Recently in Fashion Category

You've probably seen the adverts for Britain's Missing Top Model and if you haven't seen the first episode, check it out on the IPlayer. It's of course a rip off of America's Next Top Model but with the BBC twist- being politically correct to the point of craziness. The show is very similar in the way that girls battle it out each week in challenges to do with posing or interviews and then have a photo shoot with a set (usually warped) theme. At the end of the week there is a judging with some apparently important people in the fashion world and one potential model is eliminated, continuing until the last girl emerges as the winner.

We already have Britain's NTM on LivingTV, so the BBC have come up with the enlightening prospect of having eight girls with disabilities compete, hence the 'missing' model, a pun on some of the girls with missing limbs.

The show is a great platform to raise awareness for people with disabilities and as one girl put it, "I want to show people that wow, you can be disabled and pretty!" This same girl started crying at dinner, asking 'Why did this happen to us?' concerning their disabilities and another comforted her by saying, 'We all think that,' until one put plainly, 'I don't. I don't give a f*****g s**t.'

'I don't know if the public are ready for disabled models' seems to be a theme throughout the show. And there's a constant doubt whether they could ever achieve magazine covers like the model above or her success on major runways... Oh wait, the model above is Brenda Costa and she's been deaf her whole life. The Brazilian beauty is a face of Loreal and is now pregnant with her first child. Did she have any problems breaking into and being successful in the industry? Doesn't seem like it! Funny how there's two deaf girls in the competition. Also in Cycle 3 of America's Next Top Model a partially blind girl sailed to the top three.

It annoyed me throughout they show that it seemed such an original opportunity and that the world needs to be shown that girls with disabilities are beautiful too- don't they realise they're already in the media?! Even people who are in the fashion industry question whether they can 'make it' as a model because the business is so tough. Argh! One of the judges asks 'Do you think having a deaf model would make a difference to the industry?" Funny that there already is a deaf super model and you didn't even notice!

A judge comes out with 'I think it's really important that the disability is obvious in some way. I don't think there is any point in having a disabled model that no one knows is disabled.' Frankly that's quite shocking. Are they not entitled to a career as a model, plain and simple? Do you have to be a 'model with a disability' rather than a 'model' forever?

The thing is, the fashion industry is always looking for controversy, something different, something headline-seeking. If a model will sell clothes, then she will sell clothes, shes hired. Who's to say that if a girl in a wheelchair went to a casting with an exquisite face and and another girl just strolled in with an exquisite face, she would have the upper hand? I know face models, I know hand models. I've seen fashion shows for wheelchair users.

If Lily Cole had her arm missing would she be as successful? I guess these are the questions the programme raises. Would we look at this picture in a magazine and want to buy a product? This month sees an all black model issue of Vogue Italia. Could there be a time when there will be an all persons with disabilities issue?

I fear for the future of charity shops. Bric-a-brac has turned into colour coded, unworn New Look cast offs and tacky bags. Now it seems the likes of Oxfam can be selective in their goods and only put the newest, more 'modern' items on the shelves. A friend who volunteered told me they would never put anything with a hint of wear on the shop floor. I can see how they want to set standards and maybe give a fresher, less old-fashioned feel to charity shopping, but that takes all the fun away!

As an eBay seller who sources most 'vintage' items from charity shops, it's worrying when all you get is stretchy polyester and natty t-shirts. I want the curtain Laura Ashley dresses and Bally court shoes! My faith is not lost though as Birmingham has some truly fabulous high streets. I am biased to say Erdington is truly exceptional, often with twelve shops open and nearly all crammed with prom dresses and bright leather clutches. Favourites are Barnardo's (the all 99p sale that lasted forever was a dream) and The Salvation Army that has some classic 80's stock. Wylde Green and Harborne deem slightly higher prices but there are the odd gems, such as The Settlement Shop in both Wylde Green and Sutton. I also head to Bearwood, Kingstanding and a few near the New Oscott Tesco.

Vintage has never been hotter and you can either pay £40 for a dress in a vintage boutique or a little less in places like the Yellow Vintage Store, which have most likely come in bundles from Eastern Europe. I enjoy shopping in these places but there's nothing like discovering a treasure for pittance, not to mention you can make money too. I found a Louis Vuitton wallet that I sold for nearly £100 on eBay once and I've made well over a thousand by now just selling vintage since I was sixteen. Hopefully this summer will surface lots of treasures; it's just so hard to sell them on!

Hi! I'm Selina, writer of Flying Saucer, a blog about my slight fashion obsession. I went up to Manchester Uni this year but do love my home town and spend way too much money on train fare back to New Street! I'm super happy to join the Birmingham Post blogging team and inject more fashionable thoughts into the universe...

Right now in the fashion world, this could be one of the best and worst times in the calender. On one hand, the Autumn Winter 08/09 shows have just been revealed and fashion editors will be busy whipping up trend reports and shoots, while chain stores will be stroking their chins, eyeing up the goodies. It seems crazy that there are thousands of people out there straining over whether gloves will be leather or fur this winter, coats will be bell or cocoon, and how we can channel Rodarte's Japanese slasher film-inspired collection into our woolly jumpers. It's barely even Spring, let alone Winter!

But the mags and rags need to scour whatever the designers have created and clump details together to create trends. Buyers, marketers and design teams will mass produce copies that are as identical as they legally can be to it's original inspiration for the high street. Due to key bloggers with connections, we know that these products for Winter have already been fondled by the industry who will advertise them in their magazines come Autumn as the new 'must haves'. Then five months down the line, that's where I come in, handing over the cold hard cash at the counter!

After looking at over a thousand catwalk images, you realise that each piece in a high street store has originated from the runway, and that's why this time of year lacks a fashion front. It may be busy behind the scenes, but it's all in advance, and if you follow fashion closely you find the season seems over before it's even begun. By now the magazines have reported on the Spring trends and shops have sent out their most coveted styles. From here on is a waste land of mid-season sales and beach wear. Autumn/Winter shows only need to cover September to December but the rest of the year is dictated by Spring/Summer shows and things get a little boring around about now.

That's where we come in. Magazines are generated on profit but us fashion bloggers can jump from season to season, delve into our own inspirations and try something brand new. I may have bored you already! The confused, adventurous side is reserved for my own blog but here I hope to provide some gossip, trend tips and observations for any level of fashion interest, with special Birmingham top tips thrown in. Have you used the 360 degree camera mirror in the new New Look store where Beatties was yet? I can't wait to try it next weekend!

Welcome to Selina Jervis, student and creator of the fashion blog Flying Saucer - the newest additon to The Birmingham Post's Lifestyle Blog.