We’ve had record numbers coming by the site and voting this year and everyone at the Retail Awards wants to say a big thank you to everyone that’s taken part.

This year’s awards promises to be the best yet, so book your tickets now!

I couldn’t help but notice that it’s a little on the chilly side today, but I’m looking on the positive side – finally I have an excuse to put together my new season wardrobe! First on my list is some new boots, and I’ve got my eyes firmly on some little brown booties from Urban Outfitters with laces and cute straps across the front. They’ll look fantastic with opaque tights under shorts this autumn. So, who’s offering to buy them for me? I’ll be your best friend…

Checked shirts are brilliant – not just the staple of tree-felling types, they look great thrown on with a simple dress, knotted over a vest or tucked into high-waisted shorts, and I picked up a yellow-and-black gingham checked one for my collection today from H&M. My quest continues however to find the perfect red tartan checked shirt – because I for one certainly have no aversion to looking like a human picnic blanket.

Some people are addicted to cigarettes, some to gambling, some to sex…I’m addicted to buying dresses, and I got my high today from Ark in the form of a strapless Motel dress in their gorgeous new Ribbon and Rose print. Ahhh! I got a huge red rose corsage for my hair (seriously, it’s almost as big as my head) to match the dress, so that’s my Saturday night outfit sorted. Now, where’s my next fix coming from?

Freshers, bloody freshers – they might be all over Leeds like a cheap suit right now but damn, they’ve got style. Fresher’s fashion this year is predominantly checked shirts and pumps for boys (and from the Levi’s shop too – courtesy of the student loan, no doubt) and skinny jeans, floral vests and clear-lensed geek glasses on girls, the type I’ve spotted in Urban Outfitters and Topshop lately. Personally, I’m not keen on the idea of clear-lensed glasses – why would you wear a corrective device for an impediment you don’t have? – but well, just in case, I’m off for an eye test…