The weather may be wintery and miserable outside, but my mind is firmly set in spring mode. Maybe it’s the post-fashion week blues or longer daylight hours that’s caused my seasonal clock to skip a beat, or perhaps it the flurry of new season stock arriving at my favourite stores? I’m inclined to think it has more to do with the latter and my desire to shrug off my dull winterey threads in favour of new pastels and prints.

Back in November I was invited along to Mint Velvet’s SS13 press day. Spring seemed a long way off then, but I still enjoyed the opportunity to browse through their delectable collection and indulge my post-BFAs self with a relaxing hand massage courtesy of the spa at the Sanderson hotel.

I’m already a huge fan of this brand and bought no less than three dresses from their AW12 collection. Needless to say I think I’ll be buying even more from their SS13 collection, I can see this becoming quite a costly business!

Amongst the MV pieces for Spring/Summer are their classic styles reworked with warmer colours and updated prints. Previous seasons has seen them stick to a more muted tone, but bright oranges and yellows abound this season making me dream of beaches, blue skies and summer days to come.

Favourites from the collection include the mosaic trench coat, the pleat bib dress (a shorter sleeved version of the black dress I bought last season) and the Zanthe print dress.

Ever since I saw Briony (A Girl, A Style) wearing hers, I've wanted to own a Whistles leather jacket. At £295 they’re certainly not cheap, but they are an investment piece and the quality is second to none. I finally got my hands on one when we visited Chester a few weeks ago. We stumbled across the store by chance and since it had only been open a month, I decided it must be a sign.

I’d never really considered wearing a biker jacket before. Not being a cool, ‘I spend my weekends cruising on my Harley’ type of girl, I just didn't think they’d suit me, so I never thought to try one on. But seeing how Briony had paired hers – with a cute white dress and pearls, made me realise that I didn't have to resemble a member of Hells Angels to don a biker jacket. 

I've subsequently found teaming it with dresses and skirts to be my style of choice – it adds edge to a girly ensemble without making me look like I'm auditioning for the role of Sandy in a remake of Grease. And as soon as the cooler months arrive I'm looking forward to wearing it with my long faux fur gilet from Topshop, which I think will look equally great with both jeans and dresses.

For anyone struggling to justify purchasing a leather jacket, allow me to introduce you to the marvellous cost-per-wear gauge (which is how I justified this extravagant purchase to my husband). A quality leather jacket will last for years, meaning that your initial upfront splurge will, over time, become entirely inconsequential... Finally a maths lesson I both understand and appreciate!

Is it wrong that I find myself willing the weather to cool down?! Not that we really had much of a summer anyway. But that complaint aside, my present-day desire to see the temperature drop a few degrees is unquestionably a result of AW12 collections like this from Reiss…

Reiss have nailed it this season, with shapes, colours and textures that take hold of every emotion. Their inspiration for AW12 was ‘the city’; dynamic and always exciting. Rich and luxurious heritage moments are referenced, but there’s no doubt this a thoroughly modern season. From the artistic and romantic affair of woodland influences to the strength and power of Forties icons, there’s also sexy, minimalist Nineties styling and playful pyjama dressing, which drench the season in utterly aloof glamour.

I simply cannot wait to pull on jumpers, cardigans, scarves and coats and snuggle up against the cold. My desire to throw on multiple layers of knitwear is quite surprising given that I never fully made the transition from my winter wardrobe to my summer wardrobe (cursed British weather!). But when admiring Reiss’ collection I simply cannot wait for the winter months to arrive!

Check out the Reiss AW12 womens campaign video below:

Since the beginning of 2012 I’ve wanted to own a pair of Ash’s Bowie Wedge Trainers. Normally I like to consider an extravagant purchase for a few weeks before making it, but this is the first time I’ve taken nine months to make a decision. This lengthy indecision was a result of the customary question I apply to all fashion trends, “will it/they suit me?”, and in this case I wasn’t sure that they would.

Sports luxe is a trend that I really love… on other people… it’s just not something that I can see working for me. I felt the same way about the trainers; I loved them when I saw other people wearing them, but I just couldn’t decide whether I could pull them off. 

Maybe it’s a result of the Olympics buzz, or maybe it’s due to the slight shifting of sports luxe away from shiny fabrics, baggy cropped clothes and sportswear to a more refined vibe featuring bold colours and relaxed silhouettes that has caused me to rethink my stance on this evolving trend. Whatever the reason, I’ve begun to see how I could incorporate various pieces into my AW12 wardrobe and as I had some loyalty points saved up with my-wardrobe.com I thought I’d put them to good use and invest in a pair of Ash’s Bowie wedges.

I ‘unboxed’ them (YouTube terminology) on camera, so you can take a look at that exciting(!) moment here: http://www.theitguide.co.uk/unboxing-ash-trainer-wedges

My biggest concern with these trainers is that I’d been admiring them on the likes of Miranda Kerr, i.e. a 6ft plus supermodel with never-ending legs. Unfortunately for me at 5ft 6in… and a size 14 that didn’t seem to add up to the same result, but never mind, there’s always Photoshop.

Given my initial concerns I was actually quite pleased when I started styling some outfits wearing my new winter red suede wedges. They worked well with both skinny jeans and dresses – which is useful given that my wardrobe consists predominantly of dresses and jeans… I put together four possible outfits; the first two looks are an attempt to add a bit of ‘sports edge’ to a girly ensemble. The third is styled with skinny jeans and a tailored blazer and the fourth with a basic printed tee.

The real beauty of these trainers is their ability to lengthen your legs, if, like me, you’re not a towering supermodel then the hidden wedges will help no end to make your legs look that little bit longer. They’re also amazingly comfortable, so I know I’ll have no problem wearing them all day long. Overall I’m delighted that I went ahead and bought a pair, the question now is do I buy them in another colour?!

Never one to do anything by halves, when I saw a blog post from House of Fraser asking bloggers to pull together a key look for next season, I sensed a challenge afoot. Rather than simply listing the items, I saw an opportunity to be a little bit more creative.

After some quick brainstorming I decided to create a paper doll that I could style with my favourite items from House of Fraser. I have fond memories of paper dolls as my first foray into the world of fashion. Long before I was sewing clothes for Barbie and Sindy, I was carefully cutting out outfits to style my flimsy friends.

So what better way to create some fashion nostalgia than turning several great buys into clothes for a (very stylish) paper doll?

I’ve gone for a winter sunshine look; teaming a Whistles leather jacket with Wolford opaques, a French Connection dress, fabulous Miu Miu sunglasses, a beaded necklace from Mint Velvet, suede ankle boots from Steve Madden and a new season Biba bag.

Here she is wearing her outfit; I think you’ll agree this is one chic paper doll.

Should you wish to download my doll to use as a negotiating tool for convincing your boyfriend/partner/spouse that new season clothes are vital as they can successfully make a paper doll look good, then you can by clicking here.

I knew an A-Level in Art would benefit me one day...