Get total satisfaction from the band’s stylist Mr William Gilchrist as he talks us through the sartorial highs of Messrs Keith Richards, Charlie Watts and Sir Mick Jagger.

Unless, like Mr Keith Richards, your sensory skills aren’t quite what they used to be, you’ll be well aware that Exhibitionism: The Rolling Stones opened this week: a colossal exhibition celebrating the cultural impact of The Rolling Stones over the past 50 years. On display in London’s Saatchi Gallery on the King’s Road – a short walk from the Chelsea flat (recreated for the show, fag ends and all) where the band formed – are more than 500 rock ’n’ roll artefacts, including original stage designs, personal diaries and iconic clothing.

With this in mind, we thought we would take the opportunity to learn something from the gamut of The Rolling Stones’ style. And who better to school us than Mr William Gilchrist, a stylist who has worked with the band since 2005. While he took some time out in Havanna after the Stones’ politically ground-breaking gig late last month, we asked him for some quick wardrobe tips.

Although most would associate The Rolling Stones with leather jackets, huge hair and bare chests, drummer Mr Charlie Watts also had a fine eye for tailoring, which is something we commend. He often wore suits made by Tommy Nutter, a man who reinvented the traditional Savile Row look in the 1960s (not unlike Mr Thom Browne has done in the last decade).

“When you look in the archive, you’ll see some great Tommy Nutter suits that Charlie [Watts] had done in the 1970s. They’re really beautiful pieces. He’s always been a man who likes quality. In those days, tailored clothing wasn’t unusual, but Tommy Nutter would put an edge into it. Charlie’s elegance was always there.”

Pictured here on stage at the Coliseum in LA, Sir Mick Jagger flamboyantly wears a football jersey to reflect both the colourful “Americana” stage design on that particular US tour, and also the fact that The Stones were playing in the home stadium of the USC Trojans. Both appropriate _and _daring. Bravo, Sir Jagger.

“Being the focal point and lead singer, Mick is the most extravagant [in the band]. He was such an amazing-looking man that things that you or I would whimper at putting on, he became a tour de force with: the rather peculiar American football outfit, for example, and the jumpsuits.”

Although we wouldn’t necessarily condone the amount of, er, relaxation that The Stones indulged in (which peaked in the early 1970s when they were making Exile On Main St), it certainly didn’t harm their confidence in what they wore. The takeaway here is, always try to appear effortless and comfortable in your clothes, especially if you’re breaking the mould.

“During the time they were making Exile On Main St, they looked great. They weren’t in a good place substance-wise, but they were in a good place creatively. They were all in sync and moving beautifully. You get that confidence in both the music and how they looked.”

You should try to avoid becoming a slave to trends. Use your instinct and go with the pieces you know look good rather than what you think you ought to wear. And don’t let what other people say govern your clothes. Although, having said that, we insist that you remove your sunglasses indoors.

“Keith gets his hats from all over. He’s very organic in how he chooses something. There are items that you might associate with him that were given to him by someone who he connected with. It has to be a personal connection. He’ll never let clothing govern him in any way. It’s instinctive – ‘I like it and I don’t care what anyone says.’”

Exhibitionism: The Rolling Stones is on until 4 September. Buy a ticket here