Matalan the mark on Fashion

The Matalan Press Event was an amazing opportunity for me to go and preview what trends and key pieces are going to be featured in Matalan's Autumn/Winter 2011 collection. Among the gorgeous pieces that I observed there (see previous blog post) the items that deserved a full post of their very own is the collection of coats. Beautiful fabrics and an array of strong on trend colour pallettes were just some of the details that Matalan had got so right for their Fall collection.

The caramel short length coat immediately caught my eye. Thick soft material, luxurious to the touch - a definite item to rival what any other high street brand will have to offer. Elements of Topshop spring to mind due to the unique detailing of toggles and faux fur pompoms, plus the fact that the coat is bang on trend for the next fall season make this a must have product.

The colour of this longer length coat was fabulous - vivid in mustard it would look fab on a fiery red head! Again, fantastic use of detailing with cute vintage inspired buttons - I would be adding a broach to emphasise the buyers take on Chloes AW11 collection.

While I'm on the subject of detailing, I just had to get a close up shot of this vibrant red coat. The structure of the collar was very cleverly designed with a stiffer amount of fabric used to keep the shape sharp and very regimented. I loved this aspect of the coat - very artistic. It could easily have been mistaken for a designer item when worn. Priced at £40 this coat is going to fly out.

Another exciting coat from the Matalan collection. Think Mad Men meets the edginess of Olivia Palermo. The bold pallette of black and white would suit a sophisticated fashionista. I keep referring Matalan's items to those of Topshop, but this is to show that you don't have to shop at Topshop to buy into the catwalk and commercial trends which many people think you do.

Topshop, in my opinion, is over priced and mass prodcued, so if I were you I would take a trip down to Matalan this Fall and instead of spending well over £100 on a coat from a store where everyone will be purchasing from - buy into something that has the quality of Topshop, the fast turn over of Primark yet the monetary value of Matalan; a brand that offers on trend items for a snippet of the price. You may think Topshop set the bar, but Matalan just raised it.