DO you remember the days when you would open a glossy mag and fall in love with a to-die-for dress, some sensational shoes and a must-have handbag only to find out they wouldn't be coming to a high street near you?

Ever.

Happily, those days are fewer and further between as York's reputation as a fashion centre continues to improve.

By the start of next year hip high street labels Zara and H&M will be open for business in York and a giant Topshop emporium will have set up home in the former two-storey Allders department store in Piccadilly.

Together with Mango in Coney Street and New Look in Davygate, York will have a full complement of the leading labels at the cutting edge of high street retailing.

All these stores share one thing in common: fast fashion - the ability to turnaround catwalk and designer trends for high street shoppers in record time and at a fraction of the price.

It means that the Marc Jacob's jacket you loved in this month's Vogue will be available in Topshop by the end of the month.

Of course, it won't be the actual Marc Jacob's jacket, but it will be a darn good replica and it won't bust your budget.

Fast fashion is quickly transforming the high street - not only physically, in the type of shops which are appearing, but also in the way we shop.

Long gone are the days when shops showcased their new collections seasonally, perhaps just four times a year, and when we would pop into town on pay day to buy ourselves a new outfit.

Fashion buying is now a weekly pursuit and shopping in general is a huge leisure activity.

Fast fashion feeds this appetite by supplying new looks on a weekly basis.

And our hunger shows no sign of being satiated.

Fast fashion retailers are among the most successful in the country.

Topshop is part of the Arcadia group, the second largest retailer in the UK, which also owns Miss Selfridge, Dorothy Perkins and Wallis.

There are 290 Topshop stores across the UK, and its plans to take over Allders will give it three stores in York (the others are in Coney Street and Monk's Cross). Topshop was one of the pioneers of turning catwalk cool into high street hip, and it has been hailed as Fashion Retailer Of The Year, not once but twice.

Newcomers H&M and Zara are also leading exponents of the fast fashion craze.

Like Topshop, their business mantra is to sell up-to-the-minute fashions at affordable prices.

Zara has 742 stores in 54 countries worldwide, but plans to open another 100 across Europe. Like H&M, it operates as more of a department store than Topshop, which also sells the menswear brand Topman.

At Zara and H&M, you can carry out a one-stop-shop for all the family, snapping up clothes for teenies, teens, and men too.

H&M is the heavyweight in the sector, with more than 1,000 stores worldwide.

Launched in Sweden in 1947, it is poised to overtake Marks & Spencer as the biggest fashion retailer in Europe.

Its sales rose 70 per cent from 1999 to 2003 and with new stores continuing to open, its success shows no signs of slowing down.

Currently you have to travel to Leeds to shop at Zara or H&M, but come the new year, you will be able to pop down to Spurriergate and savour the fast fashion experience for yourself.

Then you will have no excuses for falling behind in the fashion race.

Updated: 10:43 Tuesday, May 10, 2005