To mark Mother's Day, MAXINE GORDON finds some fun fashions for mum and daughter

IT must be music to a mother's ear when she's out with her daughter and someone asks: "Are you two sisters?" And certainly, if Mum keeps up to date with fashion, she can look every bit as stylish as her daughter - without running the risk of looking like a ewe in lamb's clothing.

The key to getting the look right is to pick out the strongest fashion trends for the season and incorporate them in a subtle and sophisticated way into your wardrobe.

If you're not sure what these trends are, who better to ask than your daughter? Or next time she hot foots it back from a high street jaunt around her favourite shops such as Top Shop, Miss Selfridge, Mango and River Island, just have a look inside her bags. Anything these outlets can do, your favourite shops are probably doing as well, albeit in a less extreme manner.

To prove our point, for Mothering Sunday, we reveal some spring fashion looks which look great on Mum and daughter, featuring some of the strongest style trends for the season.

Stripes are in line for a revival this spring. The nautical look is making a splash with simple red or navy stripes against a white background on T-shirts. For some more colour, look out for pretty candystriped shirts. While Mum might want to tuck hers into a casual neutral-coloured skirt, daughter may want to tie it at the midriff in homage to the Fifties.

Flowers are in bloom this spring too. And the good news is there are no rules. Everything and anything goes... yes, even flowers and stripes. Why not team a silk floral corsage broach with a striped shirt? Or better still, find a top that does the mixing and matching for you.

Boden has gorgeous long-sleeved T-shirts featuring stripes and flowers. Make this stylishly casual catalogue your first port of call for clothes that make you just want to be beside the seaside. And because it sells women's and girls' styles, where better to find some genuine family fashions? (Order catalogue on 020 8453 1535).

Look the business in stripes by electing for some pinstripe. While mums might choose a trouser suit from Country Casuals or Windsmoor, daughters might like to funk up the look by wearing pinstripes from River Island with a white puff-sleeved jacket.

The floral theme lends itself to the other major style direction this spring... gipsy fashion. Think Kate Bush in her Wuthering Heights era and you get the idea.

Long skirts, in tiers of loose, frilly cotton, off-the-shoulder tops and suede belts and bags with lots of fringes are putting the hip into the hippie look.

The secret to incorporating this into your wardrobe is to go for a more pared-down, subtle hint of the style. Monsoon is a good hunting ground, with its simple, feminine fashions. Check out its pretty Lucy cotton top - plain white with a small V in the front line and a little ruffle around the neck line and sleeve.

And for mums whose daughters are not quite old enough to have a view on whether Will or Gareth is the true Pop Idol, pop in to the new Monsoon Girl in Davygate for seriously gorgeous girls' wear.

Updated: 10:30 Saturday, March 09, 2002