SS '11 Fash-board...

Alexander McQueen

Burberry Prorsum

Céline

Chanel

Charlotte Olympia

Donna Karan

Isabel Marant

Lanvin

Louis Vuitton

Miu Miu

Mulberry

Prada

Pringle of Scotland

Proenza Schouler

Valentino

Yves Saint Laurent

Be My Valentine...

Yes my friends, February 14th is almost upon us! And while we may be dreaming of romantic strolls along the beach and candle-lit dinners for two (with Colin Firth...no? Just me then!) It's also time to inject some serious passion into fashion...

Big Heart over sized sweatshirt. £95, Wildfox.

Giant broken heart necklace. £22, Me & Zena.

Heart print silk shirt. Equipment at ASOS, £270.

Heart and spade scarf. £14, Miss Selfridge.

'Je T'Aime' t-shirt. £60, Wildfox.

Love heart sequin top. Was £40 now £7, Miss Selfridge.

Pink heart bag. £24.99, River Island.

'Friday I'm In Love' t-shirt. £32, Urban Outfitters.

Pink heart belt. £16, Topshop.

Vintage style heart shaped sunglasses. £16, Urban Outfitters.

The long wait 'til pay day...

I found myself in Norwich last week with a little time to kill. So off I went to indulge in some serious East-of-England window shopping when out of the blue I came across the most perfect item of clothing known to woman. I tried it on, not really expecting it to make me look anything less than a sack of potatoes. Little did I know it would turn out to be the most flattering item not yet in my wardrobe and I am now faced with a very long wait until pay day. Oh why are these things sent to tempt me?

Khaki Smart Jumpsuit. £44.99 River Island.

The Vintage files...

Where to shop for all things retro...

• http://www.rokit.co.uk/ - Probably the most well known vintage store can also be found on the highstreet. Stocks a decent range of mens and womens clothing, accessories, footwear and hosiery with an added bonus of being able to search by era/decade, depending on what you are looking for.
• http://www.beyondretro.co.uk/ - Another highstreet store with a highly accessable website. Nice retro design with great sized pics and useful store locator. Stocks both mens and womens.
• http://www.myvintage.co.uk/ - With so many ways to search this site, weather it's colour, trend, genre, era, designer or type, this place has it all. With an incredible range of clothing, accessories, jewelry and gifts, I reccomend this as your first stop for a unique vintage find. Also offers free delivery on orders over £75.
• http://www.gigivintage.co.uk/ - A lovely looking, well presented site stocking some seriously on-trend retro pieces. Nice styling on all the items featured means you'll want to buy pretty much everything. Also stocks a decent range of vintage designer gear.
• http://www.absolutevintage.co.uk/ - Your one stop shop for retro shoes, bags and accessories. Also stocks a small range of mens and womens clothing.

Va-Va-Vintage...

Yes, I love the 70's trend that hit the catwalks at the Marc Jacobs SS '11 show as much as the next fashion fanatic. And no, my purse strings will definitely not stretch that far. But there is hope my fashion forward friends. Why should we consider taking out a loan to afford our favourite trends when we could just go vintage? Not only would we save ourselves some much needed pennies but would end up throwing some serious on-trend retro styling in to the mix. You want my advice? Hit the web, where there are loads of one off vintage finds just waiting to be snapped up.

So, here's my guide to creating the latest trends with one off vintage pieces from what I consider to be the best retro hotspots online (for links to all websites featured, see directory to the right of this post)...

'70's Style

Red floral top. £15, rokit.co.uk

Leather shoulder bag. £20, absolutevintage.co.uk

'Daisy Chain' floral sundress. £45, gigivintage.co.uk

Animal Print

Leopard print dress, £25 absolutevintage.co.uk

Leopard print scarf, £24 myvintage.co.uk

White

'Snow Queen' white faux fur dress. Was £45 now £35, gigivintage.co.uk

White '50's prom dress. £110, myvintage.co.uk

Bold colour

Lime green courts. £35, rokit.co.uk

Romantic

Beaded dress. £65, rokit.co.uk

Floral print

Midi length skirt (THE length skirt to be seen in this season!). £24, myvintage.co.uk

Nautical

Navy culottes. £26, myvintage.co.uk

Lust-Worthy Item Of The Week...

Peep toe shoes. £390, Moschino Cheap &Chic.

Top Of The Trends...

So, my fashion forward friends,

The new trends for SS'11 have landed and I for one am feeling uber inspired. From block colour á la Jil Sander to the return of the gothic trend via Givenchy, it's all going on this Spring/Summer and there's lots to get excited about. Here's a little look at some of my favourite trends in the mix right now...

Tropical meets nautical at Christan Dior

Gothic at Givenchy

Block colour at Jil Sander

Romantic at Lanvin

70's style at Marc Jacobs

Stripes at Prada

All white at Stella McCartney

Springing to the highstreet...

Hello again budding fashionistas,

Hope you all had geat Christmases and very happy starts to 2011. So, I'm back after all those weeks of holiday mayhem and I'm in fashion heaven already. Topshop's first hit for SS '11 is here and it's too exciting for words. Floaty fabrics, pretty prints, chunky knits and distressed detail - it's all going on in spring at Toppers. Here are a few of my personal faves...

Butterfly print flute sleeve blouse, £45.

Floral print bell sleeve blouse, £45.

Cropped back layered waistcoat, £35.

Daisy print halter jumpsuit, £60.

Speckle cable cardigan, £48.

Ladder slash top, £18.

Magical print frill scarf, £16.

Wrap front shorts, £35.

Floral print vest, £35.

'Layla' block heel shoes, £65.