JOANNE Watkinson

Having felt inspired by a stunning Christopher Esber design (£790), I recently decided to order one of the ‘cut-out’ dresses that are around at the moment.

I chose a fairly subtle style: long sleeves, calflength, loose-fit skirt. The only cut-outs I could see on the picture were small diagonal slits. On the model they exposed just a slither of rib cage. ‘On the model’ being the operative term here.

The dress arrived a sort of chartreuse-olive colour. So far so good, but it was all downhill from there on in – the slits are better described as gaping holes, positioned perilously close to the bust area meaning any movement at all meant I was a tad exposed, and I’m no Dolly Parton.

Was this the design flaw to end all design flaws? Or was I… (the ellipsis will never be the same after the Wagatha Christie saga) too old for this dress?

After arranging the offending number’s immediate return, I took to a well-known search engine and typed in ‘famous 40-year-old females’. For context, if you are one of the few people who I haven’t yet told,

I turn 40 imminently.

Should I be dressing age-appropriately? Is that even a thing?

The list of fellow 40-year-olds included Kirsten Dunst, Anne Hathaway and Jessica Biel, then BOOM, Sienna Miller.

From her Noughties boho era, to her 60s vibe, Sienna has been a trendsetter since she turned up at Glastonbury in 2004 in neon sunglasses with a coin belt around her mini dress. In the past 10 years, following a move to NYC and becoming a mum, Sienna’s bohemian look has evolved – fewer accessories and lots of easy-fit tailoring.

Stalking her style isn’t easy, the Anatomy of a Scandal star doesn’t post on her Instagram account @siennathing.

Thankfully she appears on plenty of red carpets wearing her version of off-beat glamour and was recenty pictured, inset, at a pre-Oscars party hosted by Chanel, wearing highwaisted wide-leg leather trousers and a cropped cardigan, exposing not her stomach but a large portion of her ribcage.

She looked youthful and not at all inappropriate.

The cut-out dress might have been a major fail. I’m down, but not out.

This rib-cage has a few years left in it yet. Just ask Sienna.