Lace Shirt Dress from Madam Rage

The weather may have turned, but there's always a place for lace!  Wear with a jacket and tights for a feminine, autumnal look.

This mint green lace shirt dress is available in sizes 8 to 16 from Madam Rage.  Shirt dresses are so versatile and can be worn for daytime, work or even dressed up for an evening out.   The colour of this one is delightful and will look fab with a brightly coloured belt to accentuate the waist.  I also love the buttons which are cute, silver bows.  However, best of all, it's been reduced from £28 to just £10 - an absolute bargain!

Delightful Dress: Maxi Dresses from Yours Clothing

Maxi dresses are a wardrobe staple for the warmer months, but they could also be worn when it's colder - just team with a great denim jacket for an offbeat, pretty look.  And what better time to stock up on maxis than the end of summer sales, especially when so many companies are slashing their sale prices even more.

Yours Clothing has been having a sale for a while, but there is now a further 20% off sale prices so there are some real bargains to be had.  They've got quite a few lovely maxi dresses and I've picked out two that I especially like.  The first is this mint green bird print dress.  The colour is lovely and the print feminine and delicate.  The shape, with the elasticated, cinched waist and flared skirt, is flattering and it will be so easy to wear.  Originally £35, it's been reduced to £19.20 but unfortunately it's only available in a size 16.

The second comes in a better variety of sizes and is a fantastic colour combination and shape. It's this feather print maxi dress in fuchsia pink, yellow and turquoise.   The empire line flatters most shapes and will make the most of the bust!  And the colours are simply stunning.  It's available in sizes 20, 22 and 30-32 and again, has been reduced from £35 to £19.20.

Beautiful Bag: Patent Clutch from Banana Republic

I love Banana Republic for its great value, quality wardrobe staples, its amazing collaborations with some fab designers and also the fact that they frequently offer discounts, so it's often easy to pick up a good deal.

They are also having a sale at the moment and I've found this bargaintastic mint green patent clutch, which has been reduced from £49.50 to just £14.99.  Perfect for day or night, it's simple and and sophisticated and will go with almost any outfit!  It's also available in an orange 'autumn leaf' colour.

Delightful Dress: F&F Limited Edition Jacquard Prom Dress from Tesco

Prom dresses are gorgeous and versatile.  They can be dressed down with a casual leather jacket and wedges or glammed up for a night on the town with some amazing accessories and killer heels.  They are super-flattering by holding in the waist but skimming the hips to create a lovely, feminine shape.  Bigger busted women should look for prom dresses with round or v-neck necklines and smaller busted women can go for dresses with a higher neckline.

Tesco have a great range of dresses at the moment, and now is a good time to shop there, as they are doing their clubcard exchange promotion.  This means that every £5 in vouchers can be exchanged for £10 worth of vouchers for particular products - including clothing!  So essentially, customers are getting double something for nothing*!

I spotted this F&F Limited Edition Jacquard prom dress on the site, and it was also featured in Grazia magazine's Fashion Charts.  The neon green floral pattern is quirky and fun as well as being totally on-trend at the moment.  I'd wear it in the day and accessorise it with a belt to create the illusion of a small waist and team with some smarter sandal wedges and cream cardi.  The dress also comes in black and white and is available in sizes 10 to 20.  It's £35.

* Of course, there needs to be an initial spend to get the vouchers in the first place but hey ho.

Delightful Dress: Emilia Dress from Coast

So I was scrutinising dresses from the BAFTA Awards last Sunday and was very taken by Sienna Miller's box pleat long-sleeved dress from Matthew Williamson’s Fall 2013 collection.  I particularly love the aqua colour, but the cut, length and pleats in the skirt make the dress just perfect.

Searching for something similar online, I found this powder blue Emilia dress from Coast.  It's not an exact match, but I think takes the best bits of the Matthew Williamson dress and expands on them.  I love the ruffle folds on the shoulders, which add an attractive element of interest that the original dress doesn't have and the belt ensures a flattering waistline.  Better yet, until 18th May, there's 25% off full-priced dresses at Coast with the code STYLE25 - so instead of being £160, this dress can be bought for £120 - so one can get celebrity catwalk style for even less!  Beautiful, savvy and canny.  What could be better?

Awesome Accessories: Louche Three Stack Flower Rings from Joy the Store

It's not on sale, but this Louche three stack flower ring is a steal!  This trio of floral delights are in this season's colour palate set in gold-toned bands. They can be worn together or separately - or wear just one!  It's possible to get 10% off by signing up to Joy's newsletter but if this is all that's being purchased, it hardly seems worth it as it is such a bargain.

Putting my money where my mouth is: Review of SecretSales.com

So as I blogged at the time, I took the plunge last week and made my first purchase from private discount website SecretSales.com.  I have to say, I am very impressed!  My Lucky Brand sandals arrived today - they are superb and will be perfect for the warmer weather.  They fit beautifully, feel comfortable, look amazing and the quality is excellent - and I paid a fraction of the recommended retail price!  I'm also pretty impressed with the delivery time, as I was expecting it to take longer.  So thumbs up to SecretSales.com - highly recommended as a means for major savvy chic and canny style!

Putting my money where my mouth is: Lucky Brand Covela Leather sandals from Secretsales.com

When I started this blog, I signed up to a variety of different 'private' discount websites as a way to keep an eye on what's available, what savings can be made and if they are truly as economical as they seem.  So far, so good, and I have been particularly taken with Secretsales.com.  They offer a good variety of items for men, women and the home - including designer goodies - and they do seem to provide excellent value for money.  I'd never actually bought from one of these sites.... until now.

I have made my first purchase from them, ready for the sunny weather and bought these Lucky Brand mint and silver sandals which were less than half the recommended retail price.  I also checked other sites and these were definitely a bargain in comparison.  The colours are perfect and I'm loving the metallic element, which brings them up to date for SS13.  I'll be able to wear them with almost anything, most of the time.  Items from Secretsales are dispatched once a sale closes - which is after the Bank Holiday in this case - so I should get them towards the end of next week.  I am very excited about these and will update as to progress!

Fantastic Footwear: Louise Roe Tallulah Multi Strap Platform Sandal from StylistPick

StylistPick is an online boutique aiming to combine a customised styling service with the ease of shopping online. Customers register for the site and each month will be sent a personalised showroom of accessories to suit their style.   

There are some lovely items on the site, but I have fallen in love with these purple, coral and peppermint green colour block platform sandals by Louise Roe.  They are so pretty and will add the wow factor to any outfit - I would wear fairly neutral clothing and let the shoes do the talking!  These shoes are £40 with free delivery (and returns, if necessary) but all new customers get 25% off their first order as standard.

Another benefit of the site is that customers can create a fashion profile, to get ideas of what new pieces they may like and will suit - always helpful!

Summer Staple: Ted Baker Jaynesh Tuxedo Tailored Shorts from House of Fraser

House of Fraser are currently in the middle of their two-day brand event, both online and in-store, meaning there's up to 25% branded products until midnight on Friday 26th April.

I have had my eye on these mint coloured Ted Baker tuxedo shorts for a while to take me into the summer months but, at £109, the price was a little scary despite the quality.  However, with the 25% discount from House of Fraser, this is reduced to £87.20.  The tuxedo tailoring is classic and the front pleats should flatter the thighs.  They can be tailored with a simple t-shirt or blouse or made a little more edgy with a funky vest top.  These come in sizes 6 - 14.

And oh look!  There's a matching 'Jayne' jacket, also with 25% off, so they can be worn as an amazingly chic outfit to the office when the weather improves!  Stylish, savvy, canny and chic.  What more can you want?