Well, it’s that time of the year when the high street stores are starting to restock with their new Autumn/Winter collections. Just when you thought you had understood and enjoyed what’s in the stores the collections change and it all becomes daunting again.

One of my tips when you go shopping is to walk into a shop, STOP at the entrance, look around at the colours and collections before you walk in and engulf yourself in the clothes. And please don’t lose heart when you don’t find something straight away....there is something for every body shape in our wonderful high street.

The new trends are wonderful and I want to tell how the everyday person can wear these trends, look stylish, feel confident and above all feel great and true to their personality. Of these trends there will be some you will not be you but others you will fall in love with.

A few key items to have in your wardrobe this season will be;

The cape

The camel coat

The kilt

A military dress or skirt ( great for work or home )

The handbag with a small strap to be worn over your wrist

All the high street stores will carry these trends in some way or another, here are some tips as to how the stores will carry them; H & M, Zara, Mango, River Island, Miss Selfridge, Oasis, Warehouse will carry top trend items but you will find beautiful pieces in these stores that can be incorporated into anyone’s wardrobe. Phase 8, Ted Baker, French Connection, Pied a Terre, Kenneth Cole, Whistles, Coast, Ralph Lauren, Jaegar, Hobbs, Karen Millen and brands similar to these will stock the trends but they will be softer.

The minimal look

This trend is all about minimalism, forget the detail. LESS IS MORE. THINK SIMPLE BUT POLISHED. The garments will be lean, mean and the minimal lines of the 1990’s. The tailoring will be simple which gives us a great stylish look. The shape and the silhouette of the garment becomes very important with this trend.

Colours that will work well with this trend will be grey, camel and neutral stony tones. Camel will be a super key neutral.

The ‘Must haves’ if you want to follow this trend this season;

Wool Blazer

White shirt

Faux leather dress

Cotton mix skirt

Suede shorts ( mix the fabrics )

Cotton dress

Suede boots

Leather handbag

These shorts will be great for both work and play.

Country – This is going to be one of my favourites!

This trend is all about the outside life, think walks in the country kicking the leaves! Get cosy. The colours in these collection will be the greens, browns and deep reds.....how gorgeous! The fabrics are just gorgeous, leathers, tweeds, knitwear, sheepskin. ITS ALL ABOUT TEXTURE, MIX THEM UP!

The garments you will see this season will be great knit dresses and please add some faux fur, this can be in the form of a hat, scarf or gloves . Faux Fur is huge this season and can add real softness to an outfit. Investment pieces this season will be the chunky boot with walking socks over the top and an Aviator jacket, like everything wear this to suit YOU.

The ‘Must haves’ if you want to follow this trend;

Wool jumper

Wool hat

Faux gillet

Jodphur style trousers

Wool dress

Wool scarf

Suede boots ( these can be used in the Simplicity trend too )

Aviator jacker

Hiking boots

Walking socks

Sheepskin

Lots of Colour, both brights and pastels

Let’s add some colour to the Autumn/Winter months and the brighter the better. The season is usually full of muted colours so to see brights in our wardrobe and walking down the high street will be fantastic. You will also see colour in beautiful pastel shades too, these will be great staple garments which can be layered with the right tones.

If you have had colour analysis then wow you can have some fun this season. All the colours you bring together make sure they are of the same tone. To bring out the sharpness in your garments mix the fabrics ie; wool and silk. If you like colour but want to tone your look down a bit add in one of my favourite items.....a great of jeans. Jeans are the most versatile item of clothing, they just add jzeush to any outfit. And if you really don’t

want to be ‘coloured’ then just add colour in forms of your accessories ie; jewellery, handbags, scarves etc

The ‘Must haves’

Coloured coat

Coloured belt

Handbag

Cape

Coloured jeans

Emebllished

This trend is the complete opposite to the trend Simplicity......MORE IS MORE!

What is being counted as embellishment – garments with built in bling, lace, flowers, beads, sequins and crystals. If you don’t want to look too bling then just add the garment or item to something plain. This is a wonderful trend if you have a dramatic personality, it gives you time to make a style statement in either an item of clothing or in an accessory. If you have a more natural personality then you can add a simple glitzy cuff into any outfit to be part of this trend.

The ‘Must haves’

Handbag with studs

Boots with studs

Lace belt

Embellished dress ( French Connection have a stunning one )

Embellished shoes

The Forces uniform – Another one for me!

If you liked the military trend of the summer you will love this trend. It follows many similarities but it has strong detailing and tailoring and very structured. This season sees more about the tailoring rather than the epaulettes. Colours will be the beiges and khakis , this is for more of the casual look , blacks and navy’s will give a sharper look.

For those of you who like denim ( that be me! ), team a great pair of jeans with a gold buttoned cropped military jacket.  The waistcoat is also a beautiful look for this trend, it can give a wonderful layering effect ( H & M have a beautiful navy waistcoat for £24.99 ). One great look will be jeans,white shirt, waistcoat and military jacket.....GORGEOUS!

You will have seen one way to wear a coat this season is to either use the belt it came with or belt up this coat with another belt. This is great to accentuate the waist. This looks so stylish and is great for this trend. If you're thinking this trend is too masculine then there are some great military dresses ( H & M ,£24.99 and Karen Millen, £120 ) and skirts in our high street.

The ‘Must haves’

Wool coat, military style

Jeans

Military dress or skirt

Cotton mix trousers

Suede and leather mix boots ( M&S have some super shoes boots in these fabrics )

Long Leather boots

The Fifites

Autumn and Winter have fallen back in love with the 1950’s. If you loved Grace Kelly then you will love this trend. One of the key items in your wardrobe must be the fifties dress, you can make it sexy by adding in a platform court shoe ( Carvela have some amazing ones ). For all those curved body shapes the pencil skirt will look amazing.

The ‘Must haves’

Wool mix fifties style coat

Leather skirt

Polo Tshirt

Long gloves

Fifties style dress

Cape – A gorgeous garment to throw over.

Doctors bag

Gothic

Lots and Lots of black, very hard edged looks with very luxurious fabrics. If you want to make a statement this season then the leopard print is for you, it can be incorporated into your wardrobe in forms of boots, gloves, coats, dresses....how daring are you?

Black is a very deep dark colour so gives the illusion of slimming but it is also a very hard colour so be careful with this trend, make it more feminine by adding lace and beading. Like some of the other trends this look is still very tailored so I would recommend you add in a statement coat this season. Allow the coat to fit your individual body shape perfectly.

The ‘Must haves’

Shiny leggings or similar ( be careful with shiny fabrics they can make areas of the body appear larger than they are )

Velvet leggings

Lace and/or satin

Silk shirt

Red lipstick

The smokey eye look

Lisa Talbot is a fully qualified personal and corporate stylist and accredited member of the Federation of Image Consultants. She is also a mum of three so knows that looking good and feeling great has to be easy. www.lisatalbot.co.uk