Being in the fashion industry I am frequently asked for any inside secrets or advice when it comes to shopping. Sometimes I am qualified to answer and sometimes I have to draw on the knowledge of my wonderful design team. But I or they or we will always answer. 

Of course there are some times little snippets of generic advice that pop up and which will fit most people and most situations.  They are fashion fairy gold dust. And this post will see me dispensing one. 

BUY TWICE.

Seriously.  It is the best advice I can give.  If you have something you love I suggest buying it twice.  Not a similar something with the same fabric, same cut or same mood but buy thee exact one again.  Different colour is ok, neigh encouraged since it stops people thinking you are wearing the same thing day after day.  But it must be the same style.

Now before you think I have gone crazy know that my advice comes from many a broken heart when I have had to throw the best denim I have ever owned away due to massive holes in unforgiving areas. And I am sure I cannot be the only one who spent most of the summer looking for shoes in the exact same nude colour as the shoes I had adored, used and abused the summer before?

The trick is to buy one and see how your reaction and infatuation is within a month.  Does the lust keep up?  A month is a respectable time for the garment to still be available in store and you for you know if the item has any longevity in your affections.

Ok before anyone starts to think I have an unlimited bank account and a wardrobe full of double ups you have to know this way of buying is actually capable of saving you money.  This is because when you have a favourite item of clothing you are going to swing towards wearing that more than others and the cost per wear actually goes down.   As a result all the other items you add to your collection actually end up costing you more if you don't wear them.  The key is to stop continuing to buy similarish items since, in the end, you are only going to revert to your favourite (the same old comfy jeans, the reliable t-shirt) but one day those favourites are going to go to clothes heaven and you haven't lined up a reliable successor.

On top of this by investing in similar items you are actually helping to create sense of style loyalty and paint a consistent picture of who you are.  And who doesn't want to be known as the girl always rocking killer denims, coloured knitwear and perfectly co-ordinated pumps.

What's your thoughts?

Reporting straight from the front line of the fashion world and I see that colour blocking is everywhere, it's come quickly from the catwalk to highstreet just in time for a skittles style summer explosion. My research sometimes shows that when it comes to ''on trend'' usually at least one big retailer can miss a fashion wave but in this case everyone has backed the same colourful horse.  Good news then as it means that this trend is really accessible and there should be something out there for all of us, even those who are more on the wall than off it.  Please believe me colour blocking doesn't mean you have to look like a grown up version of Rainbow Bright (for those under the age of the 30 click here).

There seems to be two messages when it comes to colour:  the sorbets and the brights.  For the sorbet trend many retailers are showing a message of pretty pastels with washed out tight skinny denims teamed with feminine denim chambray shirts and lacy blouses.  For me, its an overly girly statement and footwear must be kept neutral and subtle which is not really my thing - I prefer bold and bright which is why I verge more on the brighter colour explosion.  Think solid colour cotton trousers in shades of coral, cobalt blue, turquoise, fuchsia or yellow teamed with a white vest top and a fitted jersey contrast colour blazer.  Shoes, well here's the thing, it seems anything goes (hurrah!) - match your top, your bottom, or match only your nails and it seems you are on to a winner.

So we know I am in for colour but are you?  Let me know your shouts and doubts in the comments below.

Hello and welcome to The Social Butterfly, a public service brought to you by the good people at Butterfly Twists.  I guess that, right now, this blog is a bit like a new-born with only it's creators around to celebrate it's birth but, nevertheless, we will continue to throw our thoughts out there into cyberspace in the hope that some of you (or all of you) catch up soon.  This place was created for you so please tell us how you expect it to be.  As you can probably tell we are quite proud of it but, then again, we are biased.

This week I (as in me, The Social Butterfly, head blogger extraordinaire) will start the round up of Spring Summer - the good, the bad and the worth waiting until the sales.  I will attempt to navigate through the best of it and tell you what little gems are lurking that can easily see you through a shivering Spring and, hopefully, just hopefully, a scotcher of a summer.

If you have a particular passion for a certain product then drop me a line and I will let you know what trends are expected to come up and try to hook you up with the perfect piece (think of like a dating service without having to first kiss all the frogs).  Or maybe you have found something special that you want to share, in which case, mail me personally and let me know. . .can't risk it going into the comments and selling out before I get there.  I'm kidding.  Kinda.  Although a first comment would be nice.

See you tomorrow and, in the meantime, if you want to get to know more concerning who, what, and why then please click on the links above.

Thanks for reading the first post.  It's been emotional.

S.B