Mulberry always throws the best parties in town and they’ve really pulled out the stops for VFNO.  Mulberry promises an evening of manicures, cocktails, fortune-telling, face-painting and prizes.  They are even feeding flagging shoppers with some good old British nosh – Toad in the Hole and pies all round!

Upstairs at Rupert Sanderson becomes a whirlwind of 70s glamour with a pop up roller disco!  Rupert has also designed an exclusive disco platform boot to launch on the evening with 10% of the proceeds going to Kids Company.  What’s not to love?

Tie in your shopping with a bit of culture at SHOWstudio Shop for the opening night of ‘The Cafe’, an exhibition centred around coffee culture and cafe society in fine art, fashion and film.  See the works of Piers Atkinson, Steven Meisel, Terence Koh and Nick Knight and sip espresso in an actual coffee shop.

Liberty will turn into a Hawaiian luau to celebrate the launch of Lulu Kennedy’s Lulu+Co collection in the HonoLULU Lounge.  Fashion East alumni Richard Nicoll, Jonathan Saunders, Simone Rocha and Michael Van der Ham will be on hand to chat about their collections.  There will also be a DJ set by Richard Sloan, a Mahiki rum shack, drinks in coconuts, complimentary mini make-overs by new beauty hall brand Hourglass and a scarf styling and snapping session in the scarf hall.

Swarovski CRYSTALLIZED is hosting the finale of Unsigned Model Search, an open casting to find the new faces of the Spring/Summer 12 campaign, which will be photographed by Helena Christensen.

Harvey Nichols is hosting a typically fabulous evening with complimentary cocktails, fairground stalls and make-overs.  Disneyrollergirl has enlisted a group of her fave fashion creatives to design/print/customise a one-off t-shirt that will be on show during the evening and then auctioned on ebay with all proceeds going to Kids Company.  As if that wasn’t enough, you can even get your VFNO tees customised by the likes of Peter Pilotto, Markus Lupfer, Jonathan Saunders, Louise Gray and more…

H&M could have the edge on the high street stores with complimentary WAH Nails manicures, photobooth and scarf giveaway with spends of £20 or over.

Other store events and promotions include free manicures at The Organic Pharmacy / 25% discount at Aqua / Hakkasan canapes and cocktails at Diane von Furstenberg / Sophy Robson Chanel denim manicures / Yoo Moo frozen yoghurt sundaes at Jaeger / orange ice cream at Folli Follie / a British Tea Party at Boodles.

Find more info and plan your night at http://fashions-night-out.vogue.co.uk

Rather than a mere round up of the catwalk shows, ELLE Collections deconstructs the trends and makes the whole business much more fun and accessible.

The ELLE UK team bring an insider’s view of the shows, from the soundtrack at Chloe, the Prada snacks, the show scenery and all the pretty invites.

Pulitzer Prize winner and fashion critic, Robin Givhan, discusses the innate sense of glamour only achieved by curvy gals and rising Brit designers such as Peter Pilotto, Jonathan Saunders and Holly Fulton talk about the art that inspires their work.

Other visual delights include a month in the wardrobe of Anna Dello Russo, a who’s who of the front row and a montage of designers’ backstage inspiration placards – ‘think posh school girl’, was the pre-walk decree by Preen.

ELLE have even given us bloggers a helping hand with a calendar recording all of the important fashion and art events until November.  I’ll definitely be scanning a copy to stick up at my writing desk (ripping the page out would just seem blasphemous).

Other fashion treat to expect in the 10th issue include:

224 Poodles
2,000 words by a Pulitzer Prize-winning writer
73 images by style blogger Tommy Ton
16 school photos of designers
10 awe-inspiring fashion moments
8 Hermes dressage horses
… and a DIY Prada banana

ELLE Collections is available to buy from 26th January 2011.  For more info, visit: www.elleuk.com

While we are obviously all civilised, courteous shoppers, for the first time customers will be able to scoop all of the bargains online, without the flying elbows and handbags, using the brand new Selfridges website.

