THE MINI IS BACK...

... and guess how old our model is!

LeT’S do a little experiment, shall we? Place a piece of paper over the head of the woman pictured above and just look at the rest of her.

Fabulous, isn’t she? She looks slightly edgy, well put together and ready for anything — wolf whistles, even.

Remove the piece of paper. has your verdict changed? Are you thinking that, given the model is 64, she should be in a droopy tweed skirt, flats and dreary M&S cardigan, hoping to remain invisible? That by wearing a mini, she is mutton dressed as foetus, and who on earth does she think she is? Well, I think she looks fantastic.

There is still much debate about whether Mary Quant

invented the mini in 1964; the French believe André Courrèges got there first. Barbara Hulanicki, who founded the iconic Biba store in 1964, once told me: ‘The crucial difference is that, back then, we didn’t expect to stay young for ever. When you got married, there was no longer any pressure to look young.’

Women were meant to settle down and become mums, which inevitably meant stopping having fun, and covering their knees.

The original mini died in 1968, after four short (literally) years, killed by the Pill (women grew hips) and feminism (women grew brains). And now? We know full well we can wear what we choose. Today, we 50 and 60somethings are a different species to our mums’ generation. We’ve had great nutrition, gyms, Pilates and careers. We’ve lived and laughed. No way in hell are we going to stop now. Just look at the preternaturally ageless Amanda Holden, 50, who braved a mini in January.

The catwalks for spring/summer have unleashed a mini revival — notably Miu Miu, Chanel and Giambattista Valli, which all featured minis, from the preppy to tweed and even bright white. This green pleated version by Karen Millen (far left), and the brown pleated one from Zara (middle) are my favourites. And if you hate your knees, as I do, the Russell & Bromley boots (second from right) are just the ticket.

There is a trick to getting this look right. I never thought I would type this, as I always sport bare legs (even in snow). But with a mini, wear tights — and only black will do; you are not a royal, so avoid anything American Tan or shimmery. And 20-denier plus: you’ll feel more ‘dressed’.

Avoid super-high heels as you’ll come across a bit town-centre-on-a-Friday-night — and, yes, I’d say that to a woman aged 20, too. Have the hem hit the narrowest part of your thigh and, as in these photos, layer volume and coverage elsewhere: a cape, a roll-neck, mannish tailoring.

The best accessory of all, of course, is confidence. Remember, leggings and skinny jeans can be far less forgiving. So if you like your legs, just go for it!

You may have noticed something odd about the Sunday Times Bestseller list lately. Next to James Patterson, Barack obama and other luminaries appears my book, entitled Why Men Love Bitches: From Doormat to Dreamgirl — A Woman’s Guide to Holding Her own in a Relationship.

It appears that my book has gone viral among a new generation of young women, who are sharing their feelings about it on the social media video app TikTok — and sending it shooting up the charts.

So why has it struck a chord with Gen-Z women?

Before I answer this question, I would like to describe how women often behave with men.

Imagine that gender roles were reversed. Imagine men cooked, cleaned and spent ages in front of a mirror trying to look sexy.

Imagine men wanted commitment after a week, and texted a woman 12 times a day to say ‘I miss you XoXo’ with pink heart emojis.

Pretend men said things such as, ‘Where is this relationship going?’ and ‘My biological clock is ticking’.

Try to visualise your lover joining a pole-dancing class so he can do an act for you wearing silk boxers and thighhigh boots. Now hold that thought. Because this is how women are taught to behave with men.

I wrote two bestselling books — Why Men Love Bitches (2003) and Why Men Marry Bitches (2017) — specifically for women who are too nice, needy, nurturing or available. Which is lots of women, because that is how we have been socially conditioned to behave.

until recently, my readers were mostly women in their 30s, 40s and 50s.

BEFORE writing the books, I interviewed hundreds of men — young, old, rich, poor, married, single, highly educated and working- class — to uncover all their male secrets.

I asked them questions such as: ‘What really attracts you? Have you ever ignored a woman on purpose? Did her response push you away or make you want her more? What wins your respect? Does this affect your sexual desire? What is a mental challenge?’ And the most obvious question: ‘Why do men love bitches?’

I soon realised that women have been completely misled.

overwhelmingly, men agreed they were secretly attracted to strong women far more than to subservient yes-women.

When a woman stood up for herself, that was often the moment a man realised he was falling in love with her.

For centuries, women were taught that as long as they were beautiful and performed the right bedroom tricks, a man would pay all the bills and look after them.

I never understood why a man would leave a beautiful woman who would do anything to please him, in favour of a seemingly less attractive woman who appeared to be less accommodating. But men explained it to me — and I shared their insights in my book.

The way men described it, some women’s behaviour gave out a clear message to them. It said: ‘I don’t have my own opinions, including about my own worth. You are the centre of my world.’

In my conversations with men, a woman’s desirability had nothing to do with whether she wore Louboutins or Jimmy Choos, or was brunette or blonde. If she gave off the smell of desperation, he would soon tire of her, even if at first he found her attractive.

one man I spoke with recalled how he fell for his wife the first time they were intimate. But it wasn’t the sex that won him over, it was her independence and emotional self-control.

He picked her up, took her out to dinner and they returned to his flat for their first night of passion. When he woke at 5am, she’d gone. Concerned, he got in his car to look for her and found her nearby, walking briskly to a bus stop. She very sweetly told him she had to work that day, so she was on her way home to change. She didn’t need him to drive her anywhere. of course, he insisted. By the time she had fastened her seatbelt, she had also secured his respect. Her behaviour said: ‘I like you but I don’t need you’ — and, more importantly, ‘My life matters to me and I won’t prioritise you over my basic needs.’

This is a very different message to that given out by a woman who calls in sick to work and serves him breakfast in bed, followed by two hours of cuddle-time. To men, that says: ‘I need you too much.’ It suffocates them.

For today’s young women, my book contains advice they may not have heard before. Depressingly, social media — and life online generally — can be a deeply insecure place for Gen-Z girls.

online dating has made it easy for men to get sex with the swipe of a finger. Teenage girls are ‘sexting’ naked photos to teenage boys, while some online dating sites rate women by how ‘hot’ they are.

Men have coined a phrase to describe what has replaced actual WHeN dates — the euphemistic ‘Netflix and chill’.

When young women discover my advice anew on TikTok, it may be the first time they have read about dignity, confidence, selfworth and not giving themselves away to boys prematurely. And those are important lessons.

My message? Don’t be afraid to stand up for yourself. No man will make you happy, but the right man will add to your happiness. The less needy you are, the more he will want you.

Men love the ‘mental challenge’, as they put it, of an independent woman. Never let anyone shake your faith in yourself.

Acting like a bitch doesn’t mean being mean. It means having the ability to stand up for yourself.

Many TikTokers have contacted me. For example, Sarah elizabeth asked: ‘If you have already been “too nice”, is there any chance to implement the advice of the books after you have made all the mistakes? Is it ever too late?’

I explained that men can be bored one minute and intrigued the next. I remember being on a radio show in London and I asked the male host to describe the one behaviour from a woman that would instantly turn him off.

‘Constant contact,’ he said. If a woman kept texting him for no reason, he would view her as being too needy.

I then asked him: ‘ What if you suddenly stopped hearing from her?’ Instantly, he replied: ‘I’d call her straight away.’

My books tell teenage girls what an overly protective father would say. Teenagers are inclined to ignore parental advice but I come at it like a friend, not a parent.

even so, the effect of my books was summed up perfectly by a father who happened to read one of them before giving it to his daughter. He playfully said: ‘I’d want my daughter to read your books but I would never want my wife to read them.’