Anyone even vaguely acquainted with Roisin Murphy can’t fail to have noticed that the girl likes her threads. Even her 1996 debut with Moloko – Do You Like My Tight Sweater? – was named after an outfit and, as it happens, her particularly filthy chat-up line to then-collaborator Mark Brydon. Recently, she’s been seen in an increasingly amazing range of directional get-ups. Not least the Viktor and Rolf ‘lighting rig’ dress, for the cover of her deliciously pulsing, disco go-slow, Overpowered. Here’s Roisin, about to cross the road, having done a bit of shopping:

See? Simultaneously out-doing Alison Goldfrapp in the cape department and out-clogging the Dutch - all in one little photo. And here she is again, going for a stroll in the park:

Marvellous.

Now, for some, this sort of high-concept fashion is just silly. But these are the sorts who failed to see the pure pop genius (and humour) of Bjork’s Marjan Pejoski ‘swan’ dress at the Oscars. Yes, of course that was mad. But it was also heaps more interesting than the bias-cut, floor-length, fish-tail satin numbers that the other nominees had been bored and poured into. In any event, we shan’t concern ourselves with the haters here, and will leave them to their yawnsome neutrals and horrible, matchy-matchy rules. We’re going to see how Roisin’s joyful bonkersness can inject some dressing-up box-style pleasure into your wardrobe.

First, I need to take you back, back, back. You’re thirteen, and girl, you’ll be a woman, soon. You have no money, no boyfriend and no responsibility. But you do have – hurrah! - a best friend. I had the pleasure of living next door to mine and so every Saturday, we’d jump on the bus, purses empty, to try on clothes we had no intention of buying. Bored, New Town kids, we didn’t inhabit a social whirl and had no need of ruched, red ra-ra dresses. But we went and tried them on anyway, and it rapidly descended into a game of 80s fashion one-upmanship. Finding Chelsea Girl’s maddest, most impractical get-ups was better than trying on what we were allowed and supposed to. We regularly collapsed on our changing room catwalk in fits. I still do it now.

Which brings me neatly back to County Wicklow’s finest, seen here having a cup of tea and Full English in her local greasy spoon:

So. Does this look like a woman who worries about what is appropriate? No. It looks suspiciously like someone who’s retained her teenage sense of fun and who, as a result, is having a very good time. And who has a disappointingly rare, confident self-image. No slave to Trinny and Suze, no rules, just “Right then, today, I’m going to be Kenny from South Park dipped in a box of pom-poms, and you can all bugger off if you don’t like it. I like it, it makes me smile, and that is enough”. How bloody refreshing.

Roisin also knows that the best thing about fashion is that it allows you to play with who you are. And if, like her, your wardrobe is a dressing-up box, you can be anyone or anything you fancy. Today, an Audrey Horne-o-like: a Twin Peaks teen with pencil skirt and beauty spot. Tomorrow, Lady Sovereign in massive sneaks and a side ponytail. Or next week, as beautifully demonstrated below, Minnie Mouse:

Doesn’t she look lovely?

You see, fashion does not have to be a tyranny. Womens clothing has endless original permutations, and there are a squillion iconic ideas and ladies to inspire you. It’s yet another reason why being a girl is better than being a boy. So next time you’re swanning through To’ Sho’ and grabbing from the rails, don’t think what’s appropriate or what’s supposed to suit your body. Just choose what makes you smile, and let Roisin be the fashion angel on your shoulder.