Susannah Frankel: 'Time to hide your tunics, tartans and tweeds'

Ready to Wear: Deep cleanse your wardrobe

Make the most of any holiday time left over and deep cleanse your wardrobe – in fashion circles this is known as a detox which is, admittedly, quite ridiculous although perhaps somewhere, deep down (in its pores?), the moniker does contain an ounce of good sense.

While it might not appear to be strictly seemly to throw out any clothes for the time being – apart from anything else, although the new collections have arrived, spring has not yet sprung – there are some autumn looks that are so over-exposed it is advisable to put them to one side for a season or two, if not longer.

First and foremost, dressing like the Queen when she is off duty is no longer fashionable. Like many things that contain more than a trace of irony, this has had its day and any such nod towards conservatism – think tartans, tweeds, argyle knits, etc – no longer seems radical. Instead it is plain conservative.

Next, lace – and black lace in particular – may have been the fabric of the autumn season but the deluge of itchy, scratchy high street copies that have flooded the market mean that it is by now tired to the point of inertia. Of course, if you are lucky enough to own the Prada original then, my friend, you are in possession of an heirloom. Do not part with it for all the tea in china.

Black footless tights may not take up a significant amount of space but they are strictly off limits – and so too are the A-line/empire line/cocoon-shaped tunics worn with them that are ubiquitous to the point of mainstream.

Coloured hosiery, too – as seen everywhere from the likes of Viktor & Rolf to Jean-Paul Gaultier – is only for the bottom drawer. No tears should be shed here. They make even the finest limbs look like rainbow-hued sausages.

Just as there are certain elements to last autumn's wardrobe that are by now decidedly dated, so too there are others that were in evidence last season and will now be even more so. Latex, polyvinyl and PVC are all more fashionable than ever – good news for all those who have bought skin-tight trousers in any or all of those fabrics. Anything gold should be closely guarded as indeed should all organza.

The Eighties revival that sprang up last season is bigger than ever as is the nonchalance of pyjama dressing – men's pyjamas are best. Baggy trousers are soon to become baggier still, weird shoes, even weirder. And as for the little black dress, the single most desirable look of the autumn season... Some things never change – just pack up any costume jewellery bought to wear with it and replace with a light tan.