This year many of us have found ourselves at home more than ever especially over the festive period. Times when we will usually get dressed up for works parties, family gatherings or a meal out etc. have all been cancelled and many of us have spent more time in lounge wear than we thought possible. Fashion has taken a bit of a back seat for many as retail shops have closed a number of times throughout the year and even when they have opened the shopping experience hasn’t been quite as enjoyable. Lots of people have been worried about money and therefore have had to tighten their belts and clothing purchases have been out on hold. It has been a hard year for the fashion industry and many are worried as to whether it will fully recover next year.

Many people are dying to have a good excuse to get dressed up again so it is likely as and when we can start to socialise more and go out the industry will recover quite quickly.

If you work within the fashion industry you may of had to change your designs to be more everyday rather than occasion wear.

With England now in a second lockdown. All non essential shops have had to close. This means that clothing shops have shut their doors once again just before Christmas which is often a very busy time for them. No one knows exactly what they will and will not be allowed to do this year around Christmas time but it is pretty certain that big works parties and large family gatherings are likely to be off the cards. New year is another time of year which often sees thousands flocking out to pubs and bars to celebrate – which of course requires a new outfit – but this year may be very different.

Just before lockdown many shops had already started to fill their aisles with Christmas fashion items such as little black dresses, glittery red tops and Christmas jumpers, but it appears that lots of people have decided that it is simply not worth spending money on clothing at the moment as they have no where to go anyway. Many stores are predicting a small boom in sales when lockdown is lifted but this is unlikely to be what we would normally expect for this time of year. With all this extra clothing to shift, you can expect some rather good sales in January.

Handbags are one of those fashion items that can vary drastically in price. You can often pick one up from a high street store for less than £10 our you can pay well into the thousands for a designer one. Essentially, they both do the same thing, so why such a massive price range?

Some people see handbags as a fashion statement. They may see a handbag as important to them as a car. This goes for shoes and clothing too which again has a huge price range. Often the most expensive items are those that have been designed by a well-known designer such as Louis Vuitton or Gucci. Some people like to have these sorts of bags as they feel that it means they are doing well financially others may just really like the design or the designers style and although they may not really be able to afford it, save up for a long time to get one.

When it comes to designer brands you may not understand what the attraction is. Often many people will say they are not paying more for an item just because it has a badge on it, but is the quality better too? Often designer clothing and accessories are better quality than high street stores but does the cost really justify this? That’s up to you to decide.

The majority of women in the UK remove the hair on their legs on a regular basis using a variety of methods but what are the advantages and disadvantages of these techniques?

Shaving is probably the simplest method and is used by many women. Some prefer to use a razor and shaving foam in the bath or shower whilst others prefer an electric razor. The advantages are that it is quick and easy, but the disadvantages are that it is easy to cut yourself whilst shaving and the hair grows back quickly. Depilatory creams are similar to shaving in that they remove hair at the surface of the skin, but they may not be suitable if your skin is sensitive.

Some women use an epilator that plucks the hair out using a rotating head. Although painful initially, as the hair grows back at different paces subsequent sessions are not as painful and the amount of hair that grows back is reduced.

A new trend in hair removal works by using intense pulsed light or IPL on the legs. The unit sends a pulse of light down the hair follicle disabling hair growth. This method is now much faster than it used to be but is better used for facial or underarm hair.

With many hairdressers only recently opening up again, lots of us have had to make do with our hair styles over the lock down period. This may have been the first time in years that you have not been able to have your hair cut or coloured when you wanted to. For some, the only option was to cut or colour their own hair but unfortunately this has left many with hairstyles that do not look great.

Often the first visit to the hairdressers after lockdown is going to be a long one. It may be that they need to do some colour correction work or simply give your hair a good cut to get it back in to your favourite style.

If you have blonde hair it is especially not advised to try and colour it yourself. Instead you may want to invest in some wash in wash out toners, that way if you don’t like the results it doesn’t take long for it to wash out.

Blonde hair tends to go a little bit brassey after it has been bleached. Purple is opposite red on the colour wheel, so washing your hair with a good quality purple shampoo will help to restore that ash blonde colour and get rid of any orange tones you may have.