This is the most recent advert from America's biggest clothing manufacturer, American Apparel. Makes you take a second glance, right?

With stores in London, Glasgow, Brighton, Bristol and Liverpool, it's only a matter of time until we see one opening on our doorstep and it could quite possibly change how our city dresses. American Apparel isn't just a run of the mill store, it's created a whole new fashion following. The too-cool brand is the home of hipsters, born in LA and now significant across the globe, it has a vibe and persona that you can't get in the desperate to please high street stores. Take a look around the online store, which gets 1.5 million hits a month, to see what I mean.

The stand out features are that it manufactures all its garments in LA, thus eliminating sweat shops in international maufacture. Employees also get free health care, lunches, bus passes and on-site masseurs. AA participate in immigration reform rallies, reduced their power costs by 20% with solar panels on the factory roof, and supported the Hurricane Katrina effort with 80,000 t-shirts, to give a few random examples. The list could go on.

People don't buy their products for ethical reasons though, it's simply not cool to wear a t-shirt emblasoned with 'I'm eco-friendly' or the like. The items they sell speak for themselves. On first glance, it's just plain clothes. There is nothing patterned, everything has a simply explained design and comes in at least ten colours. The strength is on the materials and cuts; there are around eigthy different styles of short sleeved t-shirts alone! They dont have fancy ruffles or cut outs, they're simply 'fine jersey' or '1/2 sleeves U-neck' or 'unisex tri-blend.' It's the way you wear them, they're slouchy and casual, just effortless. Have you ever tried to search out the perfect white t-shirt, no fancy buttons or rouching, just soft cotton and simply cut? Also they have each item in every colour imaginable, and each comes with online reviews, with so many that they're almost like forums.

Almost the opposite of their stylish basics, they have an extrovertly sexual image to go along with clothes you could find in a very dark sex shop. This is what sends the company into hipster stratosphere. The founder and CEO, Dov Charney, has been accused in five sexual harrassment cases; one is still pending. This isn't surprising when you take a look at the company designed and marketed adverts, and product photographs. Girls around 19 are scantilly clad, legs spread, in poses that are not only pornographic, but raise the brand's awareness and likeability further! Buyers want their clothes to be rebellious with a bit of risk and naughtiness, especially the young adult and teen market who shop there. AA are known for their shiny lamé swim suits and second-skin dresses, which I can say with experience should be worn with caution around any drunken males. The adverts hit headlines in 2007 when a New York billboard was graffitied with 'Gee, I wonder why women get raped.'

I'm hoping in a year or so we can walk into a Birmingham store and stock up on expensive basics or slutty shorts.You can look at the advertising as simply selling sex along wih every other company and give them credit for not air brushing and using models of all sizes, or you could see a seedy company. Just wait until you try on a Unisex sheer jersey shirt, it's totally worth a tenner!

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?

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!

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'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 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.

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.

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!