My mother, in contrast, was very artistic and a very hard worker. During the war she sewed to make an income and also drove an ambulance in the Air Raid Precautions (ARP). She later taught at Medway College of Art, where I went at 18. We pretended we weren't related, but everyone knew we were. I'm now chancellor of the college. (Rhodes in Lewis, 2013).

Tweed is now a common sight in designer collections and on the catwalks of London, Paris and Milan. It is no longer a fabric for ultra-conservatives, geography teachers and hunting, shooting and fishing types. Its popularity is also being driven by events such as the Tweed Run and Goodwood Revival, and the sight of gorgeous tweeds on television in Downton Abbey. (Evans, 2013).

Historically, makeup was for the wealthy, says Aileen Ribeiro, author of Facing Beauty: Painted Women and Cosmetic Art. "Now it seems that things are reversed." The spread of nail, lash, blowdry and eyebrow bars has brought high maintenance to high streets all over Britain. (Cocozza, 2013b).

Lagerfeld's genius when it comes to keeping Chanel relevant has been to weave the codes – tweed, chain, pearls and quilting included – into whatever theme he is currently playing with. (Cochrane, 2013f).

The older you get, the more important fashion gets because it is the only thing that will stop you looking like a total wreck. You cannot afford bad clothes any more. You can only afford good clothes. (Lott, 2013c).

The UN event taps into growing interest in African fashion with young designers emboldened by the use of African prints by some of the industry's biggest names.

But many designers in Africa say they are weary of the trend that allows big brands to cash in on African fashion but does little to enable African designers to access global markets. (Hirsch, 2013).

Coins formed the basis of Dolce & Gabbana's show. Granted, these weren't the coppers at the bottom of your handbag; they were Roman coins as you might find on an archeological dig, but still. Used as prints on dresses and covering evening bags and Roman sandals, it all culminated in look 28 – a centurion-style dress made entirely out of coins, some featuring emperors' faces. Fashion students are poised with chocolate-coin wrappers and a glue gun as we speak. (Cochrane, 2013e).

Dolce & Gabbana's Sunday afternoon show in Milan was the first since the designers were convicted of tax evasion. And far from shying away from their legal predicament, the designers took the opportunity to turn money troubles into clothes.

Coins appeared as a motif throughout the collection, which had an ancient world theme. They were on prints on bell-sleeved dresses, in a centurion-style shift dress and on sandals, earrings and belts – all set to sell by the bucketload to women who love such luxury trinkets. (Cochrane, 2013d)

I swim at 5am, and think about the day ahead. I go every day, and have done since 1991, but I can't swim well. I was never taught, but I do manage breaststroke and backstroke. I normally do about 10 minutes but I have no idea how many lengths. On weekends, that changes to half an hour. (Smith in Fox, 2013).

Director Sue Bourne ... follows six women, with an average age of 80, who are refusing to turn into what one of them calls "little old ladies". (Nicholson, 2013).