Sophie Dahl is ready to ''retire'' her favourite shorts.

The 35-year-old model-and-chef - who has daughters Lyra, two, and Margot, one month, with husband Jamie Cullum - loves teaming an oversized shirt with denim shorts for the summer, but thinks the time has come to stop wearing her most-loved pair because they are quite tight.

She said: ''If you don't want to wear dresses in the summer, you could try my favourite look: a pair of loose denim shorts with an oversized men's cotton shirt and sandals.

Be careful with denim shorts, however, as you don't want anything too fitted if you're of a certain age. I have some very short denim shorts that should probably go into retirement.''

The British beauty admits she sometimes struggles with nice outfits because of the perils of having pale skin.

She told the Daily Telegraph newspaper: ''I lived in New York for 10 years and would always admire the amazing women who would go to fashion shows with bare legs and a short dress - even in the snow. I could never be like that, especially with pale skin: my legs would look like corned beef.

''I only started enjoying summer dressing as an adult; I used to dread it as a teenager because I'm so pale. All my friends would go golden brown while I would be shoved under a tree with a bottle of factor-50 lotion by someone's concerned mum.''