One of the best things about this time of year is coming across cosy winter hangouts! To help find some new ones, we caught up with a style insider from each of our favourite cities – London, New York, Berlin and Chicago - and asked them about their hot spots. Get your pen and notepad at the ready - there are plenty of lovely sounding places to scribble down and hopefully visit one day. Ready to plan you next mini-break? So are we.

Celestine Cooney, the super cool Fashion Director of the bi-annual Twin magazine...

My perfect winter day in London would involve an early morning walk in Epping forest with friends and dogs, flasks of strong sugary tea and a picnic of bacon sandwiches on brioche bread. Then a delicious lunch of lamb hamburgers on Broadway Market accompanied by a can of beer sitting on the kerb watching the world go by followed by a really good movie in Richmix cinema and dinner at Brawn on Columbia Road.

My favourite thing about where I live is my house and all the lovely places around it. Delicious places to eat, Bella Vita and La Bouche on Broadway market. Good Pubs Like the Royal Oak on Columbia Road and The Shacklewell Arms on Shacklewell Lane.

If you’ve never been to London before, make sure you check out Violet Café on Wilton way in East London.

My favourite winter foodie treat is mashed potato with loads of butter and salt, peas and gravy.

The best place to people watch in London is I go to punk gigs in Camden and it’s the best people-watching you can get anywhere in the world!

Natalie Suarez, the LA-born model who blogs about her life in New York on Natalie Off Duty...

I love New York at Christmas because of its high energy. I love the close proximity of the people and how everything is here in one place; music, fashion and art. The creativity here is amazing!

The best places to shop for Christmas presents in New York are around Soho. Broadway has some of the best stores and then you can easily walk to the streets off Broadway and find smaller boutiques. My favourites are Oak and Amarchord.

The best way to get into the Christmas spirit in New York city is by taking a late night stroll through the streets in a giant scarf and just looking at the pretty lights. I love visiting the shop windows where everything is sparkling! The city glows at night.

The best thing to eat in New York is in Chinatown. I love Nyonya, a Malaysian restaurant on Grand Street, and I love the Indian restaurants on 6th.

My perfect winter New York day would have to include brunch out with my closest friends in the village (I love breakfast food), walking to the local parks, and relaxing. I also love cycling and like to bike around the city’s parks.

Emma Arnold, the oh-so-chic street style photographer behind Tres Awesome...

My perfect day in Chicago would involve brunch with friends at Hot Chocolate in Bucktown, street style photography in Wicker Park, and dinner at Next.

My favourite winter foodie treat is a fresh croissant with Prosciutto from Hendrickx Belgian Bread Crafter on Oak street

My favourite place to eat in Chicago is Sun Wah Chinese BBQ.

My ultimate night-time hang out is The Matchbox. It’s a tiny sliver of a bar at just 460 square feet! My go-to is the Lime Ginger Gimlet, finished with powder sugar.

Kathi Kauder, the Berlin-based Fashion Editor of I Love You magazine...

The best hangout in Berlin this Christmas is tobogganing in Mauerpark, hot waffles in Kauf dich glucklich and drinks in Kreuzberg.

The best place to go Christmas shopping is Manufactum. I love that place - you can find all sorts of things made with traditional manufacturing methods and materials. If you are looking for designer clothing there is a very nice store in Mitte called Yuu which sells last season’s samples for amazing prices.

If you do one thing in Berlin this Christmas go to the service in Berliner Dom on 24th December. I’ve never been there – I’m always with my family outside the city – but friends have told me that the atmosphere is so lovely.

To see what Celestine, Natalie, Emma and Kathi would love from Topshop this Christmas, take a look at our feature on Topshop.com! And if you have any perfect winter hotspots where you live, be sure to let us know...

If you love Dazed & Confused which we’re sure most of you do then you’ll probably know that the magazine has just turned 20! As well as celebrating with their anniversary book Making It Up As We Go Along, the cult publication decided to celebrate by putting on an exhibition at London’s Somerset House.

