Virgo: 24 August - 23 September

Embrace your inner little girl, and have fun with fun little prints and colours this month. With a lot of fruit prints, such as cherries, and bright blues coming into fashion, you’ll have a lot of choice.

Image: HERE

Libra: 24 September - 23 October

Go tribal and safari chic this month and pretend you’re on an amazing trip somewhere. The high street has embraced neutrals, such as beige, as well as tribal and leopard print, so you’ll be spoilt for choice. Don’t forget to take a camera with you!

Scorpio: 24 October - 22 November

Dramatic, ‘loud’ tops are made for you this month. Batwings, structured shoulders and slouchy or crop tops will all add a bit of fun to your look. Just be sure to pair them with a plan pair of skinnies, so that they really stand out.

Sagittarius: 23 November - 22 December

There’s a lot of power in a good hairstyle, and it’s time to go sleek. Straighten your hair and go for a sleek, high ponytail or a nice and neat, chic top knot. Both styles are very low maintenance so you won’t need to worry about the rain ruining your hair.

Capricorn: 23 Deccember - 20 January

With the last of the festivals taking place, it’s time for festival fashion to have one last Hurrah by embracing the look. Think feathered hair extensions, fringe bags and crochet vests. It might be a bit much to wear all at once, but individually, the pieces will give you the perfect festival look.

Aquarius: 21 January - 19 February

Change is always good, so it’s time to go opposite with your style. If you’re often seen in a pretty girly dress, it’s time to go edgier with some boots and black trousers. If you’ve already got an edgy look, try for a more girly look, with lighter colours and floral prints. The change will do you some good.Image: HERE

Pisces: 20 February - 20 March

It’s clear to see that summer is, once again, being left behind. With autumn winds coming in and winter collections on display, it’s time to get prepared. There are a lot of really cute jumpers out there and the lovelies of boots; you’ll have the opportunity to look great this winter.

Aries: 21 March - 20 April

Minimalism is always a good look. Think delicate, light pieces of jewellery, neutral colours and feminine prints. As for makeup, go as natural as possible. Ditch the foundation and heavy eyeliner, and instead, go for skin tone eye shadow and light pink lipsticks. You’ll feel so much lighter and happier in this new look.

Taurus: 21 April - 21 May

There’s power in nails and this month they’re going to stand out. Go for bold colours or over the top statement nails. Get a manicure and add animal prints, bows or diamante to get them to stand out and make an impact.

Gemini: 22 May - 22 June

A pop of colour is always in; just don’t go over the top. Think one bright piece per outfit and you’re good to go. Black dress? Pair it with red flats. A white tee? Well, that’ll go great with a bright skirt. One pop of colour will be more subtle and sexy.

Cancer: 23 June - 23 July

Come rain or shine, a scarf is the perfect accessory. With the unpredictable weather taking its toll on our style, it’s good to know that we can always relay on a cute scarf. If there’s a bit of sun out there, go for a bright scarf or a pashmina. If it’s slightly colder, get a cure knitted snood or thick scarf to wrap around yourself.

Image: HERE

Leo: 23 July - 23 August

Take inspiration from work wear this month and look more professional. Black knee skirts and white pussy bow blouses will make you look more grown up and sophisticated. Finish off your look with gorgeous black heels and a leather bag, and you’ve instantly made going to work more stylish.

The fashion status of many highstreet chains is now firmly established. Collections at international fashion weeks (Jaeger London, Topshop Unique and Topman Design have catwalk shows at this year's London Fashion Week), partnerships and collaborations between chains and high profile fashion figures, like those of Topshop and Kate Moss and H&M and Lanvin, and the availability of fashion designers like Ashish, PPQ and Meadham Kirchhoff readily and affordably available, have all solidified the mass market's reputation as a credible voice in the industry.

As part of its enthusiastic democratisation of catwalk fashion with collections that make key trends available to 'us lot', the highstreet has adopted the visual, editoral medium of the Lookbook (especially favoured by fashion bloggers). At the same time as showcasing its wares, the Lookbook expresses the aesthetic styling that accompanies a season and shares the image and lifestyle that oftens acts as the ultimate accessory.

