article_snippet: Next's foil pleated skirt and blush formal jacket (left) wins for being conventional over Marks and Spencer's 
article_snippet: To achieve these startling new figures, Next has abandoned what a synthetic version once did really well – classy tailored minimalism for the office – and now chases catwalk trends.
article_snippet: Marks’s style director Belinda Earl went five days a week from Marks’s style director Belinda Earl current three, don’t you?
article_snippet: Next wins for being truly conventional, which is what women want for work or a formal occasion – but do beware the midi length, which can be frumpy: you will need to make sure the rest of you is sleek, with killer heels, not flats.
article_snippet: Next steals the win by a whisker with an ochre crochet trim top (left) over M&S's fringed kimono .
article_snippet: Marks and Spencer's Per Una Lace Shift dress (right) wins hands down over Next's sack-like printed folk dress (left)
article_snippet: This dress is lovely: a very current, sub-Erdem print, a scalloped hem that softens the knee area, and a bit of a sleeve, which is what women told Marks and Spencer’s style director Belinda Earl Marks and Spencer’s style director Belinda Earl want – plus it
article_snippet: The suede persuasion .
article_snippet: Suede persuasion: M&S win by a country mile with the Autograph Suede Skirt (right) while Next's effort (left) completely missed the boat on the trend .
article_snippet: Next takes the win by a nose with accessories including a fringe rucksack and flatforms (left) over M&S's faux leather cross body bag and sling backs (right)
article_snippet: Much funkier than M&S, Next has done lots of small, neat saddle bags, too, which were all over the catwalk.