HARVEY'S SUPERCOOL

I could quite happily live gazing down onto the views of north Deansgate - especially if I were constantly surrounded by the beautiful pieces showcased at the Manchester Harvey Nichols autumn/winter 2012 press day on Wednesday.

No self-respecting fashionista could hate Givenchy's rottweiler. The brand emblazened it over sweaters, tees, clutches, and, in this instance, a tote. Further bags proffered to the press were Victoria Beckham's Harper bag (which unfortunately posessed an eye-watering price point), Alexander McQueen clutches, and an enormous Givenchy leather backpack, ideal for back-to-school, albeit a £10k-a-year private school.

My future without the Isabel Marant suede fringed jacket is looking rather bleak. Once seen, never forgotten. Marant is a new designer to the Harvey Nichols fold (who are also carrying the Etoile line) and they have a fantastic selection of the best pieces - including the fringed boots and Bobby sneakers.

It's very easy to focus on your favourite designers with an offering like this but I'm glad I also checked out Maison Scotch. The collection's cosy knits appear to be Mexican-inspired with some really cute details.

Another new brand to Harvey Nicks is Delicious. Their fun prints and candy coloured jersey are akin to Wildfox, and are oft-spotted on the trendier members of the TOWIE cast.

And the best of the rest.. Prada sunglasses, Superga x House of Holland sneakers, pretty perfumes, and Arty rings.

On my way out I took a detour through the shoe gallery where there is currently an abundance of Jeffrey Campbells. And not just Litas! The silver cowboy boots have shot straight to the top of my birthday list.

So what do you think of Harvey Nichols' new collection? Personally I'm seriously impressed - they've really updated their designers and got with the times without losing their luxury identity. A new buyer maybe? Or maybe they just got a Tumblr account. I don't care. I love it!

EASY DRESSING

French Connection top Zara trousers Love Label boots Urban Outfitters sunglasses H&M necklace Dixi & BCBG rings Forever 21, Kenneth Jay Lane & vintage bracelets Jeans and a t-shirt, version 2.0. This has got to be my favourite top of all time - it's so baggy and mis-shapen, but the fringes move beautifully and it can be worn day or night. I deliberated about buying these trousers - would every blogger and their dog have them come September? - but in the end I am so happy I got them. They're my version of disco pants; the material sucks me in, acts like a Wonderbra on my (pretty much non-existent) bum and will undoubtedly become my go-to pair this winter.

I'm still without internet in my new flat, and in fact will be without it until the 21st of August. Currently I'm sat in Starbucks waiting for them to realise how much bandwidth I'm sapping uploading all these images. I'm in desperate need of new ways to procrastinate so please fire any suggestions my way! DIY tutorials, cool magazines, and new dance routines all welcome. FYI I don't have a TV, and reading feels far too productive. HELP.


Graceful as a newborn horse.

(Apologies for the new animated gif obsession. Clearly my lack of internet has regressed me back to a time when I had to ask my parents to use the computer)

DIESEL A/W POP-UP

What comes to mind when you think of Diesel? As a teen, their jeans were the holy grail of denim, and I was pleased as punch when I got my first pair from the Cheshire Oaks outlet store. I didn't much bother with the brand as I grew up as I simply assumed I'd grown out of it.

Turns out Diesel had grown with me. I visited the Diesel autumn/winter 2012 collection pop-up in Harvey Nichols on Thursday, and was treated to a thorough run-down of the collection and brand by the (very passionate & knowledgable) Northern visual co-ordinator, Helen.

Diesel has split into three much more targeted brands, rather than attempting to cover all markets as the previous one did. 55DSL is the "bread and butter" goods - t-shirts and denim - Black Gold is a luxury brand with Sophia Kokosalaki at the creative helm (though Vogue reports Kokosalaki is leaving after three years in charge), with the eponymous brand covering the notoriously difficult middle market.

Diesel will be no less on-point than its older Black Gold sister however, as its head designer is Fashion East & NEWGEN alumni, Heikki Salonen, who is known for his grungy, minimal aesthetic. As I saw on Thursday the autumn/winter collection covered all wardrobe bases - the perfect leather jacket, the coloured skinny, a dress-up-or-down jumpsuit - in a mainly neutral colour palette; on-trend khaki being the basenote with a pop of sunflower yellow on top. Each piece would work effortlessly with the rest of the collection, along with your best vintage top or high-street blazer.

Look out for the Diesel pop-up in your local Harvey Nichols - it's visiting each store for two weeks at a time - and I guarantee you will be impressed as I with the brand's progression.

NINETIES ANGEL/NINETIES DEVIL

There was absolutely no way I could resist sharing the delicious new Wildfox White Label lookbook with you. The collection has reawakened my craving to be a 90s American teenager; surely I'm not the only one to think that the grass was greener across the pond, or did I just watch too much My So Called Life? I so wanted to ditch my maroon school uniform and go to class wearing Converse, pin up a picture of my crush (Joseph Gordon Levitt circa Third Rock From The Sun, obvs) in my locker, and hopelessly try out for Cheer Squad year after year.

Before I unleash the serious eye candy on you, you need to decide whether you're an angel or a devil. But don't worry! There's no soul-searching involved, thanks to the handy little quiz devised by Wildfox: it's not too dissimilar to the quizzes featured in Bliss which decided whether you should speak to your crush or not (NB: you definitely should).

Personally? I'd rather have wings and horns. And yeah, I'm totally still crushing hard on Joseph Gordon Levitt (call me. Let's make out).

Click to visit the Wildfox blog for more totally rad images!

ELECTRIC WITCHES

Back in late January (that's an entire fashion season ago, WOW) I got the chance to visit the wonderful Miista team in East London. I was ridiculously excited that their spring/summer stock samples were littering the office, about to drop in-stores, whereas Laura and the team were already busy masterminding their autumn/winter collection.

 

How you get from a seemingly chaotic, yet incredibly well thought out moodboard to a collection of designer shoes is beyond me, but maybe that's why the Miista team design the shoes and I just drool over them. 

I'm pleased to present to you the ELECTRIC WITCHES lookbook. The shoes (and styling!) are somewhere between my 11-year-old self's separate obsessions with the 1970s and Clueless, and my velvet-clad traditional gothic phase, aged 15. Basically everything my dreams were, and still are made of. 

My top choice from Electric Witches is the silver May - that big, bouncy rubber soul looks so comfy, and there is something totally irreverent about the Chelsea-style boot perched on top - followed closely by Luela and Ida. If my choices don't boil your cauldron then check out the rest of the lookbook: every season there is unfailingly a Miista to bewitch us all.