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I learnt a very important lesson this week - to try things on! I found a gorgeous chiffon top, held it up, thought about how much it would change my life if I bought it, and so went ahead and did just that! Then, to my horror, when I returned home and tried it on it looked awful and really didn't suit me. Yes, its sometimes annoying having to try things on in the shop and waiting for the next avaliable changing room (does anyone else think that the lighting in changing rooms is always terrible?) but its worth it! Other news is that Crocs are going to be LAUNCHING A CLOTHING LINE!!!!! When will the madness end? 'Fans of the spongy foam resin will now be able to buy shirts, shorts and skirts'. Now tell me: why would anyone be a fan of 'spongy foam resin'? On a more positive note, I'm loving this top from Asos.com. Pair it with jeans for a casual look or add a black patent belt with skinnies and heels for a night out.

I'm feeling autumnish!

I went shopping today and was impressed by the array of clothes in the high street stores. Black's definitely back and embellishment is huge! I bought some lovely metallic pumps from River Island only to realise on my way home that they still had the security tag on! I had to go back and then when I walked in the alarm went off (although I still don't see how the alarm didn't sound when I initially went out of the store). The ballet pumps will look great with opaque tights which are going to be BIG this autumn and winter! H&M had some nice autumn clothes including a large selection of knitwear which resulted in me buying a blue and brown striped jumper. I was disappointed by the clothes in Topshop and on the sale racks too; I guess it's all been picked over countless times. I really want a black waistcoat - not the big kind, just one that sits below the waist. I just can't seem to find one that's in the right style at the right price tag!

Latest clothing horrors

Ooo I came across a handful of horrors today which are truly shocking. First up is Jordan's dress for the launch of her new perfume 'Stunning'. The word meringue can't be used for this dress because its beyond that. I always fail to see why women choose huge puff balls for their own wedding dresses as most of the time they just look totally OTT and too fairytaleish. Jordan's dress is also very much OTT for a perfume launch - what happened to being casual?

Next up is Topshop's 'wet look wrap skirt' which is truly awful! There's absolutely no shape whatsoever and even though it costs £40, it looks cheap. I'm surprised at Topshop; I know that the 'wet look' is on the up but this skirt is definitely not! Besides, just what would you wear it with? It would certainly be hard to pull off (literally too, I'm sure! Ha ha)

There's some nice clothes on delias.com but this top is not one of them. Animal print is a tricky one - choose a few select pieces such as one top or a pair of shoes in leopard print or a small handbag and its effortlessly fashionable. But, choose a tacky top or go overboard with animal print coat, animal print top and animal print trousers (i.e. all worn at once) and you've instantly ruined its appeal for innocent passers by. This has happened to me on numerous occasions; I'll just be starting to think that animal print isn't so bad and that maybe I should go back for those shoes when bam! someone walks past head to toe in the stuff and it will put me off for another few months. Anyway, back to the top. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad without the splashes of colour ... ok, so it would. I really hate the cut of the top too and I'm sure it would do few people any favours (especially non-supermodel people who aren't size 00 and are mere mortals)

The next two disasters are from a surprise source. When I heard that Paris Hilton was launching a clothing range for Kitson Boutique I was instantly looking forward to seeing the collection. Now I wish I hadn't. Rather than looking expensive, hollywood and luxe like I thought it would, the clothes look cheap. Really cheap and tacky (although I am only juding the clothes from website pictures which admittedly, aren't the best). The material she's used (well, I say 'she' but it's probably just her name on it but still she must have seen the clothes! What about reputation?) on alot of the pieces is horrible! And as for the colours! On the yellow dress, there is absolutely no shape - even the model with her hands on her hips fails to disguise the sack like shape. It just looks so badly made ... who would pay $88 for it? (£44). The bow thing on it makes it look like wrapping paper. Don't even get me started on the 'fuchsia' top (the sleeves! Oh the sleeves!)

Crocs strike back!

