She’s a style icon thanks to her most famous character, Dynasty’s Alexis Carrington Colby,  Dame Joan Collins has offered up some fashion tips that have helped her throughout the years.

The British actress flew into Ireland today to officially unveil a collection representing her life and career at Newbridge Silverware’s Museum of Style Icons in Co Kildare.

The Dame, who was wearing a cream outfit she created herself and counts Ralph Lauren and Michael Kors among her favourite designers, said the best style advice she could ever give is to dress for your body shape.

‘Accentuate the positive and eliminate the negative. So, make use of and put emphasis on the good parts of your body. If you have great shoulders, wear pieces that accentuate them and cover up your legs, or vice versa,’ she told EVOKE.ie.

And while she still looks as glamourous as ever, the beauty admitted she’s not too keen on 21st century trends: ‘Don’t follow fashion slavishly, because most fashion today is pretty ugly. I don’t particularly like today’s fashion. I think I’ve lived in the wrong era. I would’ve loved to live in the 1920s and 1930s, or the eighteenth century, because I love how the women looked then.’

‘Today I think women are under pressure to look like they haven’t bothered, which is not my style,’ she said.

The Collection of Dame Joan Collins is on display at the Museum of Style Icons in Newbridge until November 8.

Highlights include some of Collins’ own wardrobe, as well as costumes she famously wore on screen in hit show Dynasty.

By Laura Butle