This is not an umbrella...

I know this looks like an umbrella. But it has a "designer-stamped" silver skeleton at the end of the handle, and it's by fashion house Alexander McQueen. It's "the edgiest way to stay dry in the city".

And it costs £355. Seriously - how hacked off would you be if you left this little number on the bus? Is it just me, or is this beyond silly....?

Back to black

Sorry for the long absence - I started a new job a month or so ago and have been adjusting to the new balance... and to being inhouse again after many years of freelancing. I have lots of new things to enthuse about, the first being these neat little ballerina pumps from Gap. My last post was also about shoes, and how easy they were compared to super-high heels. Well, low-heeled they might be, but after a day walking round a city in them, they may as well have been those drag queen-style Louboutins. These City Flats will now be a permanent fixture in my bag for emergency foot relief. Brilliantly, they fold in half, so are great for travelling, too. And they come in great shades, from shiny silver to copper and pewter. There are alot of metallic make-up shades around right now, and going into autumn, so these make a cute accompaniment. I can't find them on asos but they are available on Gap.com (£19.95). Gap stores themselves can be a bit depressing; I always see great items in magazine features but once instore, everything looks rather brown and doesn't fit well. My local one feels more like an outlet store than anything. But they've always been smart on accessories, and this season's no exception.

I was in a city in heels at the launch of YSL's new autumn/winter beauty collections, the first full range by their international make-up artist Lloyd Simmonds, who took the helm last year and is clearly set to take the brand to ever-more glamorous and creative heights. More on this later – there are some really dazzling products to come in September. As an international launch it drew together beauty editors from Canada to Australia – and ALL of them were wearing black. In fact, at every beauty launch I've been to, anywhere, pretty well everyone wears head-to-toe black. The NARS people. The Chanel people. The Tom Ford people. The YSL people. So when you read all those magazine articles praising 'colour blocking' and how colour is 'it' and 'must-have' for this season, it's worth knowing that the people putting those magazines together are all wearing black. The lovely PR girl I was with was the exception to the rule, wearing the most shocking of shocking-pink jackets – a truly YSL shade. The French PRs – all incredibly stunning and effortlessly stylish, and called ridiculously gorgeous names like Emmanuelle – nearly passed out in shock when they saw it; although they work with dazzling colour day in, day out, they would never consider actually wearing it.... It's just interesting that black has become an unspoken uniform in industries such as fashion and beauty, when colour is such a vital part of these industries. I've worn predominantly black since I was a teenager (I remember a friend's mother asking me why I always wore black and was I a goth?), and still now I'd rather wear a dash of the brightest lipstick, or a thin line of, say, YSL's Absinthe Green eye pencil – surprisingly gorgeous on – than colourful clothes. Lloyd Simmonds told me that the modern way to wear bright, bold colour in make-up is not to go full-on with everything (lips, eyes, cheeks, the works), but just to add a touch of it on eyes or lips. Coloured mascaras are big again this season, for example, adding just a touch of unexpected colour. This, for me is why black is so much more than just a safe uniform, something we wear to blend in and not get it 'wrong'. I love the way black is a classic base for accessories and dashes of bright colour elsewhere – to make great shoes, or great lipstick, the focus instead. Yves Saint Laurent considered black a vital, affirming colour in itself – and that's something that really comes to life in the YSL make-up collection for the coming season.....

Shoe time

Being pathetic at walking well in heels, I'm relieved that there are more mid-heels around just now. Silver Converse are great, but sometimes they just don't cut it, and you need just a bit of a lift to make trousers look smarter and legs a little longer. I came across these courts by Sam Edelman – an American brand launched five years ago – in Harvey Nichols (£120), though they're also available at Matches and asos.com, and are about to launch onto net-a-porter.com. Every other shoe in HN's was around the £300 mark, whereas these aren't much more than you'd pay for a run-of-the-mill pair in Office. This nude, or 'truffle', colour is perfect for summer, and they're also available in black patent and other shades on the Sam Edelman website. They're set to go like hot cakes, I reckon....

RE goes to London

Liberty always have an eye for the brightest and best in everything from fashion to perfume, so it's great to hear that they've picked up on the North East's finest, RE. A perfect partnership. If you're in London over the next few months, nip in to Liberty and discover the RE pop-up shop (from 6 April to 17 August). We've raved about RE's products before - from their sell-out paper Christmas decorations (see post Star in the North, 24 November) to their gorgeous homewares. I love their chunky American green glass bowls, jugs and cakestands (now also in pink) in particular, but you'll also find everything from traditional wooden deckchairs in fresh candy stripes to photographic print vegetable bags, from £16, bearing graphic pictures of courgettes or asparagus. Everything manages to be both beautiful and useful, and the store itself (in a village outside Newcastle) is always quirky and appealing without being twee. If you can't wait til April look at www.re-foundobjects.com.

