Next's Surprise

As a twenty year old university student, I don't tend to imagine that I'm Next's target consumer. I think my sister is more their type. A thirty year old working mum who wants to look stylish at home and work, with well put together outfits that don't take much thought and look effortlessly good.  She's the one who orders their catalogue, but it was me who looked at it first when it came through the door. I was completely taken aback at the clothes they have brought in for autumn. There were so many pieces that recreated catwalk looks from Chloé to Burberry Prorsum, Celine to Ralph Lauren and the best thing of all was that they had chosen the best looks from those catwalks and created inspired pieces that were coveted by me, the twenty year old university student.

Faux Sheepskin Jacket £75

By far one of the best interpretations of the aviator jacket on the highstreet. The fitted style is definitely my preference compared to the more loose fit versions, which just dwarf my frame in bulkiness.

Lace Shirt £32

The highstreet didn't make enough of this look for me. Buttoned up to the top and tucked into some black leather shorts - perfect.

Dress £40

The camel coat edged in black silk at 3.1 Philip Lim was one of my favourite looks from his show. I need this dress to channel that detailing, and the streamlined simplicity of the dresses seen at Celine.

Maxi Dress £45

Can't wait to try out this trend. Maxi's for winter seem so good right now. From the layered boho look at Ralph Lauren, to those autumnal beauties at Erdem, I haven't seen anybody working the winter maxi yet. It needs to be done.

Dress £35, Shorts £28

I don't think anything needs to be said for that faux leather dress lovely, does it?

And to top it all off Next (so far) isn't asking for too much of our money in exchange for these beauties. I'm sold.

Top buys:

Camel dress, lace shirt, leather dress.

Take a look at...Look magazine's show featuring Next.

Do you regularly shop at Next, and if not, have you been converted?

Source: next.co.uk

Aviator Charm

Despite aviator jackets being seen on numerous catwalks, the one version that stands out in my mind and apparently in the minds of every fashion editor, is the Burberry Prorsum show. For the majority of people they were an instant hit and immediately became the coat to have for winter. Like the clogs of last season, I really didn't like the aviators at all. I thought they looked seriously bulky and unattractive, and associated with the not so stylish British television favourite, Del Boy. I didn't buy a pair of clogs all summer and I firmly believed I wouldn't be buying an aviator jacket either. 

The other day, I went for the first day out of shopping that I've had in a long time. Going into River Island I brushed past a short, brown leather, shearling collared aviator jacket. I had to try it on, just to humour my boyfriend whose face said he thought they were equally hideous, and to confirm for myself that everyone else was crazy and that I was the only one sane enough to realise the disastrous style consequences of wearing such an item. I tried it on and did it up. I toyed with the shearling cuffs and commented that I did indeed feel like a Trotter relative. And then I walked over to the mirror and realised I was massively mistaken. This coat made me instantly 100% cooler and 200% more stylish. The cut was gorgeous - it fitted beautifully. I loved the shearling. I tried on a fake leather, black version which didn't have as much shearling adornment, and I didn't like it nearly as much. The shearling made the coat perfection.

Like the padded shoulder trench coat I bought last year, this is the kind of coat you can throw on over the most blasé outfit and it instantly makes it incredibly stylish. I kept it on as I continued to shop around the store, stealing disbelieving glances at my reflection. This coat was ridiculously, shockingly, fabulous. The price tag was £150, which is definitely worth it as it's real leather. Now I just have to wait until a certain student loan comes my way, and you just try and stop me running to River Island and bagging this beauty. I'm not in a rush to get it soon, as I'm sure they're going to be around all season, and right now it's sadly still too damn hot to wear it. It's about the only time wearing this coat would look silly.

My advice: if you've so far been against the aviator jackets, go and try one on. I guarantee you'll be pleasantly surprised, but I warn you - you might burn a hefty hole in your wallet.

Copy My Style

Ah, the dilemmas stores love to put us shoppers in, eh? I am in one at this very moment. You might remember my slightly excessive praise of Primark's a/w lookbook. It was indeed excessive, because as good as it looked, I should have known better - up close and personal, the clothes just didn't quite come up to scratch. I really loved one look in particular:

I'm such a sucker for a tea dress, you see. On closer inspection though, the material looked really cheap (what did I expect for £13?) and the collar was a shade of cream, which happened to be the very same shade my boyfriend managed to colour all of our underwear when I trusted him to do the washing unsupervised. That was an accident, and so I didn't quite relish buying a dress with a collar in the same decay-yellow colour.  Anyway, I left the store disappointed and then came across this:

Miss Selfridge's lookey-likey, which is near on identical. But this one is £49, a far cry from the bargain of Primark. And though I'm sure it's worth it, what with its pearly collar and all, I'm being all economical with my money at the moment and I'm just not convinced.

So the choice is:
Do I stretch some monies over to buy the pricer but nicer version, or be a super saver and get an ok version for a bargainous thirteen pounds?

I'm glad this is currently the biggest decision I have to make today.

Down With The Kids

Come September 2nd Zara should have officially jumped on the online bandwagon, and about time too, right? It was about two years ago that Zara started rising up on my top highstreet store list, but when I visited their website I was really disappointed. It was really inaccessible, you couldn't view a very big range of clothes, it was awkward and just seemed really inadequate for such a big brand. I've never understood why 'in this day and age' big highstreet stores haven't started selling online. To my simple mind I don't see how on Earth they can compete, and I don't know what stops them from retailing on the web (yes, H&M I'm talking to you). In fact, H&M is another store that has a really frustratingly disappointing website. However, they too should be all ready to go live come autumn. I can't wait to be able to buy from both these stores from the comfort of my sofa, especially when I'm back in Devon for the summer. If only Gap had been available online back when those suede Pierre Hardy boots came out, I would have been able to burn those Uggs once and for all.

The new campaigns for Zara have just come out, and I'm really excited for that very Burberry inspired shirt. I'm all for these shirts, blouses and high neck lines next season. I really need to compile my a/w wish list...

Update: Just remembered this post I wrote back in October 2009. It seems like an age ago that I wrote it, and we're still waiting for the online stores. Fingers and toes crossed the wait doesn't go on much longer!