More winter fashion fun now (the clue is in the title). Needless to say, a new pair of womens shoes is utterly vital this winter – especially if you live in the frozen north like us.

Here are five of our favourite pairs that we’ve come across.

Practical

You know what – we’re going with Kickers here. Yes, we’re probably over a year behind the Kickers revival but so what – they are still a superb winter option – tough, comfortable and they still retain a cool edge. Solid choice we say.

Kickers - still cool

Glamour

Well, heels never die and for good reason – they remain the option for any Glam outfit. This year though, people seem to be wearing them higher than ever. There are thousands of pairs to choose from – we would go for something like these simple, elegant (and reasonably priced) Morgan heels over at Schuh – the more adventurous among you may prefer something from Iron Fist – we love their designs.

Morgan High Heels

Working Out

Something that we are determined to do this winter is up the exercising ante – and that will require a stylish and functional pair of trainers for the gym – something along the lines of these Nike Metros at Office should do the job.

Daily use

For the everyday slog we would choose a pair of boots that will go with almost anything. Look no further than these Peacocks Biker Boots – only £25.

Great quality womens boots at a decent prive

Going out

Obviously, one of the better things about winter is that it usually invloves a fair few party occassions – what we would buy for going out this winter are a pair of bright and bold heels – what aboput these from Dune? These should get you noticed!

Bright and bold glam from Dune

There’s tonnes more choices over at allwomenstalk – Ladies, what cool shoes have you seen?

Wet winter ahead

With June approaching fast, there are probably several hundred websites and blogs with this title vying for your intention on the internet. The reason being, that the writer has read that list articles are a popular, easily scannable type of post which due to the nature of peoples attention span on the web is more likely to get featured in Digg or Reddit and the like – which is fair enough.

However, here are at CCR we are only interersterd in the clothes and if anyone reads our posts its a great bonus (and a big thanks to all that do!).

We proclaim no qualifications or real expertise – just a deep enthusiasm for fashion and a nose for what we feel people are going to be into this summer. We have nothing too shocking or revolutionary to say here, trends are very difficult to predict and sometimes can emerge from nowhere. Many of the Summer 2009 fashion trends were predicted by the major magazines and blogs in February/March – they have their reasons but its only now as we come closer to the actual summer that trends begin to emerge. What they still don’t understand fully is that the main players in trend setting is YOU. The real power to influence lies with YOU – YOU define summer fashion, YOUR choices influence someone, who tells their friends and the effect ripples around the streets.

Anyway, slight rant over – let’s have a look at some clothes! Five fashion trends of Summer 2009:

1 – Denim – Will jeans ever go out of fashion? A perrenial winner, summer 2009 is no different. As well as classic cropped, skinnys and boyfriend jeans, weve seen some pretty cool Denim Skirt and dresses combinations. Peacocks as always have a great range of Denim shorts and  skirts, illustrating that you rarely have to break to bank for this look.

Denim Skirts from Peacocks - cool but cheap, great!

2 – The single shouldered dress and top – wow, tops and dresses with this look can be so sleek and sexy if done right – we’re so glad to see this style blasting back onto the high street. We would have one formal (like the Jane Norman top below) and one informal one-shouldered top, just to cover every occassion!

One shoulder class from Jane Norman

3 – Trousers – there is alot of trouser action on the streets already this year. Jumpsuits, harem, high-waisted and hugely bright colours are what weve come across so far. Fashion chicks have some great examples.

Harem Trousers - big, baggy and back!

4 – Transparency – light and airy transparent tops are definitely a big mover in summer 2009 – a great, versatile style that can look fantastic as a component of a layered ensemble – just be careful with transparent-only layers!

Great chiffon at Urban Outfitters

5 – High heels – the coolest shoes of the summer – literally. We would chuck our cheap clothes sensibiblities out of the window and invest in a pair of top class heels. Some great advice here on making heels comfortable.

High heels - the skys the limit

What are you going to wear this summer? – let us know your thoughts on whats going to be big in Summer 2009!