Swan song

Florence Welch in Givenchy at the Grammys, February 2011

Bjork wearing Marjan Pejoski, 2001

All the buzz about Black Swan has put ballet centre-stage this season. But beyond the leg-warmers and ballerina pinks, the swan itself is taking flight as a motif. Florence Welch of Florence + the Machine stole the show in this Givenchy swan dress at the Grammys the other night; though dramatic, it's certainly a more subtle look than the infamous Marjan Pejoski version that Bjork sported to the 2001 Oscars, which is more Rod Hull and Emu than Swan Lake.

The swan is prettier than the bright fruit and loud flowers going around. I've mentioned Tucker's fabulous swan-print blouses and dresses, below, in a previous post (22 Jan). Other takes on the trend include Markus Lupfer's beaded and sequinned swan T-shirt dress (£195) and Emma Cook's Sea Swan print T (£155), both at asos (Cook's swan dresses are available at Harvey Nichols). Aurelie Biderman's swan feather earrings are as delicate as they are pricey (£780); a cheaper alternative is Ridley & Dowse's stainless steel necklace (£38.50) from notonthehighstreet.com. And Tory Burch's swan wedges have a quirky charm about them for summer.

Swan-print blouse, £239, by Tucker

Markus Lupfer embellished swan dress, £195, asos

Swan-print wedges, £155, Tory Burch

Sea Swan print T-shirt, £95, Emma Cook at asos

Dilys swan necklaces, £38.50 each, Ridley & Dowse

Gold-dipped swan feather earrings, £780, Aurelie Biderman

Edition at Debenhams

Black spot-print mini dress, £45, Jonathan Saunders/Edition at Debenhams

Debenhams gives its image a right old dust-off this week as a shower of young British talent bursts into its stores. Edition is their just-launched collaboration with the brightest of fashion names, including Preen, Jonathan Saunders and Jonathan Kelsey (with Roksanda Ilincic, her best-selling Whistles line already under her belt, joining in the autumn). The collection is available instore, online and, for a limited time, at a pop-up shop in London's Newburgh Street (just behind Liberty).

High fashion/high street collaborations are so common now, and although surely reached a peak with Lanvin for H&M, are still hugely welcome. H&M's coups are certainly hard to beat – as well as Lanvin, big guns have included Stella and Jimmy Choo – but Debenhams have been bold and streetwise poaching Saunders and the rest to pep up their spring offering. Kelsey's shoes, from flats to sexy courts and wedges, look more catwalk than high-street, but it's Saunders' range that really stands out, particularly the bold floral maxi dress at £85 and the sassy 1960s-style print minis.

Edition is well worth keeping an eye on over the following months, as the designers are involved for a minimum four seasons. What a welcome change from the rather tired Matthew Williamson range and its endless butterflies and peacocks. In Debenhams' home range, the Lisa Stickley homeware is worth a look; her cups and plates have a retro, Orla Kiely-type appeal and quirkiness, at a fair price.

You can get 20% off on fashion until tomorrow (although the downside is that you have to buy a copy of the Daily Mail. On second thoughts, it's really not worth it).

Dark grey skinny jeans, £38, Preen/Edition at Debenhams

Shoes by Jonathan Kelsey/Edition at Debenhams

Flower power

Erdem spring/summer 2011

Lanvin

Turquoise floral shirt, £85, Liberty

Floral Letters cotton shirt, £250, Paul Smith

This season, florals are not just confined to usual suspects such as Monsoon and Laura Ashley. From Chanel to Jil Sander and Marni, Christopher Kane and Jonathan Saunders (see below) to Etro and, of course, Erdem, the catwalks simply sang with colourful blooms, a bright welcome to a new season after a long cold winter.

Once you hit a certain age, florals start to sound like a rather dodgy proposition. A floral dress might look young and fresh on a 20-something, but does it become a little grannyish rather than breezy and bright as you get older? I think the answer is that a little flower power goes a long way. Liberty is always a good place to start for a well-cut floral shirt. Topshop's one-piece vintage floral swimsuit (£30) is fun, and their cream floral dress (£38) has an appealingly simple cut and would have a great vintage feel teamed with a little cardigan. Flowers are everywhere from brooches (see Lanvin's, above) to hats (at Reiss). Soon to be copied on a high street near you are Dolce & Gabbana's floral canvas shoes (as beautifully shot in this month's Red magazine, styled by Nicola Rose). I'm also drawn to the loud Paul Smith floral shirt in that shoot, above; a statement shirt for sure, and wearing it has to be uplifting. Red's tip is to team busy florals with cool Breton stripes – they seem to complement each other nicely.

Alongside florals are some seriously bold fruit prints, such as Stella McCartney's acid brights. And what's with those Miuccia Prada banana earrings? Priced £150. I had an identical pair in the '80s, wooden, bought no doubt in Miss Selfridge for a quid or two. How ageing it is to have worn something the last time they were around! I'm really not sure what makes them say 'high fashion' as opposed to 'Pat Butcher' now. I guess simply that Ms Prada has decreed it. Well, it has to be a good thing to be able to turn to fashion for some fun and frivolity – and, yes, a touch of the ridiculous – in times of such greyness and wintery moroseness.

Floral swimsuit, £30, Topshop

Floral print stretch-silk gown, £1,350, Jonathan Saunders