Recently by Selina Jervis

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!

Personally I loved the Sex and the City movie, I thought it was a great mix of comedy and heartache with enough fashion to keep everyone happy, but I appreciate the mixed reviews and do feel they played it safe, if a little forced and silly. But that is beside the point because I don't know any woman who hasn't been, or will soon go, to see it. It's created a certain presence in theatres...

Even while at the bus stop on Friday night there were crowds of girls and women in strapless dresses and stilettos with coiffed hair and bright lipstick; this isn't just a film, it's an event! Cocktail bars surrounding the cinema complex were stuffed with Cosmopolitan clasping ladies and many dabbed their eyes once leaving the theatre and swanned back into the bar.

The show's main pull was the fashion and it's almost a treat to dress up to the nines and make a true girls-night-out of going, leading to a box office smash. I know many people who have gone even before ever seeing a single episode. It may be an aspiration to be as constantly glamorous as the characters or an ode to the show's style admiration. I find groups of office girls more intimidating than a crew of hoodies so if you're planning on catching the new Indiana Jones flick, be prepared for hoards of females in their best, it's quite a sight to see!

I love Gok Wan, I really do. Who doesn't? Well maybe your boyfriend, I know I'd trade any guy in for a few hours of tough love and confidence boosting with Gok! But a recent show left me a bit miffed.

I've been waiting for a woman like Jenny to come on How To Look Good Naked for a long time; finally someone who doesn't hate themselves because they are 'too big'. On my own blog I've spoke about skinny bashing before, where thinner people can be an accepted target to poke fun at, but, to put it plainly, calling someone fat would be hurtful. It's OK to say Nicole Richie and Amy Winehouse are disgustingly thin but Beth Ditto is praised, yet is clinically obese like half the population. This is another debate though.

I was a bit huffy while watching this show last week because Jenny was continuously called 'flat-chested.' In reality, her chest isn't flat at all, infact is it even possible to have a totally flat bust? I was glad that someone could represent how, just because you are a size 8, it doesn't mean you feel desirable or love your body. You are not neccessarily more lucky or attractive than a size 16. Surely there was a nicer way to talk about Jenny's body as she has 'bangers', 'knockers' and 'bad boys' too, like every other woman on the show. It's known that Gok Wan loves them but if someone called me flat-chested, it would be insulting. He doesn't call half the women on the show fat. Sort it out Gok, I still love you!

The big yellow vintage store in Digbeth seems to have gained iconic status in Birmingham. From the first day of opening when I ran there in my Sutton College lunch break, it's been amazingly aclaimed and has maintained a constant high status.

The old tyre and exhaust garage is the first stop for vintage, not only for the vast amount of stock. The bricked, white-washed wall and curtained off store room causes any pretentious tags to be dropped. Often when vintage shopping, it's very select and polished. Shopping in little boutiques is alot like shopping in an expensive designer store, even if instead you are buying items that are decades old and have been worn many times. Pieces have to be treated delicately as the owner has picked them out; there is no grabbing and quickly trying on. Also there is the knowledge that you are paying lots extra for an item that may have been found for 50p in a charity shop or straight out of a bin bag from Russia, all to gain a certain look. There is the other end of the scale too, where the clothes are so old and musty, you worry about getting the plague. I could name a few places in Manchester where I dare not go...

But the yellow vintage store is the perfect middle ground. The amount to browse through is incredible. At first there were too many polyester dresses but now they range from '80s prom to '50s floral, and they have branched out to rarer items to choose from, such as kid's clothes. Half the store is male clothes so there is no girly vibe. Prices are realistic yet still cheaper than the highstreet, with most dresses being around £10-15. It's easy to get lost and dig deep, then try on a million things without a sales person even noticing. As always, expect the unexpected. You may walk in on the hunt for a floral skirt and come out with a sequinned cocktail dress. Next time you're in the Bullring, take a wander into Digbeth and discover something original and ethical.

Much to the illusion of my scribblings or at least my appearance, I go to alot of totally different clubs, and last night went to Subculture, hailed as 'probably the most diverse rock night ever.' It was their third yearly Pirate Night, with free rum shots for all dressed up and competitions for best dressed. I took the chance to play face hunter and photographed well over 150 pirates and wenches. I can only put up a few photos so if I took yours, just email me from my site on the right and I can send you it! Here are some of the best and the craziest...

Jump on a bus, go to the supermarket or just walk down the street and one of the top trends of this season will almost certainly be near, right now being stars, ombré, florals and frills. They don't sound too inventive but the stars have to be white on navy in blouses and light dresses, ombré is a fancy word for dip-dying or tie-dye, the florals are strictly Liberty print, and frills are on mini skirts across the land. To use this as the casing point, the original skirt on the Luella runway has spawned a million copies and, unlike their tie-dyed friends, don't look like they'll end up in the sale bins.

Clockwise from top: Topshop x3, Warehouse, River Island, Miss Selfridge, Dorothy Perkins, Oasis.

To give an example, the tiered skirt at the top right has at least five sisters in each store, but the ditsy florals as seen on the Luella catwalk are just as popular as it's cousin.

In some ways, carbon catwalk copies are the fast way to pay less to achieve what is fashionable. It's easy to wait until a trend is popular and accepted before you dabble and you don't have to search very far.

Then again, once a trend appears everywhere it is cheapened and looses it's edge. You can't desire something if it's presented on a plate. There's also a fine line to cross when a trend becomes 'so over' because it was so hot before. I know that I'm so sick of stars now that my Topshop star print Chanel rip-off dress makes me feel slightly queasy. It may be cheaper to buy high-street rather than designer but it's not cheap when you have to buy into a whole new set of trends next season as yours go out of style.

These copies may be disposable, but they sure are addictive! Little hits of fashion are what gives us the shopping buzz and these cute ruffled skirts are perfect Summer staples. Although if I was Luella Bartley, I'm not sure whether I'd be glad so many people like my designes or annoyed that shops have ripped them off and are making the money.

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.