The Eurovision Song Contest was first conceived as a fun and exciting way in which different countries around Europe could showcase their culture and present to the world the best they have to offer in terms of musical talent. Of course this is not exactly what has happened, as the musical delights entered into the contest seem to fall specifically under a very particular genre of Euro-pop actually created by the contest, with most entrants singing in English (or French, in the case of this year's Icelandic entry).

Did you know that every month we reward our best reviewers with £50 of designer gift vouchers? No? Well you do now!

We're keen to make The 'It' Guide stand out from the mass of fashion blogs and websites that are out there. We want your opinion on the products we feature on the site. The 'It' Guide is about offering a platform for everyone to voice their views on the latest fashion trends, they'll be no dictatorship here!

I've just been sent this message from theOutnet and wanted to share it with you all:

"Hello everyone, I am Stephanie, Director of theOutnet. I wanted to personally say that we have been listening to all your comments. First and most importantly, I want to say sorry for the frustrating experience that many of you had. You have shown incredible interest in our site today and we do not take that lightly. Clearly, while we were prepared for the volume of traffic the sale would deliver, in some markets, the UK mainly, we were overwhelmed by the speed at which you came to the site this morning. This remarkable volume –up to 9 orders a second - led the site to crash for many of you, and I want to say that we are very sorry to all those who didn’t get to buy anything at the sale, but delighted for the thousands of lucky ones amongst you that did walk away with a £1/$1 bargain from theOutnet. We want to thank all of you for being part of our first year celebrations. With each event we are working hard to fix issues that arise, and want to say that we fully intend to offer you further bargain shopping opportunities in the future. Thank you again, Stephanie"

Well theOutnet’s Birthday Sale is all over now; did you manage to get that once in a lifetime designer bargain you were hoping for? No? Sounds like you’re one of the many that didn’t.

It was hyped as being one of the biggest designer fashion sale events ever, but unfortunately for most people it didn’t live up to the expectation. It was always going to be a mad rush to grab a bargain, but people were hindered dramatically by the server struggling. Something that you’d like to think could have been anticipated by the guys at theOutnet based on the amount of RSVPs they must have received.

With the attention of the world's media firmly focused upon fashion shows, the catwalk can provide the perfect platform from which to make a political statement. In the past designers have used the catwalk to air their views on a variety of issues, regardless as to whether or not they were directly related to the fashion world.

Throughout the years, Buckingham palace has hosted many events which have been attended by thousands of different people from all over the globe. On Tuesday evening the royal palace played host to some of the most famous faces in home-grown fashion, as it acted as a splendid venue for the royal reception for the British Clothing Industry.

Known as one of the most brilliant directors of our generation, Tim Burton is famous for producing films that are - amongst other things - a feast for the eyes. With his characteristic quirkiness, Burton's pictures are always visually alluring and rich and so it is hardly surprising that the world premier of his latest eagerly awaited offering - Alice in Wonderland - had stars stepping onto the green (yes, green) carpet wearing the most fabulous of ensembles.

Fashion weeks are a usually an opportunity for designers to reveal their collections for the up-coming season; for fashion journalists to get an insight into the latest trends; and for new designers to start making their mark.

This year, however, the fashion weeks showcasing the trends for 2010 have been somewhat overshadowed by two tragedies – the untimely death of fashion icon Alexander McQueen and the tragic earthquake in Haiti.

New York Fashion Week is usually a time of great excitement, but this year a veil of sadness has fallen over the highly anticipated event as a result of the tragic death of much-loved fashion designer Alexander McQueen. Despite being at the height of his career, McQueen was found dead at his Mayfair apartment on 11th February. The police have confirmed that there were no suspicious circumstances surrounding McQueen's death and it is now believed that McQueen took his own life. His apparent suicide happened just days after the passing of his beloved mother Joyce, with whom McQueen was extremely close.

In spite of its distinctly French location, this week fashion wild child Jean Paul Gaultier successfully managed to make Paris Couture Fashion Week feel more like a hot and spicy fiesta than a predictably rainy afternoon in Europe. Never one to disappoint, Gaultier stunned his audience with a fabulous collection inspired by all aspects of Mexican culture and heritage, from the obvious iconic silhouettes of sombreros through to pre-Spanish Mexican society - certainly a lot to fit into one collection!