Here are my favorites from A/W11 so far.

ALL SAINTS

MISS SELFRIDGE

TOPSHOP

WAREHOUSE

ZARA

ALL IMAGES GRATEFULLY COPIED FROM THE COMPANIES' RESPECTIVE WEBSITES.

The bank holiday weekend is coming up, and so its time to start planning that weekend away.  Oh but hold your horses Mr, you cant just stuff all your weekend clothes in a Tesco bag, you need something elegant, different, cool, and perhaps even a bit quirky.  Its not about buying a man bag to impress, its about taking pride in your appearance and outfit from the top to bottom.  For a good man bag, can make a great man.  So here is our selection of weekend bags for your approval.

3.1 Philip Lim 31 Mile Backpack

Barbour Beacon Backpack

Dunhill Bladon Leather Holdall

Filson Wheeled Duffle

So we would love to hear from you (male or female) on what bag you used.  Did your man impress with a sleek Mulberry weekend bag, or did he turn up with the backpack from school he's had for years?  For now, its over to you...

Callum from Maketh-The-Man

Men's style columnist

I had known about the summer ball for ages.  It's been booked since the spring, but through being a busy bee these last few weeks and being a little short on cash, buying a new dress just wasn't really an option.  I had one frock in mind to wear right up until the last minute, a purple Debenhams number I bought for a couple of weddings last year.  The cut is classic and the colour suits my almost transparently pale skin.  But at the last minute, for some reason, I bottled it.  I didn't fancy getting my legs out, I hadn't fake tanned, I was worried about the fit on the shoulders, take your pick of the excuses.  So, at the eleventh hour, it was time to call on an old faithful.

I bought the dress in the Boxing Day sales in 2007 to wear to a New Year's Eve Ball just a few days later.  I seem to remember my sister playing an integral part in sourcing it, and that it took some work to find.  Like most classics, it's black.  Made by Julien Macdonald for his Star line at Debenhams, it's a slinky maxi that fits in all the right places and is super comfy.  It's got the obligatory bit of sparkle of it in the shape of oversized gems just under the bust and it is just totally perfect. Even though I have changed shape a bit recently, it continues to flatter.  Here's a few shots of it in action over the last few years! (Apologies that none are full-size outfit shots: style blogging wasn't even a twinkle in my eye until very recently!)

First outing, Christmas 2007

Work Christmas party, 2008

University ball (with a broken wrist and elbow-length gloves), Christmas 2010

And finally...

Work summer ball, August 2011

(all images by Naomi Thorne)

Every time I have worn the dress, it attracts compliments, and I couldn't help but wonder why.  In many ways, the dress is a fairly simple one, even with the bit of sparkle.  Here's my theory:  the dress suits me, and I feel good in it so I walk that little bit differently.  You know that confidence when your hair's gone right that morning, you're wearing the new handbag you've been coveting for ages or you've just received an amazing compliment?  Yes, that.  If simply putting on a dress makes you feel that good, you're bound to attract the right type of attention.

Do you have a particular go-to outift that just always seems to work?

Hello!!

The shortlist for August's Blog of the Month is as follows:

• F7 Jewellery
• Scientist Chic
• Fashion Loving
• Makeup Marple
• Who Is She

The BSB Team will decide between us who should win, and the winner will be announced on the 28th!

Congrats guys, and good luck!

Rachel
(Community Manager)

Q: I think maybe one of my boobs is bigger than the other?

A: Of course it is.

Everybody's are. Even identical twins aren't literally physically identical - and neither are their chestmounds. Between them they have four individual, unidentical breasts.

Some people won't notice, because the difference is tiny. Some people won't notice because they don't pay theirs much attention - if that's you, I suggest  you might want to be more regular with your lump-checking. It's good to get into practise.

