THE GOOD: Standalone eyeliner and embellishing

Add a little sparkleflickr: maegan tintari

The make-up trends on the A/W catwalks this year were modern, flattering and easy to replicate. Electric blue eyeliner, flicked on the upper lash line, was a recurrent look, from Kenzo to Temperley. Surprisingly, a vibrant blue liner appears to suit all eye colours and is the easiest way to brighten your face and look in a couple of strokes. The look works best without mascara and with bare lips (in order to avoid drag-queen/face-paint vibes), but this means it’s a quick and easy option when you're short on time. I use Laura Mercier’s liner in Cobalt (£19), which is totally water and smudge proof, and can be layered for a more intense finish. 

Embellishment is huge this season – everything is embellished with glitzy jewels and sequins, from bags and shoes to jumpers and dresses. Markus Lupfer’s embellished jumpers remain a cult classic, while high-street brands from River Island to Russell and Bromley have designed some eye-catching, jewelled flats. The designs are very festive and don’t take themselves too seriously, which means they can be dressed up or down. A glitzy shoe or bag can brighten up your day look, or you can go all-out glam with an embellished, jewel-coloured dress. 

THE BAD: Is it a coat? Is it a blanket? No, it’s a blanket-coat!

This kitten can pull off a blanket, but can you?flickr: tania ho

You have to laugh when the Daily Mail tries to tell you “BLANKETS are the new coats”. I don’t care if Cara Delevigne is wearing a Burberry blanket. She looks a bit ridiculous, and so will you if you spend £995 (yes, really) on a picnic rug masquerading as a coat. Admittedly, there is something appealing about stepping out in pyjamas, and some of the blanket-coat fabric designs are lovely, but would still look better on your sofa. Nevertheless, journalists and bloggers have come crawling out of the woodwork to tell us what a versatile and easy look the blanket coat is. You can drape it, belt it, layer it. “You can’t go wrong with a blanket coat”, they tell us. But there are almost the same number of articles giving us instructions for “how to wear the blanket coat”. It’s clearly not an easy look to pull off and certainly not that get-out-of-jail-free card we all hoped it would be. True, the likes of Rosie Huntington-Whiteley and Suki Waterhouse look flawless in their personalised Burberry blankets, but then they were always going to look feminine and put-together. And I doubt this would be the case for the always-running-late (sometimes literally running) Cambridge student. Really, CAN YOU IMAGINE the stress of trying to keep your £1,000 blanket from catching in the cogs of your bike and/or trailing through the mud as you race to Sidgwick? Of course, there are cheaper alternatives to the Burberry blanket – Urban Outfitters and Topshop are now lagging behind the trend – but they’ll just make it look like you quite literally just ‘threw something on’. That, or nabbed the blanket off your bed on your way out the door. Best to give this trend a miss.

THE UGLY: Fur faux pas

Studies show that wearing faux fur can turn you into a gorillaflickr: kelly

Even the word 'faux' is horrible. And why on earth would you don a piece of clothing that resembles a synthetic gorilla suit? It doesn’t keep you warm (unless you count the fact that it's probably a fire hazard) and it looks rubbish once it’s been rained on (which, let's face it, will be quite often). Despite these obvious flaws, every year the autumn/winter high-street is filled with faux fur coats. At best, a normal winter coat will be deformed by the addition of scraggy, hairy collar and, at worst, it will be a full-length leopard-print eyesore. This isn’t to say we should all be stepping out in freshly-shot mink this season (Ede and Ravenscroft boycott, anyone?), but if you want an outerwear piece with a festive or wintery feel, a tartan overcoat or burgundy jacket would be a better option.