So I was saying how awful Crocs were but the other day curiosity got the better of me and I ventured into a Croc shop where the sales assistants were wearing their very own Crocs (vomit). However, there were a few new styles avaliable that weren't totally repulsive (although whether I would ever buy them remains to be seen). The flipflops would be acceptable on holiday and do look fairly comfy, but as for the 'Alice' shoe, wouldn't it be a bit weird wearing that type of shoe in the rubbery Croc material?

Topshop's final clearance!

Oh my goodness! Look at the white dress! It's the dress! The Kate Moss one and it's £25 from £50! Click on the clothes for links to the Topshop website.

Argh!

I swear they have taken over the nation - Crocs!!! They're everywhere; in bright colours that hurt your eyes and that horrible material. I can't stand them and can't understand what people find attractive about them. The other day I saw a girl around 6 wearing a pair of pink Crocs-that poor, poor girl. Her Mum probably thinks that they are 'cool' and fashion savvy and thus decided to buy her a pair but oh, how awful they are! When they first came onto the market (who on earth designed them?) I presumed that they would stay on the feet of the older generation but how wrong I was: I've seen them on the very young, (who, admittedly don't really have a say) teenagers (yep! Who'd have thought?) and young adults as well as middle aged folk. WHY?!!! You can even buy Croc accessories to put through the horrible holes in them!

The good, the bad and the ugly

I was looking on the Browns website today (http://www.brownsfashion.co.uk/) at the dresses section and found some really nice pieces such as these:

L-R: Striped dress by Sonia Rykiel, £50 from £100. Dress with bib by Anna & Boy, £65 from £125. Corseted Herringbone dress by Dolce & Gabbana, £965. But then I saw these awful pieces and recoiled in horror! I wouldn't have them if they were free, never mind pay the price tag!

L-R: Long sleeve printed dress by Chloe (YES! BY CHLOE! I'M AS SHOCKED AS YOU ARE!), £555 from £1,110. Velvet dress with halterneck by Christopher Kane, £1,560. Scarlett O'Hara dress by Christopher Kane, £1,830. Dress with ruched neck by David Szeto, £330 from £465.

The question is, which is the worst? Feel free to comment!

Maxi Dresses

The latest summer craze is the Maxi Dress - a long dress that usually goes to your ankles. Yes, it is hard to pull off for shorter people (ahem, me) but for you tall girls it looks great. There are rules which you have to adhere to though: Wear simple, chunky jewellery with them (think wooden accessories) and keep it to a minimum. Also, wear either gladiator sandals or flip flops with your Maxi for that casual chic look. A belt will cinch your dress in at the waist or on your hip line and thus make said area look teeny-weeny. Here's my pick of the best Maxi's in the shops right now. I love the first and third dresses!

L-R: Printed Maxi Dress, Warehouse £85. Strapless viscose dress, Yves Saint Laurent £940. Print Maxi Dress, Dorothy Perkins £12 from £20. Brown festival Maxi, Miss Selfridge £30 from £45.

And for shorter girls, how about this gorgeous dress from Topshop for £65? Perfect with flip flops for day wear and equally perfect with heels and a clutch for a night out. That's what I call value for money.

It's art darrrling

When I turned the telly on the other day, a programme about Salvador Dali, the famous artist popped up. He was famous for using objects in paintings in a way that was unusual for them - like this painting below, with the melted clocks and the ants which rather depressingly, represent death:

In a way, fashion has used Dali's take on images and used the idea to create accessories which are unusual, in the same sense as the clocks. Take watering can handbags for instance, seen frequently on the arm of Fiz from Coronation Street. They are being used for another purpose like Dali's objects.

The same can be said for handbags in the shapes of dogs (click here for some truly awful dog handbags), the fish phone off Big Brother and a pair of earrings that I have. So there you have it; a semi-intelligent-arty post about accessories.

Flippin' heck!

I just had to express my disgust at Shanessa Reilly's hideous pink dress which she wore when entering the Big Brother house and when visiting the housemates in the main house. I doubt it would even look good on a skinny supermodel! It really doesn't do anything for her and we could see all the flab spilling out! It barely covered her boobs either and as for that slit up the middle! (since when were slits there?!) Anyway, to cheer everyone up after seeing that picture, I found this lovely blue dress from Miss Selfridge for £40.