The much anticipated arrival of the Autumn Winter 2008 Style Guide has been a main focus for me over the past few days. Hopefully you’ve already seen the mini feature which you can play straight from the my-wardrobe homepage. If not, it explains how you can request a free copy of our fabulously informative trend book by popping it into your basket at the online checkout. Anyway, the dress I’m wearing in the mini edit is the a-mazing Vivienne Westwood floral print number - my new love which I have purchased with glee! In fact, I chose this dress for a shoot I was asked to do for the Observer Magazine’s ’My Favourite Outfit’ feature. I paired my new frock with some killer gold snakeskin stilettos and my most coveted jewels. Keep an eye out in the Observer Sunday supplement in the coming weeks…

If you had to pick your favourite outfit what would you choose? We’d love to hear from you.

The bright city lights versus rustic luxury debate is as hot as ever this Autumn Winter as fashion really divides its loyalty between opposing trends. Will you choose slick New Power Dressing or slouchy Jumper Dressing? They’re both equally fabulous but very different. If you’re already a fan of cosy chic  - The Olsen twins clearly are - then this is definitely the season for you. Full of super luxe cashmere and cute cable knits, it will leave you in doubt that country chic is firmly on the style agenda. Get a rural fix with Paul & Joe Sister’s Chamonix jumper or go for all out luxury in a long cardigan coat by Goat.

Are you a bonafide city girl or country lover at heart?

Despite being the first week of August, there’s no escaping the September issues of our favourite glossies.  Arguably the most informative issue you will buy all year, they’re jammed packed with what the season ahead has to offer. And if you’ve done your research you’ll know that Autumn Winter 2008 sees the return of the Goth - albeit it a grown up slicker version. This is a trend more about revealing your dark side than looking like Morticia Adams. Take inspiration from theatrical girl group Ipso Facto (pictured) and go for the frill collar dress by See by Chloe with Pedro Garcia’s Bliss black patent Mary Janes for a cutesy take on the look. Already championing the trend is Peaches Geldof with her new beau Faris Rotter, but if a back combed front man on your arm is not your idea of an accessory, opt for dark and dramatic detailing such as lace tights and skinny black trousers like the Binvene trousers by Paul & Joe to keep you perfectly on trend.

It’s been hard to get through the week without hearing one thing or another about The Dark Knight hitting the big screen last weekend. What girl doesn’t think about being whisked off her feet one way or another by a dashing super hero like Britain’s finest Christian Bale (ding dong!) The bigger question is what you would wear when (yes, when) he arrives??? It’s gotta be sexy, feminine, and of course dramatic so we you won’t go wrong with Ossie Clarke’s Georgia Maxi dress, Paul and Joe’s Methane dress and Paul Smith’s Rose Print Cocktail dress - enough to make any man stop in his tracks and hurry to the rescue!

Everyday on the journey to work you see ‘the runners’. This is of course what you think if you’re looking down at people’s trainer shod feet, but as you look up you notice they all seem to be wearing cute pencil skirts and tailored jackets. So why is it that trainers have become the footwear of choice for the commute? At my-wardrobe.com we think it’s all a little bit 1980s New York. Now we know there are times when we all sacrifice style for comfort - we all have a sloppy joggers and vest combo for lazing around at home! But with great ballet pumps from French Sole and the new season jelly shoes by Vivienne Westwood Anglomania + Melissa you can have comfort and style whilst rushing for tubes and buses. We say bin those trainers - or at least save them for the gym.

Sunday held host to one of the most glamorous events on the British social calender - the Cartier International Polo - and a couple of us from the my-wardrobe.com team were lucky enough to attend the evening party at the Chinawhite Rock the Polo enclosure. So all dressed up in our glad rags we left central London and made our way to Windsor Great Park. One tube, one train, a taxi and a short walk later we had finally arrived - where’s the chauffeur driven Bentley when you need it!

But it was worth it. We pitched up just in time to see Mark Ronson hit the decks and boy was he good… and truth be told, rather dishy too!  In the style stakes there were some amazingly dressed women in what was clearly the dress code of choice - the dress - what else could it be! Our personal favourite was the pairing of the immaculate Dita Von Teese who was pretty in peach (have a look at the Paul & Joe Georgel dress for something similar) and Natalie Imbruglia, fabulous in florals - our new season Paul Smith prom dress is a great alternative (both pictured). The starlet Emma Watson also looked great in a lace trimmed dress  - a clever reference to autumn’s lace domination no doubt. We love it and can’t wait for our own new season lace designs to drop so stay tuned.

For our sartorial selections we looked to two of our favourite my-wardrobe designers. Philosophy di Alberta Ferretti’s strapless dress was the perfect choice  as was a vintage maxi dress by Biba. Both were accessorised with as much CC Skye, Kenneth Jay Lane and Muse jewellery as our arms could carry! Finished off with a glass of champagne and we were set… what a night!

So I have spent the weekend looking through our Autumn Winter Style Guide. Everyone would expect me to say it’s great, but seriously, this season the Style Guide team and surpassed themselves and it rocks, in it’s patent raspberry cover [Read more →]

Over the past few days we’ve been speaking to some of the top fashion industry insiders to find out what their favourite new season pieces are…

Grazia’s Siobhan Mallen chose the raspberry Maggie by Mulberry thanks to its fab colour ’which will lift the darkest mid-winter mood’ [Read more →]

In the past week I have enjoyed a diary full of events which made me consider my own wardrobe and what it says about me. The trickiest was Friday’s high fashion event - my best friend’s graduation (I kid you not - it posed quite the dilemma). As I watched the cloaked graduates take to the stage in their hat and hood ensemble, I thought how very superior they looked. From Liberty prints to plaid shirts and knitted ties, we all have a formula of how to dress to impress. Whilst sitting among proud parents and other guests I felt I topped the congregation’s style stakes in Paul Smith’s tux dress which treads a fine line between demure and sexy. I have to admit, I was initially torn between jewels or tailoring, but due to my love of the new power dressing trend I thought the super chic tux number topped off with CC Skye’s black leather link bracelet was the perfect choice. Sharp and feminine, I felt quite the academic! And the CC Skye bracelet - was does that say? I like to think it shows a little bit of a defiant rock chick side…

So indulge me - to look and feel your smartest, what would you wear?