Some people can't help but notice because the disparity in cup size is wild - maybe you have an E on the left and a C on the right, or an A on the right and a D on the left. That must be pretty annoying for you, because on the whole nobody really caters for that. You're not alone - but as I've discussed before, highstreet sizing is not designed with diversity first in mind.

But whether the difference is large or small, rest assured - it's always there.

This only starts to be a negative when the world refuses to accommodate you. Such as: when one is bra shopping.

HELL OF HELLS*.

If your different sizes (or shapes, or maybe weights) are slimly parted enough that both can fit comfortably within the one cup size, then it's your party! You don't have to trouble yourself! Get along with you. But if you, like me, find yourself lopsided to the point of one bra being too big on one side, then the next being too small on the other, never fear! I have done the research for you.

Now, my favourite option is one I have not checked with experts. But that's fine, that's traditional, as I call this the Frankenstein Method. You can guess, right?

The downside is that you have to be rich enough to be able to afford two bras. Unless you're lucky (or an almost-identical twin? or triplet? etc?) and you have a pal who, WOAH, has the same general measurements as you apart from mirror-image boob-heft. That is, if you have a friend who can take the left half of a 38F whilst you take the right, and will be overjoyed to receive the right side of a 38 DD while you merrily stitch the left to your aforementioned right-38F. What a happy pair you will be! What a happy pair you will have!

Be sure to sew sturdily, and be sure to use the same band measurement for both halves, OK? let me know how it goes.

The facty part of the matter comes here; If you have one noticeably larger breast, and you are going to buy only one size, you fit the bra to that side. This I do have from the experts. Bravissimo ones. Well, one. But it is her job to know!

Squishing up all that delicate instrumentation and fat with wires is not good for you, and spilling out over the balcony of your bra is not comfortable. Not quite filling out a soft cup? Not a problem. If you have the confidence you can home-alter with a stitch or two, or you can pad the cup out if it's wrinkling and drawing the eye. I've not tried it, but buying a padded bra one size down and then removing the padding on the larger side might also work if you're only the one size between them. Just check that that would be possible to do before you buy the bra, OK?

Your body is your body. It will not be symmetrical. It will not always be catered to. But it is yours to treat as you please. Aim for satisfaction, and be not swayed from it by interesting new facts of physicality!

Clairefix

Remember - the ask box is always open, and urgent problems can and will be answered on the tumblr between monthly fixtures. Feel free to ask anonymously!

Peace out, problemeers! And hey - feel like being a great help? But the clairfix link-button in your sidebar and point other people in the direction of my helpful help! Cheers!

<a href="http://clairefix.tumblr.com" title="clairefix"><img src="http://i.picasion.com/pic41/0d7ab11deac96407616b0bf0e2948f82.gif" border="0" alt="gif animator"></a>

*Actually secondary to jeans-shopping. Which I do not do. Because I hate it.

When I first started delving into the world of blogging, Retro Chick was the first vintage lifestyle blog I found and I was entranced by the mix of vintage, retro, reproduction and modern clothing. The blog was started by Gemma Seager all the way back in 2008. She's the girl to help you find the perfect red lipstick and help you get the best out of your thrifting adventures, so let's get to know her...

Despite not living in the city you always seem to find the best sales and events. What's the best way to find on what's going on in your local area? I'd love to try some more thrifting and head to a car boot sale but I just don't know where they are.

The key is just to keep your eyes and ears open. The local free paper often has listings for jumble sales and car boot sales in the back pages. When you're out and about pick up leaflets and free magazines.

Online make sure you join Facebook groups and follow local people and sites on Twitter. It's a good idea to use the lists function on Twitter so you can seperate out people from your local area and keep an on what's on!

On that topic, what are your favourite things about your local area and do you have any top tips for places to go?

I'm live in Norwich and I run a website, Vintage Norwich (www.vintagenorwich.co.uk), that showcases all the best local shops, cafes and bars with a vintage friendly vibe. If you pay us a visit you have to have afternoon tea at Biddy's Tea Room, check out our great vintage shops, Antidote, Prim, Retreat and Lulu's are some of the best, and definitely pay a visit to our huge local Antique Market, Aladdins Cave on Magdalen Street.

