equipment?

This year it seems there are fewer flat screen TVS and smaller cases of new clothing as the recession continues to bite. Vast amounts of new stationery have been purchased though: retailers report good sales although all more towards the ‘essentials’ than the ‘luxury’ end of the market.

In the USA, students (and their parents) are expected to spend $808 on clothing, electronic items and furnishings for their first year of college life in 2011 and Edinburgh University reckons students should budget on spending around £13 a week on clothes.

All students are looking for ways to stretch their budgets and seeking out good deals and saving money on college clothing can help them, and their parents, to make the best of the money available.

Ensuring that a student has a sensible coat and boots that will keep them warm and dry in a climate that may be unfamiliar to them, and summer clothing that can double as simple sportswear all help save money on the long run.

Choose T-shirts that can be worn to the bar or to play a game of football, and polo-shirts that double up for seminar attendance, cinema trips and attending interviews for part-time jobs to boost the budget. Ensuring the student has lots of socks and underwear can really help them save money on laundry (and maybe even mean they don’t save up all their dirty washing to bring home with them) and some parents are buying in bulk so that they can replace stained or shredded T-shirts when those rare visits home occur. It means that they can be sure their child has clothing that coordinates together and is easy to wash and wear.

Don’t let your new student take a printer to college until they’ve investigated the costs of printing on campus – with student union cards, many colleges and academic libraries can print reports and papers more cheaply than the student can.

The typical British summer has kicked in, turning the heat of early July into blustery dampness with chill breezes. It’s tough to know what to wear – too much formality looks strait-laced, too little clothing can look tarty or chavvy, depending on gender.

Long-sleeved T-shirts are one of the simplest answers to the problem of summer temperature changes. Worn alone, or with a vest T-shirt over the top, a long sleeve Tee can help balance out the weather. As the temperature rises, you can push up the sleeves and take off the vest, but as chills kick in again, you can replace your extra layer and pull down the sleeves to give yourself some more warmth.

Long sleeve T-shirts look good with a peasant skirt for women, particularly for summer casual events like beach parties, garden events and barbecues, while men can boost their summer sun appeal by teaming a long sleeved teeshirt with shorts for a yacht-based nautical style.

British retailers are reporting a zoom in sales of sportswear, particularly the items being seen in the 2012 Olympic adverts on TV (interestingly, there seems to be a surge in purchases of red hair dye too, since Phillips Idowu has been seen sprinting through a shop to buy his signature flame red brand!) but how does should average or less athletes approach the idea of looking good in sportswear.

Obviously your saggy old kit isn’t going to do the job. Most of us would benefit from an upgrade: our baggy T-shirts replaced by crisp new V-neck tees, our old trackies boosted into stylish shorts, but be careful – some styles work only for the ultra-fit. Lycra cycling shorts should be left for those who are at medal status: most of us look better in something that has a more generous cut like mid-length shorts. Running vests and tank tops look fantastic on both men and women too, but only if you have toned arms and abs, otherwise it’s better to cover your deficiencies with a short-sleeved polo-shirt that is kinder to your wobbly bits.

Remember to wear a hat and to wash it regularly so it doesn’t get a sweat ring. Baseball caps are best for sunny weather but those who work out early in the morning may find a snug beanie hat more suitable.

A business journal in Edmonton, Canada has put a new item of clothing to the smart-casual test. Can yoga pants (often still called jog pants in the UK)be worn to the office?

The vote was divided. Several personal shoppers and style gurus reckon that they are fit only for the gym and that they look boring. Other complaints were that they are both too sexy and too casual and suggest a woman who isn’t credible and lacks authority.

On the other hand, for the larger women, there was an argument to be made. The generous cut of wide leg yoga pants was considered to be acceptable, especially if worn with a smart shirt and wide belt. For the smaller woman, leggings or smart trousers were definitely considered preferable.

In some professions, such as teaching and semi-medical settings, the yoga pants were definitely a hot favourite with women who had to bend and stretch and deal with settings in which they were fetching and carrying.

When wearing this kind of casual bottom, a fitted top is essential maybe a camisole with a smart blazer or a bright short-sleeved shirt, but there still seems to be a wide division over whether yoga pants count as business-wear or not.

