It's that time of the season- summer fashion 2013 when all the hottest accessories that hit the catwalks back in autumn, land in store. But you've got to be quick off the mark, because they'll be sold out quicker than you can say 'must have'. But where to begin? We've boiled down the key trends and picked out our favourite pieces for you. Ready, steady, shop!

PLAYSCHOOL
Be loud and proud with the shoutiest colours in the paint box. Look to no-nonsense summer fashion 2013 primary's: red, blue, green and yellow, as seen at Fendi, Marc by Marc Jacobs and Prada, or zing it up with a dash of neon à la Miu Miu.

Summer Fashion 2013

STAND ON THE 'FLATFORM'
A saviour for some, a sight for sore eyes for others: 'flatforms' are the love child of a platform and a flat shoe. The hybrid design clomped down the runways at Chanel, Fendi, Prada and Derek Lam, fuelling some potential mileage for the trend. Lovers of all things chunky will fall head over soles for this new shoe breed.

CRAFT FARE
The craft aesthetic has hit the accessories world this spring. Christian Dior's iconic 'Lady Dior' bag underwent a raffia makeover, Salvatore Ferragamo gave the classic '70s straw basket a luxe makeover, turning it into a smart day bag, while Marni went for leather latticework. At Dolce & Gabbana it was a sea of crochet and lace in crisp white, teamed with summer fashion 2013 matching wooden sandals.

MINIATURE ARM CANDY
Give those poor back muscles a break and see if you can take on the pint-size bag challenge: the most charming designs by Chanel, Miu Miu, Chloé and Dolce & Gabbana were positively miniature. Comprising only enough space to house a couple of credit cards, keys and a BlackBerry at a push, it's time to sacrifice those non-essentials in the name of style.

WHITE OUT
The ultimate antidote to the brash colour-attack is a dash of white. We love the elegant pochette-style bags at Céline, the leather box bags adorned with heavy metal corners at Alexander Wang and Marc by Marc Jacobs elegant shopper.

ORIENTAL GLAMOUR
Dip a toe in the oriental trend by investing in something tassled. Fine gold chain earrings at Chanel were dip-dyed with black tips, while tasselled bags at Gucci and Louis Vuitton lent eastern promise to the spring catwalk.

HEAD START
The ever-versatile silk scarf was folded, wrapped and knotted on the head at Italian summer fashion 2013 houses Salvatore Ferragamo, D&G and Missoni. Perfect for disguising a bad hair day and for shielding one's head from tropical temperatures; experiment with simple, block colours or go wild for carefree prints to make the ultimate statement. Meanwhile flower- lovers should take a tip out of designer Marc Jacobs' book and plant exotic flowers like orchids in vibrant shades of pink and purple in wildly curly hair. Flower power never looked so chic.

Summer Fashion 2013

The Crop Top
Cropped tops are a trend we have seen on the runways for the past couple of Spring/Summers, but they have never actually caused widespread uptake by the everyday female. Reason being? Well, in an age where EVERYONE (men and women) are body conscious, there is only a small minority who actually have the model physique, or the confidence, to pull off a stomach exposing top. However, as we see the trend being pushed yet again on the major fashion house catwalks for S/S11, is this the year in which we can all make it work? We here at Fashionbeans believe you can, and think this is the time where it finally becomes a mainstream ‘must have’ item for any fashionista.

The reason we believe the cropped top will go mainstream this year is because 2013 is about summer fashion not being so obvious. Using the cropped top to expose that 6 pack stomach you have worked 5 days a week on at the gym is so last year. This year it is about using the cropped top in new creative ways in order to show just a hint of skin – making it a much more elegant piece and a lot more versatile in your outfits.

On The Runways
So here are the main advocates of the Summer fashion trend for 2013. The photos row order below is: Paul & Joe & 3.1 Phillip Lim, YSL, Rag & Bone and Ohne Titel and Richard Chai Love

As you can see, all the designers went for a particular look and style with their crop tops. We saw the tiny crop tops we are used to from previous seasons, tight styles, loose/floaty styles and then those which only featured a hint of skin. Here are the main ways we have seen the cropped top rocked on the runways this year:

Cutaway Detailing: Not so much cropped tops as dress hybrids which had slashes around the mid-section in order to give just a hint of skin. Phillip Lim and YSL did this beautifully and the cutaway seemed to be slightly higher up which is great if you are still slightly conscious about your true stomach/belly area.

Elegance: Definitely our favourite take on the trend this year is what we described in the opening of this article. Look to YSL and Chloe for subtle takes on the cropped top. YSL cropped their tops but paired them with elegant high waisted skirts so that the opening was only just slight enough to hint at the trend. A real lady like way to wear it this year which is subtly sexy.