We here at Secret Sales HQ are forever pouring over fashion magazines in the hope of emulating the clothing trends of our favourite celebrities (Carey Mulligan is the number one choice for me at the moment).

But while we are fully aware that Hollywood stars have teams of stylists picking out hoards of fabulous designer clothes for them, personal trainers aplenty and dozens of people responsible for their hair and makeup, trying to look like them can be, quite frankly, exhausting.

And it would appear that one expert agrees - Dr Dawn Harper, of the gruesomely addictive Channel 4’s Embarrassing Bodies, says that women place far too much pressure on themselves to try and look like their favourite celebrities.

She states: "We are bombarded with images of beautiful celebrities who not only have personal trainers and a makeup artist and a hairdresser and a stylist, but also they have the benefit of the best photographers and the odd airbrush."

However, Dawn adds that for we mere mortals, trying to look like a celebrity just isn’t practical. Phew, I’ve never heard a better excuse to spend an evening alone with a family-sized bar of chocolate!

She goes on to suggest that looking good is all about how you feel - if you know that a little black designer dress made you feel a million dollars last time you wore it, why not pull it out again?

"If you feel good generally you will feel better about yourself," says Dawn.

A recent survey by Tena Lady revealed that 53 per cent of women questioned feel that they are judged on their physical appearance when they first meet a new person.

Do you think it’s unrealistic to try and look like a celebrity?

There is no doubt that since the wonderful Alexander McQueen passed away last month, there has been a huge void left in the designer clothing world.

But it’s good to see that his memory lives on, as he has now been awarded with a prestigious fashion accolade at the Brit Insurance Design Awards for his spring/summer 2010 collection.

And Paula Reed, judge and style editor over at Grazia magazine, says that the iconic clothing designer was a "clear winner".

"[He] had been working for years on developing fabrics that could blend the hard into soft and had pretty much come close to achieving that in this collection. The impressiveness simply compounds the enormity of his loss," states Paula.

She goes on to add that the award has not been given to McQueen purely on a sentimental basis and says that the video presentation of his last designer clothing showcase is "compelling".

It would seem that fashionistas the world over are still keen to add pieces of Alexander McQueen clothing to their collections - a dress by the designer, modelled by Kate Moss, was recently purchased at auction by Topshop boss Phillip Green for a staggering £100,000.

Do you think Alexander McQueen deserves this accolade?

As you all know, I have got a wardrobe that is absolutely stacked to the hills with designer clothes, shoes and bags and there is nothing that pleases me more than trawling round the boutiques on a Saturday in the hope of adding to my collection.

But it would seem that my little hobby is going to become something of a thing of the past, as a new report from denim brand Levi’s and Forum for the Future has noted that owning your own clothing is going to become about as fashionable as Ann Widdecombe.

The Fashion Futures report found that shopping for designer clothing will be out, while swapping shoes, bags and clothes with your nearest and dearest will become the hottest new trend.

"Luxury [will mean] stuff that is good for people and the planet," it stated.

Hmm, I’m really not too sure how I feel about this - while I’m all for saving the environment by recycling, walking to work and whatnot, I don’t think I’m quite ready to give up my designer handbag obsession.

I much prefer the advice proferred by the legendary Vivienne Westwood, who recently suggested that followers of fashion can do their bit for the planet by only buying good-quality clothing that will not need to be replaced in a hurry.

What do you think?

If you thought that you’d said goodbye to weird gothic trends when you were 13 then I’ve got some bad news . . . it appears that they have made something of a designer clothing comeback on the catwalks of Paris Fashion Week.

While I usually turn to the French capital for the vast majority of my fashion inspiration, I can safely say that this is one trend that I will categorically not be following.

Gone are the chic little Chanel numbers that are so synonymous with the Parisian look and in are gothic-inspired pieces that seem to take their cues from the Witches of Eastwick or suchlike.

Models fashioning looks by Gareth Pugh - who is well-known for his love for all things spooky - wore unusual rubbery-looking black jackets that looked as if you bent the wrong way, they could easily strangle you.

Structured, masculine gothic gowns and jackets also featured on miserable-looking models who quite frankly, looked as though they hadn’t seen the light of day in a substantial number of years.

Ok, ok I know it’s only just began and I know I am biased towards my hometown of London but if Pugh’s show spelled the beginning of future clothing trends for Paris Fashion Week then I think I will be looking elsewhere for my autumn/winter 2010 inspiration.

I much prefer the Christopher Kane gothic romance look that was showcased at London Fashion Week.

Will you be taking on the gloomy gothic trend?

We all know that designer clothing has gone a bit bonkers of late - underwear has become outerwear, double denim is the height of fashion and crikey, even the bum bag has staged a comeback.

And while we here at Secret Sales HQ are pretty grounded in terms of our fashion sense, we do have to admit that we have jumped on the bandwagon of some decidedly dodgy trends in our time (even though I know that may be hard to believe).

But one thing that has surprised even we open-minded folk is the number of ladies out there who would be prepared to bare their boobs in the name of fashion.

A recent study by My Celebrity Fashion has revealed that a staggering one-quarter of you would be prepared to get your assets out in one of this season’s lace numbers or sheer body-style tops.

And a further ten per cent would even be prepared to wear a full sheer lace dress, similar to that fashioned by Lady Gaga at the MTV Music Awards with just a pair of pants underneath!

It would appear that the underwear as outerwear fashion has well and truly caught on of late - department store Selfridge’s recently reported that it has seen a 20 per cent rise in sales of nude nipple covers in response to this daring trend.

Would you bare your bod for fashion?