For the past decade, breathable fabrics have been key to developing new forms of clothing for sport and leisure, and this process has been extended by the work of the internationally famous Hohenstein Institute in Bönnigheim. Now they have a way of measuring the way a body interacts with clothing in a process called body mapping with comfort zones which will allow manufacturers to use different textiles for different parts of a garment, so that sportswear becomes more comfortable, baby wear (for example) becomes more absorbent and casual wear becomes less likely to crease or crumple in significant areas.

This could mean a polo shirt with a self starching collar, wicking under the arms to take up any sweat, and a crease resistant midriff area so that concertina lines don’t appear when somebody stands up after several hours at their desk.

It could also mean women’s T-shirts with built in bras that are designed to support different cup sizes and underarm areas that are super-strong in T-shirts worn for sport or super stain resistant in clothing designed for clubbing: no more yellow stains showing up under nightclub lights!

Now contestants have moved to the judges’ houses, there’s a lot of press attention on the audition clothes.  Cher Lloyd performed Get Your Swag On but a lot of attention was focused on her jeans rather than her voice, and she’s admitted that her gritty urban look was a personal achievement: she ripped her jeans herself!

According to the Daily Mirror, Matt Cardle had the winning voice for his amazing rendition of The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face, but some people think he let himself down on the appearance front in a cap and check work-shirt, or as the newspaper put it ‘Next time, he might even change out of his work clothes’.

The contestant whose clothing drew most criticism, along with her lifestyle, was Chloe Mafia, who’s been kicked off the show and is now doing the rounds of TV shows defending her behaviour. The Daily Mail says that she appeared on breakfast TV wearing a ‘tacky pink bra-top and matching tracksuit bottoms’ but that was better than her last TV appearance where she was seen rolling up for a day’s rehearsal, wearing the same clothes as the previous day and apparently reeking of vodka.

This year’s contestants were definitely in dress-down mode for the most part, some of the boys wore cargo shorts for the call-back, which was a new departure and there were many striped T-shirts on show during the dance segments. Girls still went for the little black dress a lot, but Gamu Nhengu rang the audition changes with a waistcoat over her T-shirt and a flower in her hair: if she carries on being a favourite, you can expect to see lots of this look in the High Street. Women can try it themselves with a white T-shirt under a sleeveless fleece and a silk rose in your hair or stitched to each end of your scarf.

Well according to a Japanese newspaper, Sunday Mainich, it’s the latest subject of debate amongst young Japanese women, or as the paper puts it ‘Many women take an interest in men’s nipples …through their linen shirts or polo shirts.’

Apparently, one unnamed female journalist says she likes men with larger nipples because ‘… a guy with little nipples is also a little man in other ways’. Perhaps it’s just me being cynical, but I can’t help wondering if that the ‘unnamed female journalist’ also writes for the newspaper that published the article,

Anyway a cosmetic surgeon, Tatsuro Kamakura, says that he has performed a number of nipple reduction operations in the past couple of years and that men want smaller nipples because they get embarrassed when their children say that Daddy’s boobs are as big as Mummy’s. Another topic discussed in the article is men bras.

So if you are concerned to show your nipples to the ladies, how is it best achieved?

Choose a white shirt, or a white or pale blue T-shirt to give a hint of nipple without being too brazen.

And if you prefer to conceal your manly attractions?

Consider wearing a vest under your T-shirt to provide a level of concealment, or ensure that your casual clothing is dark enough to be completely opaque around the chest area: dark stripes will do the job, as will a layered T-shirt that offers some extra protection for your masculine charms.

Women in particular know that a summer look combines style and comfort, and long sleeved T-shirts can be a real boon, especially when British weather can be so unpredictable.

This year the look is  very much long sleeve T-shirt with maxi skirts, as an alternative to the maxi dress, or alternatively, relaxed fit long sleeved T-shirts with Capri pants for a cute but not too casual appearance. If the weather really turns nasty, you can even layer a short sleeved T-shirt or a pretty vest over a long sleeved one, to add warmth without bulk. Plain long sleeve T-shirts look especially good with a bold tribal or bright summery necklace as the round neck can make a simple setting for dramatic jewellery.

They are a particularly good choice to wear for work in summer, because they can look smart without being too frilly. Team long-sleeved T-shirts with lightweight trousers for a good casual office look, and pack a pair of shorts in you bag so that you can change into them and catch a few rays in your lunch break.