Tad bit nervous about my first outfit post, but it's got to happen at some point, so thought I'd jump right in. Although I push 'office wear' boundaries to the max, not even I can get away with rubber leggings, a plaid shirt, a leather jacket and outrageous Sam Edelman heels. This is a typical post-work pub outfit. The shirt's vintage, the jacket's Topshop, the leggings are Urban Outfitters, and the bag is Luella (before she ceased trading, natch).

It's hard to look stylish when the weather forecast predicts highs of minus 3, but how do you guys beat the chill and still look chic?

These five pretty pots landed on my doormat yesterday. Yes, my beauty cupboard is already bulging with jewelled-filled bottles, but at a pound a piece, I'd have to have been relentlessly stringent not to have ordered them. I'm a sucker for a cheap bottle of polish.

Asos are notorious for their sales, they practically give goodies away - slashing prices by up to 80% at times. And although one often has to sift through pages and pages of e-junk, the result can be a beauty or fashion haul that the high street just cannot compete with.

However, has this internet discount culture turned us into e-snobs, reluctant to dish out cash in high street stores? Yes, admittedly, we search for bargains in the same way as we do when shopping 'offline' - we view masses of items, reject with a fastidious eye, but shamelessly seize the pieces we love with a quick click. Add to basket? I already have! But has the internet spoiled us?

Seemingly, we Google ourselves silly, refusing to stop until we're met with the cheapest product. We are now unwilling to pay full price. Trust me, I know. Did I pay full price for my new Hunter wellies? Oh hell no. Like others before me, I hit the high street to try them on, judged the colour, tested the quality. I then raced home, logged on, and click, click, click. Hello discount Hunters.

Are the permanent sale sections, then, of sites like Asos (whose outlet page frequently boasts sellout pieces) and other online discount boutiques - see Achica, Cheap Smells, and cocosa.com - a tribute to our ceasless nose for a bargain? How would our shops look with a permanent sale section? And how can an online retailer cope without one?

Increasingly, internet shopping is about nabbing a bargain, but will this leave the high street out in the cold? In order for 'real' shopping to compete with the bargain-abyss that is the internet, the high street needs to up its game. Sack snobby sales assistant, merchandise stores effectively, and litter shops with other services. Topshop has got it right. Ten minute blowdrys? Check. Nail bar? You bet. Styling services? Of course. But, I'm afraid, I remain addicted to the thrill of internet shopping. Nothing perks up a Monday morning more than a bit of fashion-porn landing on your desk in the form of new shoes. Long live the dot com.

Left to right: MAC Studio Tech Foundation, Urban Decay De-Slick Powder, Kiehl's Blue Herbal Gel Cleanser, Jan Marini Bioglycolic Cleanser, Soap and Glory No Clogs Allowed Cleansing Mask, Kiehl's UV Defense Moisturiser, iS Clinical Active Serum

My beauty cupboard is loaded with half-used moisturisers, box-fresh powders and barely-used cleansers, all promising to produce perfect skin; yet repeatedly, these products are shunned in favour of what I deem to be beauty's big news. 

After years spent struggling with my skin, a trip to the dermatologist added Jan Marini Cleansers and iS Clinical super serums to my skincare repertoire. The perfect way to wrap up your skin care regime, the active serum blasts blemishes, soothes angry red marks and produces a glow that no amount of multivitamins could. 

As every beauty-ista knows, SPF is essential for staying wrinkle free, and yet many formulas are heavy, sticky, and upon application induce the fear that one's pores may be clogged until kingdom come. This is where Kiehl's Ultra Light UV Defense kicks SPF arse. Lightweight, yet deliciously rich, the moisturiser protects skin from the sun while simultaneously welcoming primer, foundation and blusher.

It's taken years for me to determine which beauty buys mean business...which products do you consider headline-worthy?

Upon entering River Island Treasure Island, one is met with a myriad of trends - military jackets, blazers and aviator jackets. However, boasting a comprehensive collection of jackets is not the only thing the brand has ticked off its to-do list. Above are two pairs of booties that managed to score a place in my wardrobe, pre-ban. Gorgeous chunky platforms, hiking boot treads, buckles, laces and shearling. Perfection. River Island have topped Topshop.

Not the angry red spots, you understand, but the delicious clothes, shoes and accessories designed by Swedish brand Acne. A magical composite of classicism littered by edginess, the fashion house have transformed the timeless trench,  basic blazer and simple shoe for S/S 11. This analogy of merging classic pieces with edgy design is one I have learnt to build my wardrobe around. Gone are the days of Topshop prints and Primark patterns - I want simple, expensive and edgy. Acne ticks all of my fashion boxes. Check out the rest of their pre-collection to see exactly what I mean. 

Banish biker boots this season, refute the glossies' demands that legs be dressed in khaki, forget shearling cover-ups, and embrace all things glam. Wholly feminine, this bandage dress will sculpt pre-existing curves, and build them in boyish figures. Layer on pink polish, slip on a studded black bangle and strut in crushed velvet platforms.