Even though we went along to the launch party, we’re dying to go back to take another look. Curated by Jefferson Hack who founded Dazed with photographer Rankin back in 1991, it features the magazines most memorable visual stories. And as you’ll know, there are a lot of them! 

Looking back and seeing how the magazine has evolved really makes you realize what an unbelievable roster of work Dazed has commissioned and created since it was set up. From ground breaking fashion shoots by photographers such as Nick Knight and Terry Richardson to looks styled by legendary names like Katie Grand and Nicola Formichetti and specially commissioned projects from the likes of Alexander McQueen, this is a exhibition that you don't want to miss out on.

On until the 29^th January, this is a must-see exhibition for any fashion lover! And the best thing about it has to be that it's free. If you can't get down there, you could always ask for the book as a pressie for Christmas. We fancy having it on our coffee table!  

If you like the quote, "The best meals in life are about who you share them with" then you're going to love the idea behind The Longtable. You see, this outdoor pop-up food market which is set to open up in Abbot carpark in East London's Dalston this Friday night is as much about amazing street food, as it is about who you find yourself drooling over it with.

Amongst the live music and outdoor fires, there's going to be one long table where you'll be able to enjoy signature dishes, alog with a load of other foodies, from the amazing chefs behind The Yum Buns, Hawksmoor, Moro and Big Apple Hot Dogs. So if you're like us and love the sound of this then make sure you check The Longtable out quick - it'll be open every Friday night, 6pm - 1am from the 25th November until the 23rd December! We can't wait to pop on all our winter warmers and join in the foodie fun...

We just hope the people we sit next to won't mind too much if we ask for a bite of whatever their having. As you know if you follow us on Twitter, we tend to be indecisve when it comes to food you see!

Here at Topshop we love finding out about the coolest new bands before anyone else so we were very excited when we heard about the French/Finnish experimental pop duo, The Dø.

Made up of vocalist Olivia Bouyssou Merilahti and composer Dan Levy, The Dø are already huge in France, where they released their debut album, The Mouthful, back in 2007. Their sound is somewhere between Bjork and MIA, with some Finnish Choral music thrown in for good measure!

Olivia and Dan met while recording the music for French movie Empire of the Wolves and went on to make music for ballet and theatre before knuckling down to produce an album, which may explain the abundance of influences and genres in their songs. A quick listen through their back catalogue will take you from bluesy guitar tracks, to melodic Finnish folk songs by way of rap, rhymes and psychedelic tribal beats.

Both Ways Open Jaws, their new album is released in the November and looks set to finally get them the international attention they deserve. Dan’s skills at composing are evident in the sheer number of instruments crammed into each track. Whereas most Indie bands are happy to settle for three or four, The Dø experiment with countless instruments as well as with samples, glitch beats and synthesizers, all set off by Olivia’s stunning, almost childlike voice.

The Dø are playing a special show at the Hoxton Bar and Kitchen, November 23 and are definitely worth checking out. See you there!

As the festival season has come to a close, us Topshop girls have jumped on the gig circuit to check out some of the hottest new bands playing in London. 

Last week we headed to Kyla La Grange's single release at Hoxton Square Bar and Kitchen. The East London music venue had been transformed into a magical setting, with the stage draped with leaves, vines, trees and hanging skulls. A heaving crowd was treated to a heartfelt and intense set - the highlight being Kyla’s debut single Walk Through Walls. Kyla herself is enchanting, with a voice which in places echoes Kate Bush and Florence and the Machine, and a cute and quirky personal style to match. Fans of folky pop music should definitely check her out.

This week saw the turn of Brighton based band Cave Painting, who also played the same venue, proving that the Hoxton Square Bar and Kitchen is a good place to start if you want to discover new acts to add to your playlist. Cave Painting have been tipped by many as the next big indie band and have a beautifully mellow orchestral sound. The vibe of the night was quite hedonistic, with tribal drumming patterns, drifting guitar riffs and some wailing, during which the lead singer's voice remained surprisingly good. Their single Midnight Love is a stunningly low-fi blissed-out track that has been on repeat in the Topshop office all week. We can't wait to see what they will do next!

Let us know who you're planning on seeing over the next few weeks. We may check them out...