Hope I am not speaking too soon when I say that lately our Town Hall's clock tower has enjoyed more clear-sky backdrops than overcast ones. For many Mancunians this means sunglasses season, and this week's Steal Their Style candidates demonstrate that colour saturation is going up alongside the temperature.
Keeping an eye out for strangers in eye-catching outfits can be tricky without seeming too superficial, but I squeezed in another few walks through the city centre to speak to anyone radiating the most confident version of themselves.
People with their stride on usually do not respond well to spontaneous interviews, so I was shocked when Louie Martin, 24, agreed to chat.
"Now these are black cowboy boots, completely destroyed, because my other ones are too painful," Louie began, demonstrating the universal agony of breaking in new footwear.
"This is my grandfather's jacket he left me when he died, with the label 'Amazon' XXL. This shirt is just a simple Woolworths one, I've got a Woods & Gray tie, then just pleated trousers I use standardly for work, and these sunglasses are from the Sue Ryder charity shop in Chorlton."
The sling bag, which Louie also obtained from a grandparent, reminded me of how far I am falling behind on my Goodreads challenge, as it carried an array of books including John Steinbeck's 'Grapes of Wrath', Virginia Woolf's 'To The Lighthouse', and The Tortilla Curtain.
"I do freelance journalism, which means I work in bars," he laughed, having just emerged from a job interview, now debating whether to celebrate with drinks in Withington or YES bar.
Passing a quieter corner near the Andy Rourke mural, I next dropped in on the work break of two hair-stylists, Alix, 35, and Kerstin, 30. Their area of expertise bore a unique influence on their attire.
"It's actually a pretty birthday-heavy outfit: I got these Osiris shoes off Vinted for my birthday, as well as these Adidas shorts," said Alix.
"Got Primark socks, the shirt is off Vinted, which I've already got another version of in red, so I bought the green one because it's clearly my colour," he continued. "I don't change the hair colour according to the outfit, cause I think red goes with green, which is apparently a controversial opinion."
"Got Ankh, an Egyptian symbol of protection on a necklace, then I've got the curb chain from my dad. The inspirations are post-punk, and skater styles mixed with 90s grunge aesthetics. Someone told me I look like a cartoon character so I've leant into that quite a lot."
From green to blue grunge aesthetics, Kerstin took it from here: "These are New Rocks I got off Vestiaire Collective, because the new ones are too expensive for me. Then just men's section baggy jeans that I think might be River Island, and a Bershka belt."
"The top is actually an old Karen Millen one from Vinted, kind of like a mumsy brand, but it just says 'born to be a wild child,' which I thought was really funny."
Kerstin's jewellery offered a DIY angle, with one piece fashioned from 'a dog kennel chain bought on Amazon,' and another holding her wedding and engagement rings from Great Frog.
"I would say I dress quite like a punky grungy - a bit of femininity by doing nice colourful eye-shadow, then always having something heavy to counter it," Kerstin concluded: "A fun top with basic bottoms and chunky shoes is my thing, kind of like a Bratz doll."
It always makes my job easier when a group of three agrees to get involved with the show - the more the merrier, starting with 29 year old musician Nico: "We'll start with the shoes, which are New Balances. These are Weekday jeans - I swear by them and wear them every day. The t-shirt with loads of logos on it I thrifted many years ago in Berlin, and a New Balance hat as well. It's like I'm sponsored but not."
"I basically wear the same stuff every day, I think just over the years I've found my uniform." Part of the trio heading for Friday beers in the sun was nurse Neve, 27: "The shoes are Salomons, I got them for my birthday a couple weeks ago from my lovely boyfriend," she said, expressing gratitude to be free from her previous 'pair of gross Docs.'
"These are the best jeans ever, from Monkey, R.I.P. Monkey... I wear them all the time and had them for years. My top is Weekday, my bag is from Urban Outfitters, and I think the sunglasses are from Blue Rinse. Since meeting these guys I've cared a lot more about what I wear. I go for the classic baggy jeans, little top."
Musician, writer and teacher, Alex, 29, concluded the group's round-up: "My shoes are Sports Direct Adidas, they don't really fit me that well so they hurt. Jeans are Calvin Klein but I got them in Prestwich in a charity shop," he said.
"Polo shirt is Nike, also charity shop in Salford. Mission Impossible hat, I got it at o2 phone shop for free (I think they sponsored it or something like that) and the bag is an Ölend one, which I've wanted for a long time. Similar to my friend, I spent a lot of time getting everything 'wrong' for a long time until I knew what I like to wear."
Last but not least, 26 year old Lauren answered our call: "Majority of it was all second-hand and relatively cheap," they began, having just left an acting headshots photoshoot.
"My shoes are Timberlands, not a clue how much they cost, I probably got them from Asos. This jacket is my partner's, which I stole from them, so free! Shorts I got from charity shop Lark Lane in Liverpool, and this loose blue turtleneck was also from a charity shop, from a tour that I did."
"I'm an actor, so I do kids theatre going to different school teaching them to get into science and not bully each other. I've recently kind of tried to revamp my own wardrobe, focus on styling my own things I already have, rather than going out and trying to buy new things, so I think a lot of it is what catches my eye but also trying to be mathematic with it," they concluded.
