My 16-year-old daughter constantly mocks my clothes. Now I’ve discovered the brands even she deigns to borrow – but that don’t make me look like mutton dressed as lamb, reveals 45-year-old SYBILLA HART

As a mother to three daughters, I can confirm that there is no fashion critic harsher than a teenage girl. My beloved daughters – Beatrice, 16, Florence, 14, and Celestia, 11 – could sometimes give Anna Wintour a run for her money.

Their opinion of my ability to put together an outfit is so low that one night I was headed to a 1980s Jilly Cooper-style party wearing a shoulder-padded, shocking pink fuchsia jacket and leather trousers and they didn’t realise I was in fancy dress.

The ultra-stylish Bea, with her low-rise jeans and midriff-showing camisole, is particularly despairing of what she sees as my ‘eccentric’ choice of outfits. The other day she sat me down and told me, ‘You’ve got to take fashion more seriously, Mum,’ while shaking her head. It felt like an intervention.

And maybe she has a point. As a 45-year-old busy mum of five children (I have two sons as well), I am usually in such a rush to get out the door and head off, car keys jangling, that I don’t have time to even peek in the mirror.

Too often I stick in my style lane, in a school-run uniform of skinny Boden jeans, oversized cardigan and snood by day or evening trousers, silk Beulah shirt and Ash boots by night.

There is not much variation in my outfits despite having a wardrobe packed to the gunwales with clothes I am holding onto for the sake of my girls. Though whether they’ll want them is another matter entirely.

Occasionally my daughters will discover what they call an ‘iconic’ item of mine, such as a pale turquoise Bellville Sassoon silk fluted skirt from the 1990s or vintage jacket with a Peter Pan collar, but more often than not they approach my wardrobe with an attitude of bemusement verging on actual distaste.

The week before Mother’s Day, the best present I could ask for would be to find some clothes so stylish even my picky 16-year-old might deign to borrow them.

I’m under no illusions. Laying my hands on clothes that we could both agree on, without her raising her arched eyebrow at me or suggesting blouses that flaunt my mid-life midriff instead of another ‘boring’ silk shirt, won’t be easy.

But with the help of the Daily Mail fashion team, I’m on a mission to find some brands, styles and fabrics that we would both be happy to wear.

The first step is to set aside Minka Dink, Motel Rocks and Brandy Melville, clothing typically favoured by style-conscious teenagers who are a size 6 at most. I wouldn’t mind giving the Minka Dink dual-zip alpaca hoodie a whirl (if they make it in my size), but I think Bea would combust with embarrassment if I went out sporting the ‘it’ teenage brand she and all her friends love.

So I think we’ll sitck with some of my favourite brands such as Beulah London, Boden and ME+EM. Could we find outfits that wouldn’t have Bea eye-rolling in the changing rooms? Are there dresses in similar colours with a youthful twist for her that will still be flattering enough for me? Here we put six brands to the mother-daughter fashion test.

Aspiga

These pink and blue floral dresses looked amazing on and the cut and fabric are excellent – very flattering for me. As someone who is a size 12 with a small to medium sized bust, the flowy Maxi dress fitted me perfectly and I had to keep checking that it wasn’t real silk. I loved the dark lilac matching jacket that you still need in this spring weather. Bea approved (hurrah!) of her wrap dress which gave a more youthful edge.

Rixo 

The cut of these dresses with the delicate buttons is perfect for warmer weather which is hopefully just around the corner.

The quality of the fabric isn’t top notch, but we all agreed that the dresses more than made up for it once they were on. Bea’s dress skimmed over her tiny frame, and had ‘good movement’, she said.

With a jacket and hat in navy or pink, this would make a perfect wedding guest outfit.

ME+EM

The brown and beige print fabric is perfect for Spring/Summer and would look even better with a bit of a tan. I wore a slimming dress that had a SPANX effect over the tummy (phew) and Bea wore a loose fitting crop top. These could be dressed up with oversized earrings or down with chunky sandals. We both agreed the ME+EM clothes were a bit less dressy than the others, but in a good way.

Boden

I loved the heavy ponte print fabric with its deep and generous pockets. The sheer weight of the fabric made it very flattering and Bea thought it made the skirt fall nicely. I didn’t feel remotely self conscious wearing this dress – it’s the sort of thing I could wear out and just get on with having a good time – and eat what I like too. Bea loved her dress but says wouldn’t dream of telling anyone it was from Boden, which, in her words, is a ‘Mums only’ brand.

Beulah London

Beulah, co-founded by my sister Natasha Isaacs, makes ethical silk dresses that to me are the ultimate luxury. 

Thankfully it is a brand that Bea and I always agree on so it was huge fun to wear the Ramona navy heart print matching dress and skirt-blouse set together. Bea loved the shape of the blouse and skirt and I will never tire of the quality of their silk and generous sizing.

River Island

The moment I saw the yellow print style it caught my eye as it’s so fresh and summery. I loved wearing a jumpsuit after what felt like a very long time and Bea’s mini dress was very cute. 

She looked a bit like Cher from Clueless, a style icon we both share. We agreed that these would look fabulous at a summer garden party.