MSN Shopping Blog

by Ellen

Am slightly disappointed with the summer sales this year. We've launched them on MSN Shopping but otherwise the high street is proving somewhat uninspiring.

All I've snapped up so far (not for want of trying) is a pair of £9.99 skinny jeans and some flat black sandals. The jeans are nearly the wrong side of stonewashed and feel like some 1992 girlband rip-offs, but they're very skinny and 'proper' denim rather than the stretchy alternatives. I'm still on the look out for more bargains but right now it seems, what with the credit crunch and all, I might actually spend less in the sales than ever.

by Ellen

Walk into any number of high street shops and you would be forgiven for getting an eerie sense of deja-vu. Yep, the shops are filled with the same few key trends over and over again. Obviously this happens every season but this summer it seems really distinct. Here's my favourite and the one I'm really not digging:

Yes Please: Graphic Flag Prints

You might as well just rip down a Stars and Stripes and wrap me  in it - I can't get enough of the red, the white and the blue, and stripes especially.

These colours are my basic staples all year round and this season's clashing of colours and prints is an easy upgrade. I'm particularly fond of stripes on skirts, especially the Riviera-feel ones, similar to the sold-out Topshop version.

All a slight update of the nautical look, which we decided can be worn by everyone.

No Thanks: Candy Colours

Walking into one high street shop this week I felt like I'd just stepped into a giant piece of candy floss. Coated in marshmallows. The trends for feminine, floaty fabrics and cuts is all well and good but the overdose on pastel pinks, creams and peaches is really pushing me to the brink.

While it looked elegant and stylish on the catwalk, how to transfer this to your daily commute without looking like a 5 year old who got lost in a Fondant Fancies factory is tough. Still, if you think it'll work for you, be my guest.

by Ellen

No, this is not a bad Little Britain sketch. Croydon is getting its own Fashion Week. 

Instead of making jokes about the Croydon face-lift or rambling on about Kate Moss, I am feeling a tad proud of my home town. Everyone is defensive of the place they come from, and with Croydon I am all the more vehement with my big-ups as there is little wrong with the place.

The centre might be a tad urban and grey, it might seem a little soulless at times, and a Friday night in the George might still be my idea of hell, but overall, Croydon is pleasant enough. It's just sad the news has turned it into an opportunity to roll out all the anti-Croydon jibes and forgotten about the creative talent and love of fashion the event will be celebrating. Surprisingly enough, people from Croydon can be stylish and into fashion. Can you believe it?!