I have studied catwalk pictures late into the night to give you my round up of the trends for Autumn Winter 08. I have tried to break it down into a logical sequence which is very impressive for someone as illogical as me.

 Styles

Gothic - seen at Luella, Yves St Laurent, Rodarte Grunge - as seen at Burberry Prorsum, LuellaDark Romantic - as seen at Sophia Kokosalaki, Sports Max, Derek LamMilitary - as seen at Tempereley, Ralph Lauren, Alexander McQueen

After reading the article on Skyscraper  heels in the Guardian today, I had to ask myself are high heels getting a bit over the top and how high is too high. For me anything that causes me pain or discomfort is no good. But for those such as Posh, who can totter around apparently comfortably in  Christian Louboutin’s Lola pumps, with heels that measure an eye-watering five inches, I guess super high heels are fine.

Perhaps these shoes are made so incredibly well that the height doesn’t matter and they are still incredibly comfortable adn easy to walk in - maybe thats how people can justify paying that for a pair of shoes. Perhaps it is just their chaffeur driven lifestyle that allows them to wear fashions  latest ankle twisting stillettos. For those of us who have a fear of heights, things are going from bad to worse with Louboutin’s autumn/winter range, which have a a whopping heel height of 14cm. One thing is for sure, this look is not going to become mainstream, I can’t see you average girl running for the bus in these. I think the flat shoes trend for next season will defintely be the one i’ll be following.

For those that can’t so without their high heels but need to ride their bike to work, these Heels on Wheels may help a little. Although I am not sure that I would recommend cycling in extremely high heels!

I predict that collars will be speaking for themelves in Autumn and winter 08. The catwalk shows were making a real statement of collars and using them to create a really interesting outfit. The great thing about an interesting or feature collar is that it draws the eye up towards the face.

At Zac Posen, the delicate and detailed lace collar worked perfectly with the frilly feathered skirt.

Alexander McQueen  again used a lace effect collar, again witha  black dress but this time for a more prim and proper look.

At Marc Jacobs this jewelled collar added a real wow factor to neutral coloured dress. The dress also featured jewelled cuffs to match the collar and the volumous shoulders added some shape to the look.

High collars were every where at the Givenchy Autumn Winter 08 show. My favourite was this beaded collar. The dress is just amazing and I love all of the detail.

At Jil Sander Collars were structured with an almost architectural feel. With height like this we are left wondering whether structural engineers were used in the construction of these garments.

pictures from style.com

If you can’t find an outfit with the perfect statement collar add your own with this Alessandra Rotta Collar.

Red is the colour of roses, chilli peppers and strawberries. It can be a romantic, seductive, hot or powerful colour with each different shade giving a different feeling. For Autumn and Winter 08 red was every where on the catwalk. Red is the perfect colour for an statement dress that really turns heads and is certainly not a colour for shrinking violets.

At Marchesa this divine red gown makes full use of ruffles and pleats for a romantic and very eye catching effect.

This frothy red dress at Giles has an amazing ethereal look created with layers of tulle. The bodice adds some structural support to the whole creation with a boned bodice. 

At Alexander McQueen this full skirted feathered style prom dress was a  real show stopper with an white under skirt for added drama in true Alexander Mcqueen style.

Pictures from Elleuk.com

If you want to look really hot this Autumn and Winter, try this Bold Red Dress. It has sparkly spaghetti straps and neckline and a short but full skirt.

With some much of the stuff around next season, I just had to post again. I hope I don’t bore you- but with so many different looks with lace, I would find it quite difficult to get bored. Here are some more of my favourite lace creations from the Autumn Winter 08 catwalks.

At Givenchy, Riccardo Tisci showed a gorgeous collection that mixed romatic with gothic. This gorgeous version of the little black dress was certainly a hit for me with cross pattern in the lace.

At Stella McCartney, the collection was infused with sexiness, not least this black lace dress hanging seductively off one shoulder.

