British people have never dressed as badly – this is the damning verdict of Dame Vivienne Westwood.

Emma Watson grew up on screen but as an adult, she's making her mark in the fashion world. Harriet Walker meets the new face of Lancôme

I went to a surprise party last weekend. The difference between a surprise party and a normal party is that, while you walk into the latter expecting to be greeted, welcomed and put at ease, at a surprise party, you're instantly chafed into doing some irksome task without anyone even saying hello, and instead of busying themselves pouring you a glass of wine, your host is frantically trying to pin up balloons in a position not immediately visible from the front door.

London Fashion Week is here again, showcasing an industry that directly puts £21bn into the UK economy. Harriet Walker opens her diary...

We're a nation of nail-bar habitués thanks to recent talon trends – googly eyes, contrasting tips, matte effects and appliqué doo-dads have been all the rage.

With London Fashion Week starting tomorrow, designers are closeted in studios putting finishing touches to their collections. But one of them may have cause for complaint – the discount retailer Primark is selling copies of one of her outfits at a tenth of the price of the real thing.

Fashion Council chairman tells Harriet Walker that visa rules should be relaxed

From paperwork to paying the bills, we're all guilty of putting off tasks we know we can't avoid. But confronting the real reasons for procrastination can help us beat it

In London's East End, a group of buyers are pushing the boundaries of traditional retail. Harriet Walker meets them

Leaving aside the quite stomach-turning nature of both Squidgygate and Fergie-gets-her-toes-sucked-on-a-sunbed-gate, it seemed until recently that we had entered an Age of Enlightenment with regard to the Royal Family.