5 Style Hacks I'm Stealing from London Fashion Week (And a Couple I'm Not)

London Fashion Week is renowned for styling sleights whose recreation outside the rarefied confines of Brewer Street NCP would see their proponents running the risk of a lifetime Tesco ban. But it's also an inexhaustible source of inspiration for those of us who fancy a little wardrobe shake-up... And nothing need stop you receiving your Ocado delivery in glittery pyjamas, eh?

Here are my Fashion Week-inspired resolutions for 2016...

1. Discover New Layers

L-R: Topshop Unique; Fyodor Golan; Mother of Pearl; Simone Rocha

Skirts over trousers: Yawn. Skirts over... skirts? I'm listening. Skirts over suits? *Yelps with excitement*

2. Try the New High/Low

L-R: Peter Pilotto; Mother of Pearl; Preen; Preen

Sports/luxe: done (over and over and over and...) But prim/prairie, demure/disco and sports/vamp, on the other hand...

3. Ruffle Some Feathers

L-R: Erdem; Mother of Pearl; Paul Smith; Huishan Zhang

Or, at the very least, some neck and hemlines.

4. Pop Some (Statement) Collar...

L-R: Burberry; J. JS Lee; Osman; Roksanda

After 400 years in the fashion wilderness, could 2016 see the return of the ruff? Roksanda (incredibly) put forward a pretty convincing case... But, whilst I muster the requisite courage (and wait for Zara to rustle up a copy), I'll be following Burberry's failsafe formula: fun fur + parka + peppy prints + preppy accessories = trans-seasonal style perfection.

5. Jazz Up My Hosiery

Clockwise from L: House of Holland; Osman; Mother of Pearl; Ryan Lo

And once I've finished rifling through the darkest recesses of my sock drawers in search of those Burberry-alike textured tights, I solemnly swear to finally try out the socks-and-sandals thing... Before investing in some new-style pom pom-adorned accessories (because, come next season, a bag charm just isn't going to cut it) and (*squeal*) some glittery tights. The '80s party dressing trend is going to be the best Crimbo gift an adult woman ever received.

And 4 I Won't Be Trying At Home...

Gareth Pugh; Ashish; Christopher Kane; Mother of Pearl

1. '80s power suiting? YES. Contouring using tights? No.
2. Glittery pyjamas? Yes (please). Hair of Marge Simpson and Krusty the Clown's lovechild? No.
3. Bag-for-life-based millinery? Call me old school, but I think I'll be sticking to umbrellas for the time being.
4. Skirts-over-skirts? Intrigued. Skirts-over-trackies-over-socks-under-slippers? Baffled.

Need to Know: Your LFW Crib Notes

• The Hottest Colours: Olive Green, Yolk Yellow, Rose Pink
• The Greater Spotted Prints: Gingham, Houndstooth, Florals
• Most Referenced Decades: '60s, '70s (yes, I know), '80s
• Most Commonly Credited Concepts: Fading Beauty, High/Low
• Most Unexpected Trend: Corsets over everything...

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The Peplum and the Pea Coat

Because a girl can never have too many coats... or too many items of clothing beginning with P, this '60s style yellow pea coat, first spied at the Matalan AW14 press day back in May, was top of my birthday wish list... and just happened to be the perfect length to showcase my new pep-hem knit too!

Jacket: Matalan, Jumper: Gok for Tu, Coated Tube Pants: River Island, Boots: Forever 21

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Et Tu? How to Wear the New Leather Midi...

This faux leather midi skirt had been gazing up at me bewitchingly from various Tu at Sainsbury's AW14 magazine ads for some time, so I was overjoyed to unwrap it on my birthday a couple of weeks ago, along with this embroidered mustard tee and "Gok" peplum jumper - the perfect new season 2-in-1 weatherproof ensemble, c/o Mummy Muses! With its versatile matte finish and vintage-style extra-long midi cut, I'm pretty sure this little gem will become one of my AW staples, accompanied by faux furs, fedoras and boots, but, for now, I wanted to take the opportunity to showcase my long-wished-for Matalan lace-up heels (which also fortuitously made their way into my birthday haul)... so gorgeous, I can barely believe their £22 price tag!

Skirt, Top and Jumper: All Tu, Shoes: Matalan

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Neon Kimono + The Peplum Hem, Part 2: The Mini

It had been a year since my last kimono fix and I was fairly jonesing for a SS14 update... when I spied this neon wonder in Sainsbury's, of all places! Natch, it went straight into our basket of "essentials", even if we did only go in for lettuce... oops! The sharp blazer-esque cut combined with that eye-popping hue - O.M.G. 

Meanwhile, meteorological demands continue to compel me to purchase summer "essentials" in the form of as many cute little dresses/playsuits/white-and-or-pastel-coloured-garments as I can lay my hands on (well, I haven't had time to dig last year's out of storage yet, so needs must); one such dividend being this ridiculously cute pep-hem Primark shift (now reduced from an already measly £13 to a frankly crazy £5 in my local store!). A little bit '20s Chanel, a little bit '60s Twiggy and a little bit '80s party girl, this was a bit of a "what-the-hell" impulse buy for me, assuming as I did that, in all likelihood, the stretch fabric/drop-waist shift style/monster-frill medley would add up to a monster no-no for an hourglass figure/woman over 5, but, as it turned out, the combination seemed to make for a flatteringly chic recipe - my pick for wear-any-and-everywhere summer dress of the year so far!

Kimono: Tu at Sainsbury's, Dress: Primark, Shoes: Dorothy Perkins

Anyone else gone nuts for neon, potty for peplums or, er, krazy for kimonos this season? 

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