Image: Style.com

More often than not, when width is added to a women’s suit, it is not the recipe for the chicest of shapes. However, 70s styling is set to be big in the New Year, and when tailored properly to fit, a wide leg trouser suit can be both fashion forward and flattering, taking you from one season to the next with ease.

To add a little personality and ‘flare’ to your work wear, simply remember to abide by the following rules:

Picture: Look.co.uk

To recreate her look for a fraction of the price, click to read more.

Photo: Daily Mail

-Spread your wings and soar to the top of the style pile-

If there's one micro-trend to buy into this season it's the fashion world's flirtation with all things winged. 

In the promotional blitz for her seventh studio album, the last cover I expected to see Britney Spears gracing was that of bi-annual style magazine POP...

The following article has since been featured on theprophetblog.net,  pinkisthenewblog.com, ohnotheydidnt and britney.com.

Everybody has one. The cringe-worthy story told by a friend or relative that you just know will crop up in a speech on your wedding day or a milestone birthday. I have two (three, if you count me defiantly announcing to my mum that I didn’t want a baby brother because that meant I couldn’t call him Sarah), and they both feature the same theme.

The summer sun may still be high in the sky, but autumn’s hottest high street pieces are about to hit the rails.

This month sees the launch of Republic’s autumn/winter range which is designed to be mixed, matched and loved. The overarching theme is opulence with edge; outfits dripping with embellishments, draped with lace, and accented with faux-fur and feathers.

Each brand remains distinct, but now more than ever, the collections possess the ability to seamlessly blend together, enabling you to write your own (individually inspired) fashion rules.

Wearable yet wild, the range contained grungy motifs and heavy knits alongside delicate tones of shifting petal, taupe, peach and coffee cream. Deep khaki and black accents can be used to toughen up transitional summer nudes and catwalk influences have clearly filtered into the Crafted brand, with jersey, shearling and more womanly, less structured shapes emerging amongst denim and recurring staples.

Here are some of the standout pieces that I managed to snatch shots of. Look out for them on billboards, in magazine spreads and on shop floor posters in the coming weeks, and get ready to snap them up for yourself from September.

Customisation and the battle to successfully express individuality has always been at the heart of fashion styling. Made to measure, commissioned pieces have rarely been within the grasp of those of us who have had to make do with hovering around the outside of the fashion press, but recently, t-shirt manufacturers have been introducing a different kind of unique and affordable personalisation.

Other than the ingenious DNA, fingerprint and lipstick mark designs of Identity Apparel, which were launched at New York Fashion Week back in February, my favourite find is the imagined ‘Mein Block’ t-shirt, the brainchild of Berlin based designer David Bizer.

Sleek, sumptuous and sophisticated; this season, sportswear has emerged from the back of the gym locker having been given a luxurious makeover. Forget the painfully unflattering, plain and purely functional pieces that linger in the outskirts of your wardrobe, they are soon to be replaced by fashionable fitness wear that demands to be flaunted.

I know fashion/beauty pieces haven't really made an appearance on here before, but I have written them and there's a first time for everything! Here's a short piece that was originally posted on ASOS.com as my entry for a '500 words on a trend' competition.

Greed, for lack of a better word, is good. Greed is right, greed works. Greed clarifies, cuts through, and captures the essence of the evolutionary spirit.

The words of Michael Douglas’s Gordon Gekko encapsulate the Wall Street mentality of the 1980s, yet their sentiment would not have been out of place in offices worldwide prior to the recent economic crisis. Whilst the global housing bubble still seemed impenetrable, excessive risk taking experienced resurgence in business fields and the management style du jour involved coveting and cultivating profit-chasing teams of staff. Both fiscal pools and corporate egos were happily riding high and short-term investment in your own pocket and professional position wasn’t just expected by those higher up, it was encouraged. And then, of course, everything collapsed.

From light bulbs to coffee beans, the range of eco and fair trade products has steadily expanded, and after decades of whispers amongst the fashion pack, the industry has finally stepped up its game. Eco-chic has been thrust into the spotlight, with the first UK branch of online ethical shopping hub Ascension opening in St Christopher’s Place in November, and London Fashion Week’s autumn/winter Estethica shows drawing more designers and crowds than ever in 2009.

Having previously been considered the realm of hemp-wearing hippies, eco-fashion hit the catwalks of New York back in 2005, and a growing number of couture labels have since introduced recycled fabrics and materials such as bamboo cloth into their collections. The inclusion of a ten-page ethical fashion spread by Vogue in 2006 confirmed that amongst the fashion elite, it is now cool to have a conscience.

In the UK we've had quite a bit of snow recently (by our standards, anyway). This afternoon I made my way to the local park and took a few photos of the snow, sledges and stunning skies. Here are some of my favourites (NB. no effects have been added and no tweaking has taken place):