Michelle Obama is probably the most photographed woman on the planet. For a woman that only a few of us would admit to having heard of this time last year, her ascent to style icon has been impressive. The 45 year-old first lady has cut a dignified and confident figure throughout the presidential campaign and short term in the presidency.

Obviously, being in a privileged position, Michelle Obama has access to the top designer fashion labels -  she isn’t exactly operating in the same levels of clothes shopping than most of us here in the real world. Her fashion portfolio so far, at most major events has included Jason Wu, Thakoon, Isabel Toledo and Jimmy Choo. However, that doesn’t mean that we can’t take some general inspiration from the First Ladies style. As she told Vouge:

“If I can have any impact, I want women to feel good about themselves and have fun with fashion.”

Read on for some Michelle Obama style rules:

• Keep it simple – what we have definitely noticed about Mrs O is that she never appears over-dressed. Her choices at massive occasions such as The Inaurguration and The Oscars could have led to some potentially overblown and inelegant choices – but not from Mrs Obama, she has judged each occasion perfectly – less is more.
• Don’t overdo the bling – Michelle rarely appears to sport a great deal of jewellery, but when she does it makes an impact  (see the Oscars necklace)
• Subtle make up
• Accentuate your best features
• Smile!

Our favourite Michelle Obama fashion moments

What are your favourite moments of Michelle Obama fashion so far, get in touch with your first lady style tips!

From our point of view at Cheap Clothes Rule, 2008 was a transitional year in fashion – there were no huge breakthrough fashions and no designers grasping the style baton. Having said that there were a few fashion winners on the high street this year. Skinny Jeans, Gilets, Retro-Printed T-Shirts, UGG boots and Leather Jackets were ubiqutous in 2008 (although not necessarily worn together!)

What did you love wearing in 2008, fill out our fun Poll!

Having already posted on Golf clothing, its safe to say that we are big fans of Sport here at CCR – and the gear associated with it. In the last few weeks a number of big sporting events have re-ignited our interest in sportswear. Firstly, there was the Olympics, where the GB team recorded a surprisingly impressive medal haul. There have also been major international football matches (World Cup 2010 qualifiers), with our national team Scotland losing to the mighty Macedonia – then bouncing back to beat Iceland. England also unexpectedly drubbed Croatia 4-1. Then, cycling legend Lance Armstrong announced that he is coming out of retirement and will race in the 2009 Tour De France – at 37 years old. Finally, our very own Andy Murray managed to reach the US Open Final, overcoming world number one Rafa Nadal in the Semi’s, only to fall to the mighty Rodger Federer at the final hurdle.

This fervent sporting activity has inspired us to come up with a list of a few of the most stylish sports people of all time.

Michael Johnson (Athletics) – An incredible athlete, Johnson held the 200m world record until Usain Bolt pipped him this year by 0.01 sec. He had a unique upright running style that no-one else could possibly replicate. For us clothes freaks though, it was the gold shoes that mattered. Johnson was the first to pioneer this ’shoes as attitude’ approach – he knew he was going to win. Now, everyone is doing it.

Michael Johnson - Golden Boy

Carlos Valderamma (Football) – Columbian midfield maestro Valderamma was actually a very accomplished footballer, captaining his country in three world cups. Obviously, from a style point of view it was all about his stunning afro.

Valderamma - Afro King

Andre Agassi (Tennis) – In the early years of his tennis career, Agassi changed the stuffy ‘whites only’ tennis wear forever – turning out in luminous pinks, greens and gasp! black! – He also had an amazing mullet.

Andre Agassi - 1991 style breakthrough

Darren Clarke (Golf) – Sure, there have probably been more elegant golfers, but big Darren was the first of the new breed to say, ’sod it, im wearing what i want’. Often sporting some incredible colour combos (Pink sweatshirt with red-checked trousers), Clarke is a walking style bible.

