Even though this time of year means the final bank holiday is over, the nights are drawing in and the summer is coming to a close, September is definitely my favourite time of year.

It’s the biggest month in the fashion calendar whether you’re in New York, London or Leeds. You may have seen the award-winning documentary ‘The September Issue’ on TV last week staring the altogether terrifying Vogue editor Anna Wintour. Watching the mayhem unleash at Vogue towers demonstrates  just why it’s their biggest issue of the year and why this issue’s release is much anticipated  by fashionistas across the globe. The trends for the next 12 months are laid bare and everyone, especially retailers are poised to stock their shelves with the hottest looks.

Realistically, not everyone can afford the Louis Vitton, Marc Jacobs and Gucci fatigues that are splashed all over the pages of Vogue (although, if you’re feeling flush, all of these names are available in this here city of Leeds).  The trick is to flick through Vogue or Grazia and find similar pieces on the high street or at the myriad independent boutiques around town.

Always hot on the killer heels of the catwalk, Topshop have a trend guide here including the hotly tipped tartan and tweed look.  And the ASOS blog lists new must-have trends such as Camel coats, Pussy-bow blouses and leopard print.

These are all revivals of previous trends, so vintage and second hand are definitely options . There seems to be a lot of vintage shops popping up all over Leeds at the moment, particulalry in the new shopping hot spot Birds Yard. The Leeds Retail Therapy Awards have noticed this, so we’ve added the brand new category for Best Vintage to celebrate the arrival of new stores this year.

So, if you find a little oasis of vintage wonderment, please do spread the love and vote for them.

Don’t forget, there’s a vintage fair at Leeds University Union on 31st October (spooky). Plenty of bargains to be had particularly if you’re a student.

Good luck hunting and happy new warbrobe!

Annie

They were a thing of beauty. If only she could walk in them.

Most girls (and many guys) have this problem, but I’m on the verge of an addiction. I absolutely cannot resist shoes. Yes,  it’s a cliche. I am a walking cliche. But at least I’m a walking cliche in beautiful shoes.

Now, I am a fan of feet fashion, but I don’t usually go this mad. I have been saving like crazy for an imminent trip to Tokyo and recently realised that I didn’t have the kit to look the part. I intend to sip tumblers of whiskey at the very bar that Bill Murray met Scarlett Johansson in ‘Lost in Translation’ in style.  And so to Briggate…

Admittedly, I went a little overboard (or more so than usual). I bought six pairs of shoes. SIX! If you think my shoe habits beggar belief, you should see how much my bill came to…

At the new Cath Kidston store in Leeds I bought:

• A pair of red spotty sandals for more shopping in Tokyo
• Some very cute cherry patterned pumps for subway hopping around the Japanese capital

Cost = £31 in total. Cheap as chips! And I got to nab some free fabric samples and shelter from the torrential rain whilst I was in there.

Feeling rather chuffed with my bargains, I tootled home only to find my boyfriend shopping for shoes on the Office website.

O-oh. Here comes trouble. So many cheap shoes in their sale. You can guess what’s next.  I bought:

• 2 pairs of gladiator sandals in black and aqua marine at £10 each (reduced from £35 and £40 respectively)
• 1 pair of suede peep toe heels in pink at £15 (reduced from £40)
• 1 pair of Blowfish flats in grey at £10 (reduced from £35)

Cost = £45 + £3.50 for postage (which my fella paid as he bought shoes too!)

So that’s £76 for 6 pairs of decent shoes. My bill should have cost a couple of hundred.

I may have no space left in my suitcase but boy, am I one smug shopper.

Annie

It was brought to my attention how lazy fashion has become, when I ventured out in search of a frock for a swanky soiree I’m due to attend. What is with these high street shops and their celebration of the ‘I just rolled out of bed look’? I’m going to go out on a whim here and suggest that most of us would be quite horrified at the prospect of being confronted by our peers of equal standing before we’ve even tucked into our cornflakes. But if this has come to be the acceptable method of dress, then let’s just go the whole hog and rock ‘morning breath’ as a trendy, dental craze; gone are the times of the minty fresh whiff.

Don’t get me wrong, I love a maxi dress or a playsuit as much as the next catwalk informed coolster, but there’s a time and a place and it’s not at my great grandma’s 90th or my cousin’s bar mitzvah. Sometimes, a garment is needed of good stature and tailoring and you’ll be pushed to find it in today’s carefree climate. Topshop for instance, usually one of my favourite shopping haunts, has been taken over by oversized t-shirts in what seems to be some sort of clothing coup. Warehouse, a usually dependable and trusty friend in the world of formal dress, had nothing suitable to meet my needs.

This is not the first time said issue has arisen for me, being a student exposed to the alternate world carved by Jack Wills gilet and jogging bottom culture. Who in their right mind would fork out £60 plus for a pair of pants which are deliberately intended to make you look like an idle, ineffective sloth? The mind well and truly boggles when I think that I was probably scorned for turning up to lectures in a pair of well made and cleanly washed jeans. Just to remind you, jeans are the once popular item of clothing that has since been replaced by leggings and a pair of camel coloured space boots, also known as Uggs.

So to sum up, casual wear, like anything else, is great in moderation. However, it seems we all need to journey back to a time when we didn’t wear giant pillow cases in public, and we combed our hair and took part in other grooming related activities.