Top knots

Winter is a good time to focus attention on your haircut, colour and styling. Darker coloured clothing and grey days draw attention to hair that is dull, out of condition or simply the wrong colour. So getting a professional to re-assess your look can be money well spent.

The ball season is also in full swing, so glamour is part of the winter equation. Hair trends for red carpet events are all about sophisticated "up-dos". So, Canvas enlisted hairdresser Paul Serville to give our model Jodie a fresh new cut and colour, and Olivia Noble, a member of the Servilles International Creative Team, to create some chic hairstyles that will take you down the red carpet in style...

Jodie's hair colour was a light golden blonde with long, noticeable dark roots. Although the bright colour was striking, it did not compliment her natural complexion. To discover what colour would suit Jodie best, Paul used his Opticolour process. This involved looking into Jodie's eyes with a microscope, focusing on the small area surrounding the pupil, where you can see a person's individual melanin makeup and determine what hues will complement and enhance their skin tone, eye colour and natural hair shade. Jodie's melanin had warm flecks of gold, copper and strawberry, suggesting strawberry blonde, a match for her subtle freckles, would be the ideal hair colour. This was confirmed by shining a light on Jodie's re-growth and eyebrows to see her true hair colour. Jodie's hair colour was then warmed up with shades of rich strawberry blonde, gold and copper. For the cut, Paul decided to keep the length, but cut in some soft edges to subtly frame her face and add interest to her look.

1. If you don't want to go for an up-do, their are plenty of alternatives. In Jodie's case, bigger was better - with soft curls to create volume, and texture added to give movement. Alternative evening styles could be soft romantic vintage Hollywood-style waves, which are trendy now. For either look, a little lift at the roots is necessary for a polished finish. You can also sweep hair to one side and wear it over one shoulder for an up-to-the-minute look. A gorgeous hair clip can anchor it in place.

* Nicole Miller full length evening dress with beaded dress and plaited straps ($1198) from Modes. Antique Turkish handmade bead and coin necklace ($525) from Shellshock. Gilt stool, cushions and sequinned backdrop to hire from First Scene.

2. Braiding is winter's biggest hair trend. Plaits can be worked into either a smooth high fashion look, or a more relaxed, messy do. Olivia braided Jodie's own hair close to her front hairline, and then wrapped a plait around the bun on her crown.

* Nicole Miller full length evening dress with beaded front panel decorated with large crystals ($1898) from Modes. Samantha Wills crystal and bead chandelier earrings ($159.75).

3 An architectural top knot is the most fashion forward look. Olivia achieved this by pulling back Jodie's hair into a sleek ponytail, then twisting and rolling the tail forward, anchoring it at strategic points with hair grips. The quiff is also a very stylish look. This is a nod to the 80s, and should be both strong and punkish, with lots of teasing to give it lift and volume at the front and on the crown.

* Sera Lily coral satin short dress ($375). Samantha Wills coral enamel chandelier earrings ($212.60).