Darren Clarke - Golfing Pioneer

Michael Jordan (Basketball) – Ok, a fairly obvious choice but Michael Jordan should be on here. His brand within a brand has become standard practice these days between the big sports manufacturers and their top athletes. Plus, some of the early Jordan trainers were amazing, a spotless original pair can easily fetch over £500.

Michael Jordan - Basketball God

Well, thats some of our favourites, who have we missed?

Over the past couple of weeks we’ve looked at Summer 2008 Fashion, Jeans and T-Shirts and today as a special treat to all our readers – we are going to look at footwear. Shoes are a conundrum, you need a pair for so many differing occassions and weather types, it is very tempting to spalsh out on whatever you come across – leaving you with an Imelda Marcos style wardrobe full of unused footwear. So in a not very original at all manner, let’s have a look at some essential styles of the moment!.

• Boots – The ubiqutous UGG Boots have reinged supreme here for the last few years, and deservedly so, however – we feel that cowboy boots are coming back big style.

• Sandals – Peacocks have some great Gladiator Sandals (and great cheap footwear in general), but please no more crocs!

Peacocks Sandals

• Wedges – Earthy, muted colours with a cork base look great, we tend to steer clear of bright patent leather.

• Trainers – Converse All Star – Great range of colours and styles that look cool with just about anything.

• Flats – A great versatile shoe that can easily be worn for work or play.

• Heels – Ramp up the glam factor, and get pulses racing with a bold pair of heels. EDIT – These look like a pretty special pair of heels – to Brantano!

To finish let’s have a look at the classic homage to footwear – ‘Blue Suede Shoes’ from the 68 Elvis Comeback Special. Obviously, this video is an essential style guide in itself……….enjoy!

“I still have my feet on the ground, I just wear better shoes.” – Oprah Winfrey

The 137th British Open Golf Championship Tee’d off this morning at Royal Birkdale in England. Having only played Golf a handful of times with the predominant feelings on each occassion being a mixture of frustration and bafflement, it is diifficult to get any enthusiasm to watch – however our dad will be glued to the screen, examining every stroke in minute detail in a desperate attempt to improve his handicap.

Here at Cheap Clothes Rule of course we are far more interested in the sartorial side of things and we will be keeping a close watch the fashion do’s and dont’s of each player. Many of the pro golfers have their own clothing line including Ian Poulter, Greg Norman and Annika Sorenstam.

Essential Elements

Golf Chic has become a style in itself and can be a great fun look to try and pull off. It can be done on a budget as well. Here are some of the essential elements Golf fashion:

• Visor or Bobble Hat - We love watching the end of of a tournament when Tiger Woods wins as his mother always sports a spectacular Visor, the closer you can get to this the better. A bobble hat should be slightly easier to find.

• Knitted Sweater - Preferably loud colour with pattern-look to this 80s catalogue shot for inspiration!

• Polo Shirt – Keep it simple, like Michelle Wie.

• Trousers – the more like Rupert Bear the better.

• Shoes – Two-Tone, Brogue Style essential.

If you can bring these elements together, you can have a versatile outfit for any occassion – even if you never set foot on a course!. Anyone found anything that could be included here?

This is not a scientific list by any means and is based purely on our powers of observation. Here are a few trends that we have noticed this summer ;

• Vans (lads) and Converse (lassies) – the perrenial footwear classic.

• Cheap Plastic Sunglasses – available from newsagents up and down the land-spend more than £3 however and you’re instantly uncool.

• Sandals – although our summer has been pretty dreadful so far-its still great to get the old socks off and free the feet a little.

• Pastel Colours – pastel literally faded away for a few years but its back with a bang this summer and about time.

Pastel-Tastic

• Floral Print Dresses – a classic summer feminine look.

• Bright and Bold Coloured Tops – PINK! PURPLE! ORANGE! – These tops shout loud and proud.

Of course, there are tonnes more niches and sub-genres but walk down any street in the UK and you are bound to catch someone in at least one of these items. What have you seen out there this summer?