Luella’s much talked about goths wore traditionally gothic lace dresses.

pictures from Style.com

This Black Lace Cocktail dress is a great way to wear the lace trend.

Have you noticed? Well you can’t really fail to notice the huge amount of lace around for Autumn Winter 08.

First of all there was Prada with more handcrafted Swiss lace than I cold even dare to dream about. The lace didn’t leave much to the imagination with some of the skirts and dresses showing the models big briefs! The look was definitely prim and proper but  the black lace added an edge of sexiness.

Then there was Chanel. One of my favourite labels with an irresistable lace dress. If I could afford one designer item for Autumn Winter 08, it would have to be this dress.

At Temperley London, a girly and feminine white lace top was in complete contrast to skinny leather trousers. A great look- I love it.

At Sophia Kokosolaki, the dramatic black lace dresses were both elegant and flattering with curliform cut outs in the sheer lace adding an some interesting detail.

If you only buy one thing for next season, make it lace like this Black Lace Trim Cocktail Evening Prom Dress.

After my last post. I have decided I’m not yet ready to stop buying summer clothes. I can always hope for better weather and anyway I still have my summer holiday and I can’t wait for two weeks in the glorious baking hot sun. One of the key items I will need will be a bikini. As there is still lots to choose from, I am in bikini heaven. Now I just have to make up my mind which one ( or maybe two or three are best)

This What Katie Did Retro Bikini has to be the coolest bikini I have seen. Great for strutting round the pool in a glam fifties kind of way.

I love the pattern on this Moontide Zanzibar Bikini and the little charm in the middle of the top really finishes it off perfectly. 

This Made in Heaven Polka Dot Bikini is very cute and girly with a pocket at the back. It is a lot more flattering than you think and the colour will look amazing with a sun tan.

This pillar box red Seafolly bikini with white piping will be great for standing out amongst the crowds on the beach. It also has a cleavage enhancing halter neck style.

I’m feeling a bit unsure of where I am fashion wise at the moment. On the one hand the likes of Vogue and Elle are urging me to move on to thinking about my autumn winter wardrobe and have already given me a huge amount of information on what I can look forward to next season. On the other hand the likes of Look are still talking about bikinis, summer dresses and sandals.

I realise that for some, grunge has never really gone away. I however have not really had much experience with the grungy look since my teenage years. I am feeling quite glad that grunge is back but this time in an altogether more polished and grown up sort of way. This is great news for me as the grunge look is easy to wear, comfy and practical, all qualities that I love in my clothes. So where did this new grunge emerge from?

At the Autumn Winter Burberry Prorsum show, grunge completely dominated the catwalk. Christopher Bailey really showed what he was made of with a stunning collection of luxe grunge featuring cool cashmere beanie hats, opaque tights and striped knits.

At Luella the look was perhaps more slightly on the gothic side of grunge with crimped hair and white foundation. But the opaque tights and grungy greens and blues had a definite wearability about them perhaps more than anything else that I have seen on the catwalk this season.

Pictures from Style.com

This Burberry short sleeved T shirt is a bit of luxury and a great colour for next seasons grunge trend.

I can’t wait. I am going to a day at the races and whilst its not ladies day at Ascot or anything, it is still a bit of a do. I never let  a chance to get dressed up pass me by and so I have been putting a lot of thought into what I should wear. I love dresses and I think a dress will most probably be my choice. But which type of dress? There are so many different styles, patterns and colours available for summer. I don’t really know what the weather will be like so I also need to consider a stylish cover up in case the heavens open (as the seem to all the time at the moment).

This gorgeous Aftershock dress in soft peach is perfect, it treads just the right line between smart and casual and is bright and happy aswell as comfy and easy to wear.

This Mattabisch Stole is a great to cover up for the changable weather of the British summer. I can add some tan wedge shoes, a tan bag and some sparkly jewellery for the perfect outfit for the races.