Animal Prints in D&G new collection

D&G  A/W 2010

Above: Madonna, photographed for D&G by Steven Klein, posing in the new animal print inspired D& G collection with a poor baby looking pretty unimpressed... As far as my research permits, it seems this baby is not yet another to be adopted by M and is unfortunate enough, or indeed lucky enough, to be a prop.

Animal prints are all over D&G and Cavalli Catwalks this A/W 2010 but for something a bit cheaper for us online shoppers check out boohoo.com's Animal Magic collection.

I like this leopard print shift dress in grey (pictured here in brown), at only £18.

Or if you are feeling fashionably daring, have a look at boohoo's leopard print playsuit, £25;

More animal print hot picks:

Urban accessories at UrbanOutfitters.co.uk

I love Urban Outfitters, I never fail to lust after something having browsed the store or the website. Here are my latest longings;

I saw these ankle boots in Tan (they also come in black) in the London Oxford St Urban Outfitters store and fell in love with them. Turns out they are an exclusive to the website and the Oxford St branch, so if you are not in London (or can't face the crowds) I suggest buying them online. 

Tan Wood Heel Boot, £85

These cut-out initial heart pendant necklaces also caught my eye, they do every letter of the alphabet so you can either get one for yourself with your own first initial or get one for a deserving friend.

Finally, a favourite pick from their sale items is these wedge shoes that I have owned the black pair since June and thus can personally testify that they are incredibly comfortable as high heeled shoes go, my only issue is (luckily for you guys) now they are almost half price! Buckle Wedge, Black or Taupe, was £85, now £40...

Polka Dots @ MotelRocks.com

New Arrivals have just reached motelrocks.com with a prevailing theme of polka dots. Check out this tube skirt for £15 (+ p & p)

Don't forget to check out the last few days of their amazing clearance sale with many dresses for under £15...

Worthy and unworthy.

One of the fundamental obstacles when buying online is the fact that you cannot gauge what something feels like in real life. There have been a few times when I've been stunned by a bargain online and impulsively bought an item of clothing only to find that it is actually not even worth the few quid I spent on it. This hurdle is, of course, quite easily overcome by being careful to look at exactly what it is made of (and becoming familiar with these materials). Cotton, linen, silk, all good. Polyester, nylon, acetate not so.

Just as on ASOS and other retailers, among the masses of handmade accessories and clothes being sold by their makers over the internet, there are the beautifully crafted pieces and then there are those where I get the impression some opportunist has put some quick labour into some third rate materials and put a premium price on all of this.

While I'm not here to name and shame the latter (though I would still advise you to look carefully at items and question whether you really couldn't do that yourself - with glue and a keyring or earring part bought from a local bead shop), I do believe that praise for those who do good work will encourage more of it.

There is one seller who does amazing work. The products are not cheap but they are beautiful, original and clearly carefully crafted - at Woodland Belle (on etsy).

The tiny twig hair pin (the signature piece at WB) $24.50 (+ p&p)
I couldn't choose between these two miniature terraria - bird's nest or toadstool and foliage?

$54.50 (+ p&p)

$54.50 (+ p&p)

Maxi dresses. Summer through to winter...

As winter is not far off I have noticed that the casual summer maxi dress fashion is evolving into an formal evening maxi dress fashion for winter. To solve this problem the Fashion at you Fingertips team have been scouring the net for maxi dresses suitable to see the casual summer fashion out but can also be dressed up for the evening.

Check out this print maxi at £26 from www.boohoo.com

From Asos.com try something plain and simple, £28, comes in Cream, Apricot, Turquoise, that is easy to dress up or down:

Both boohoo.com and asos.com have a wide selection of maxi dresses to choose from all at reasonable prices, at both websites have a function where you can see the dress live on a catwalk so you can see exactly how the dress looks on, whether you like the cut etc before you buy it.

Motelrocks.com clearance sale

Motel Betsy Dress, Was £35, Now only £12!

Motel is having a fantastic sale at the moment. Check out the Betsy dress for only £12, along with a whole heap of other cute, edgy dresses. P & P is £4.50 (Royal Mail 1st class) or alternatively if you live in London (Covent Garden) or Bristol (Park St) head on down to the Motel shop but keep in mind the cost of travelling there may well out weigh the P & P costs online.

Welcome to FF!

Fingertip Fashion is a new blog dedicated to the art of internet shopping. Our fashion fingertips will keep you informed about the best online sales, as well as keeping you up to date on the latest trends and where to by hot new items.

Readers will also be rewarded with helpful feedback of online retailers, reviews of clothing items as well as a brilliant and regularly updated selection of online discount codes and offers and the best retail sites. Online shopping favourites include, ASOS.com, motelrocks.com, topshop.com, figleaves.co.uk, johnlewis.com, FrenchConnection.com, store.americanapparel.co.uk, urbanoutiftters.co.uk to name but a few.

Stay tuned for garment of the week, and clearance sales.