The last few seasons have been all about the military trend, so it seems a natural progression for this season to be all about nautical stripes. Stripes are often a print that most people avoid- plagued by the idea that horizontal stripes make you look wider, but research shows this apparently is not the case. Another fear about stripes is that they are bold and bright and eyecatching, of course they can be, but stripes can be as bold or as subtle as you'd like them to be, and this season there are plenty of options.

On the Spring/Summer 2011 catwalks, Moschino showed strong red and white stripes and demonstrated a surge towards the emerging 70s trend. Prada on the other hand showed bold, vibrant stripes in clashing lime greens, pinks and oranges. Fendi's stripes had a similar idea- their most-remembered piece was an orange and blue striped skirt. This season was all about boldness and fun and stripes certainly demonstrate this. Stripes are a perfect way in inject some fun back into your wardrobe, and are great if you want to experiment with mixed-prints trend that has been hot for this season. Stripes work with almost another other pattern, especially florals, checks and polka dots (all of which, by the way, were big trends this season too.)

Here are some of my favourite striped picks for next season. First up, dresses...