Looks expensive - but actually very cheap.

I don't know about other women out there. But does anyone else feel terribly annoyed/depressed when they read 'credit crunch' or 'budget' features which include clothes that are generally at the expensive end of their budget? 

I have a good job which pays well, and yet with everything else I have to shell out on, spending £80 on a pair of shoes is considered a blow out to me. It might feel amazing but that is much of my 'clothes, shoes and pretty things' budget for the month gone. And I know most women my age are in the same boat. Who, aside from accountants, can actually afford these apparent 'high street' purchases? 

It irritates me even more when these 'four ways to wear it' features, use accessories that cost more than the item of clothing featured. 

I cannot afford to spend £200 on an outfit a' la Gok Wan and his fashion fix programme, I cannot afford to buy a £20 dress and then spend nearly £300 accessorising it. 

Even worse are these 'give up your throw away fashion' pieces. In credit crunch times, apparently we should all be leaning toward buying 'investment pieces' you know, that last forever. So it's perfectly fine to buy a pair of Armani trousers. They will last forever. 

Firstly, how can these people who buy Armani trousers afford housing? And second, doesn't this kind of miss the whole point of fashion? Fashion is meant to be fun, frivolous, it's meant to be about rejuvenation and reinvention. And most importantly of all, fashion is about compulsion... the desire to buy, the desire for the new. Even just a little necklace, or a cheap pair of shoes, that does the trick. just so long as you adore them. 

Yes, I do want my investment pieces. I'm not really a bag person, so I want to buy a bag that looks expensive, goes with all my outfits and lasts like an expensive bag would, but without the stupid price tag. With a damn low price tag actually. So I can have my investment 'works with everything' bag and yet still afford my frivolous shoe addiction... and housing. 

I believe I have found my answer, just look at the piccy above - the quilting, the red lining, the patent straps... I love, I love, I love. Looks designer, costs £35. 

Dorothy Perkins is my bestest buddy.