Earlier this week I went to Arcadia’s press showroom for a peek at some of their AW12 collections; greeted by smiling faces and the dreamy scent of a giant Jo Malone candle it was off to a good start but got even better!

I unexpectedly found myself liking some of BHS’s pieces: bouclé jackets are a great love of mine and they had a couple of lovely examples, one with faux-leather sleeves.  Wallis was also surprising with some particularly want-worthy coats and a stunning flapper-style beaded dress.

The second collaboration between Olivia Rubin and Dorothy Perkins is fun and covered in prints, as you’d expect – in this case keys and key holes.  Clements Riberio’s Swan collection for Evans is also on it’s second season, this time inspired by Adele so it’s inevitably all about gorgeous LBDs (if I need an excuse to scoff down more macarons – I don’t - it’s that Evans’ clothing is only available in sizes 14-32!).

My favourite pieces were the dresses filling the Miss Selfridge rail: think sheer maxi skirts, lace panels, tulle, feathers and embellishment.  All in all they’re super-fun, super-sexy and made me super-impatient to buy them! Which of these pieces are you loving?  

Thanks so much to Arcadia for having me!