When did your love of vintage and retro clothing and style begin?

It's hard to say! When I was little I was obsessed with books about WWII and I loved Poirot! I've always dressed far more smartly than a lot of people do, and taken inspiration from the 40s and 50s but I didn't have what you would really call a proper vintage style until I discovered the internet and found other people who dressed that way! It's like I didn't know you were allowed!

Do you have a favourite vintage era that inspires you, and if so why?

I'm particularly inspired by the mid 30s - mid 50s. Each decade has a different style and I like to pick and mix! The 40s and 50s nipped waists and fuller skirts suit my figure more, but I love the look of the slinky bias cuts from the 1930s.

What is your top tip for buying vintage clothing?

Don't pay too much for it! Keep your wits about you and remember that just because it's in a vintage shop doesn't mean you should pay over the odds for it. Check condition carefully before parting with your money, check seams, buttons and hold it up to the light to check for moth holes.

Bargains can still be found on eBay and in charity shops, if you know what you're looking for.

Do you have a favourite method or style for retro hair? I've become obsessed with rag curls recently.

At the moment I'm favouring a more 30s waved style. I use sponge rollers and setting lotion, rolled forward at the front of my head and then form it into waves with my hands and lots of pins! Keeping curls in my hair has always been a problem for me, so I have to wet set it!

What inspired you to start blogging and has your motivation to carry on changed at all?

Initially I started blogging as a way of promoting my online shop, but it's become more and more the focus of what I do. I love the interaction of blogging and it's the people that read regularly, even those that don't comment, that make me want to carry on!

What the hardest challenges to solve or work around in your early blogging days?

Gosh, it was so long ago now I can't really remember! Finding my own voice and my place in the blogging world was probably the biggest challenge. I wasn't sure whether I was a fashion blogger, a vintage blogger or a lifestyle blogger. Then I realised it didn't really matter. I could just be me! Things really changed when I stopped trying to fit myself into a niche and started only writing about things that inspired me.

What is the very best thing from your blogging experience?

The friends I've made and the people I've met. There are so many other bloggers, commenters, twitter followers and Facebook "likers" that I've got to know and can now count as friends. People are so supportive and helpful, I think it's an amazing online community.

Do you feel your style has evolved at all since you began blogging?

Definitely! I've got so much more confidence now than I had when I started blogging. I feel like I dress how I want now, rather than how I felt I should. I've moved towards a far more "vintage" style, but I still mix things up a bit, I don't restrict myself to what's period correct, I wear what I like.

Could you tell us a little about the Campaign for Clear Clothes Sizing?

I've written about vanity sizing several times, and from the responses I've had it seems a lot of women are incredibly frustrated by the variations they find in clothes sizing between different brands, and sometimes even in the same brand!

The Campaign for Clearer Clothes sizing isn't about making all clothes shops conform to a standard sizing model. Womens proportions vary, so to standardise sizing would make it harder for people with proportions outside of the average to find clothes that fit. The campaign is about asking brands and shops to be clearer about the measurements of the patterns they cut to.

We'd like the measurements the garment is cut to fit printed on the labels, and for shops to clearly display accurate size charts on their websites and in store.

What's the best piece of blogging advice you've been given and would you like to add some wisdom of your own?

The best advice I was given was not to obsess over your stats. They may go up or down, but if you're confident you're writing good content then it's ok.
My advice is to be yourself. People like to read blogs where they feel they connect with the person behind the writing. Think about *why* you like reading the blogs you read on a regular basis and take inspiration from that, rather than the actual content.

Intrinsically Florrie x

Written and attended by Florrie Clarke

I was delighted to be asked to attend the private view of the new Masters of Style:Celebrating the Stories behind Italian Fashion. exhibition at Somerset house on behalf of BSB. You can always guarentee that Somerset House exhibitions will be of the highest quality and the subject really interested me. The show is sponsored by Peroni Nastro Azzurro. The brand, which loves to celebrate Italian lifestyle, worked with curator Colin McDowell on the exhibition which marks the 150th anniversary of the unification of Italy.At the party there was a wonderful, excited buzz of a contented crowd and it was lovely to hear Colin McDowell himself speak about the work he curated so brilliantly.