Here is the list of discounts, so you can start your plan of attack over the weekend…

Key Fashion Designer Sale Discounts:
Up to 60% off: McQueen, Vivienne Westwood, Stella, Balmain, Donna Karan, Pucci, Peter Pilotto.
Up to 50% off: Cavalli, Anglomania, Matthew Williamson, Alexander Wang, Helmut Lang, Marc by Marc, See by Chloe, Juicy Couture.

Must-have bargains up to 75% off:
Roland Mouret Top-skirt £340 now £95
Balmain Leather Stud Skirt £5055 now £995
McQueen Long Sleeve Sequin Dress £7725 now £650
Herve Chevron Illusion Dress £3900 now £995
Givenchy Braided Handle Clutch £545 now £150
Vivienne Westwood Crepe Dress £425 now £195
Temperley 3/4 Sleeve Zebra Dress £595 now £195
Future Classics Shoulder Pad Dress £275 now £70
Stella Jersey Zebra Dress £135 now £65
Balmain Chain Mail Jeans £920 now £445
Helmut Leather Jacket with Asymetric Zip £1070 now £500
Preen Line Leather Zip Dress £450 now £120
Markus Lupfer Sequin Perfume Bottle Knit £235 now £100

Menswear Designer Sale Discounts on:
D&G, Vivienne Westwood, 7 For All Mankind, Alexander McQueen, Burberry, Alexander Wang, Richard James.

Beauty:
Estee Lauder Re-Nutriv skincare £160 now £106
Shu Uemura Brightening Cleansing Oil £55 now £37
+ discounted special sets by Molton Brown, Marc Jacobs, Vera Wang Princess and Juicy Couture.

Home:
Up to 50% off selected bed linen, furniture, home accessories and technology products, including 50% off selected LSA glassware, 50% off selected Valerie Graham tableware and 20% off all Le Creuset and Bodum cookware.

I’m predicting a mass stampede for the Alexander Wang suede jacket, Givenchy clutch bag and those Balmain chain mail jeans.  Set your alarm early or make sure you’re near a computer, because this is a sale you just can’t afford to miss!

For more info, visit www.Selfridges.com

The ELLE Style Awards (newly sponsored by Next) have the reputation of being ‘the fashion Oscars’, but I reckon they’re the rebellious, bad gal cousin of the red carpet snooze-athons.  With not a floor length, chiffon Elie Saab dress in sight, the ELLE Style Awards are a fashion magpie’s dream and there’s always some naughty behaviour and gossip from the night  - last year courtesy of Mickey Rourke, who tried it on with Thandie Newton.

Last year’s awards saw Hollywood misfits Courtney Love and Mickey Rourke pick up Woman of the Year and Best Actor – a formidable and brave choice for ELLE, given their turbulent lives.  On the fashion side, Lara Bohinc, Rupert Sanderson, Peter Pilotto, Erdem and Christopher Kane all scooped prestigious awards, with Style Visionary going to Viktor & Rolf and Stephen Jones being recognised for his Outstanding Achievement.

This year, Naomi Campbell is being honoured with an Outstanding Contribution award for her 25th year in the fashion industry and for her role as Global Ambassador of the White Ribbon Alliance.

So, who is going to bag all of the prizes this year?  Any guesses?  I’m placing my bets on Georgia Jagger for the Model award, Carey Mulligan for Actress, Alexa Chung for Style Icon, Nicholas Kirkwood for Accessories Designer, Hannah Marshall for New Designer and Jonathan Saunders for British Designer.  If I get at least one designer right, I think I should treat myself to one of their pieces to celebrate!

Oh yes, and more ELLE-related news – they have just launched a new horoscopes application for the iPhone.  You can now get free daily astrological updates from ELLEuk.com’s resident astrologers, The Saturn Sisters.

As a horoscope sceptic, I’m hoping that ELLE will follow this with a fashion-based app, for when I finally get round to trading in my knackered old Blackberry for the phone of my dreams.

The ELLE Style Awards will take place on 22 February at the Grand Connaught Rooms in London.