Bandage Dress - Rare £49

Earrings - Mawi at My-wardrobe £95

Bangle - Topshop £12.50

Snakeskin skull Clutch - Alexander McQueen £925

Pink Polish - Chanel £16.50

Velvet Platforms - River Island £54.99

In one last frenzy, I scattered every fashion magazine I could grasp into my already heaving basket of press. This is photographic evidence of a final binge, my one last time, the ultimate hurrah - because, my friends, a fashion ban has been imposed. Self-imposed. 

I'm subscribed to a plethora of fashion titles: Vogue, Harpers Bazaar, Marie Claire, Glamour, and yet I supplement my feast with the junk food of mag-land - the weeklies. I devour their contents, and once satiated, chuck them into my recycling bin, week after week. The bin men dread Mondays. 

Admittedly, enveloped by naivety, this little vice was once regarded as 'research' because I aspire to pen fashion copy for a style rag. However, the people witnessing my descent knew better. I am an addict.  Not a day passes without Grazia or Look poking out of my Luella handbag. Forget footprints, I leave a trail of magazines when I walk. 

However, my fashion fixation is not limited to the excessive consumption of magazines, oh no, it extends to the compulsive purchasing of clothes and shoes. See it. Want it. Buy it. The motto that has left me with bags and bags of unworn loot destined for eBay.

In a bid to quell my cravings for fashion crack, I am giving up fashion for six weeks. I can look but I very definitely can not touch. I want to truly overcome my addiction. I want to be in Waitrose and not instinctively hunt down the latest copy of Vogue. I want to see fashion, feel clothes, pair items in my head knowing that that pair of shearling booties would look oh-so-perfect with last season's parka, and then, I want to walk away. 

I'm removing my fashion-shackles. Cold turkey. Six weeks. See you on the other side... 

Enticed by discounts, I tentatively ordered three pots of polish from Models Own. Hesitantly, because for around £12 I scored three pots of varnish and a black kohl eyeliner - cheaper than Barry M and we all know how many coats of that polish is needed per nail. 

Now this brand is no Chanel - you won't earn style points by pulling one of these bad boys out of your bag, nor does it invite the same level of interest that painting your nails at your desk with Dior's finest does. However, it is good. Two coats? Job done. 

Beth's Blue frosts fingers with a hybrid of lilac and blue, Green Tea leaves one feeling leprechaun-esque and Purple Mystique, well, the less said about that, the better. It's oh-so-wrong. Good thing I smashed the bottle all over the kitchen tiles while taking photographs.  

   

Military jackets adorned with epaulettes cascaded down the catwalks at Balmain and Alexander Wang. However, the new take on the trend is a far cry from the navy textiles and brass button combo of past seasons. Instead, jackets in khaki hues are ubiquitous - both on the high street and in designer collections. Team an army-green military blazer with denim cut-offs, tuck in an oversized cream shirt, add Military booties and sling on a plaited-strap satchel. Incorporate swallow studs as a nod to the navy, and revel in the fact that you are totally on-trend in your military garb.  

Military Jacket - Joseph £450

Lace-back Shirt - Topshop £38

Denim Cut-offs - Siwy £121

Military Booties - Alexander McQueen £389

Satchel- Topshop £45

Swallow Studs - Miss Selfridge £3.50

Although it's arguably too early to be stocking up on winter attire, shearling aviator jackets - which were seen draped all over the Burberry models at London Fashion Week - are set to be big news this autumn. Every fashionista with an ounce of sense is scouring boutiques and online stores to score the 'it' jacket of next season. This Acne offering deviates from the typical tan and brown leather often associated with aviator jackets, and as such looks best paired with statement accessories - think lace-up ankle boots, a slouchy bag and a boyfriend watch. Vintage stores are also brimming with aviator-esque jackets, so if your budget is more Primark than Prada, there is still no excuse not to be sky high in the style stakes next season. 

Shearling Aviator Jacket - Acne £1,420

Silk Tee - 3.1 Phillip Lim £208

Lace-up Booties - Tory Burch £305

Black Jeggings - Current/Elliot £168

Crystal Watch - Michael Kors £375

Tote - Mulberry £595

Unarguably iconic, Mulberry bags find themselves lovingly wedged in the crook of many a fashionistas' arm season after season. Controversially, the Alexa just doesn't do it for me. Too 'it' to last more than a season, too slouchy to be considered a true classic, and to be honest, too much like your old school satchel. Now don't get me wrong, if someone offered to by me the Alexa, I wouldn't say no. I'd grab it with two hands, utter my Ps and Qs quick sharpish, and rush home to flog it on eBay. Because folks, the Bayswater is the bag for me.  

I've heard many dub the Bayswater 'boring,' 'too grown-up' and 'stuffy,' but you only have to reference the leopard print calf hair bag to refute these claims. I want.