Designers spend six months tirelessly working up to a fashion show that lasts mere minutes, but the collection lives on. This exhibition explores what happens after the last model walks down the catwalk, when the designers have to consider how they want their collection to be taken forward into the new season, creating a very personal brand identity by working with photographers and models. The exhibition hosts a fascinating range of images from illustrations and glamourous black and white shots of decades past to more recent iconic images I am familiar with from my magazines, such as Madonna as a domestic goddess photographed by Steven Mesiel. It's all a visual feast and the rich histories of the fashion houses are really intriguing.

The designers involved are all renowned for their style and high quality of workmanship. They are: Georgio Armani, Dolce & Gabbana, Salvatore Ferragamo, Gucci, Missoni and Prada. Each designer has personally chosen their favourite images, making it a very special exhibition.

But, I hear you cry, isn't this post, at the start of August, a little bit premature? My answer: no. Get applying now. Get finding accommodation now. Get excited now.

Why? Because if you're a blogger who's never been to fashion week before, you're in for a terrifying, thrilling, fascinating experience from which you will learn a lot, but possibly not gain a lot of unique content - if you've not done your homework far enough in advance. (Besides, the schedule at British Style Bloggers means that my editorial on this comes either now or in September - and that's leaving it far too late!)

Image: HERE

I've been to London Fashion Week twice, now, and, much as I love it, I'm very excited to be on the other side of the world this time around, and to pass the torch on to my lovely deputies - I have a feeling that the more relaxed Australian way of life will mean that Fashion Week in Sydney is a little less manic and a little more enjoyable and sociable.

That said, Fashion Week - for all its insanity - is a thrilling experience, and is something that any blogger should jump at the chance to be involved in. But, what do you need to know?

The Basics

• You need to apply to the BFC (British Fashion Council) for Press Accreditation to be allowed in to the major shows. You can do that HERE.
• You also need to apply to the Press Offices of the independent fashion houses to be allowed in to most shows.
• Your accreditation emails might not come through until very late in the proceedings - the day before in some cases. Don't make the mistake I did this time round, and stay somewhere with no internet access!
• Unlike many major events, Fashion Week press passes do not come with a plus one.
• London fills up for Fashion Week. If you don't live within travelling distance, book your accommodation early.

Lessons I've Learned

• There are a bunch of exciting fringe events which are sometimes even more beneficial for first-timers or lesser-known bloggers, because smaller designers are more likely to be willing to talk to you, and to give you some great contacts and unique content. Try Fashion Mevericks as a good example.
• Everyone will have amazingly professional cameras; if you don't... you might feel a little insignificant, but with a standard point-and-shoot, you might actually find taking photos easier!
• Have your laptop with you; if you want to get the content up before other bloggers, you're going to have to race.
• Street style, street style, street style. People love being asked for a photograph, and it's a great way to get some different fashion week coverage - as well as getting your business cards out there, too!
• That said, remember to take business cards. You really will need them.

Image: HERE

Share your wisdom!

Many of you will know a lot more about surviving Fashion Week than I do, and will have been many, many more times. If you have wisdom - leave us a comment, and share it with the newer bloggers and first-timers out there! What do you agree with? What do you disagree with? What have been your best and worst experiences?

I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Well, hello, lovely BSB readers.

Just a reminder that you can now apply to be August's Blog of the Month HERE: http://britishstylebloggers.wall.fm/forum/topic/24

After applications, I'll make a shortlist and then along with the BSB team, we'll decide on the winner.

The prize includes us putting your blog link ALL over the internet, being featured on the homepage for a month, as well as, you know, eternal glory and all that. 

You have until the 10th!

Good Luck!

LOVE.
Rachel (Community Manager).