Hannah Betts' autumn planner

What you need at this time of year is a stack of glossy magazines and a 10-point fashion strategy.

 D & G Velvet and lace tuxedo jacket

 This Claudia Schiffer cardi should be worn with caution

 Miu Miu Glitter and calf hair pumps

One of the delights of August is wallowing in the September glossies , ignoring the rioting hoards and musing upon the coming modes. The prospect of spring/summer may be a fillip in February, but autumn/winter is the echt fashionista's moment in the sun. 

Hence Vogue's notorious September issue, immortalised in RJ Cutler's frockumentary of the same name. Spring may give us candy colours, vest tops and comedy earrings, but with autumn comes proper, capital-F Fashion, along with scent and maquillage to sort the women from the girls.

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Hannah Betts - Jackets cut straight to the chase

The jacket is a warm-weather phenomenon that one need have no truck with once winter takes hold. Think of it as the opposite of, rather than an alternative or adjunct, to a coat. Thus, where one should possess one "good", stalwartly multitasking winter warmer, jazzed up with more exciting garments beneath, so one might boast any number of summer jackets providing a fillip to lift more humdrum wares.
Moreover, while a winning coat is rarely available reduced, one will frequently pick up a bargain jacket in the sales. And where a coat must fit like the proverbial glove, so long as a jacket works on the shoulder and arms, it is not a deal-breaking tragedy should it not quite do up over the bust, as it is rare that one will want to go buttoned up.

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