How to look wealthy on a shoestring budget?!

[Rooftop1]

Just that!

Ah ! The sometimes Erdem look.

Have a look at Tatler's or Harper's Social Pages.
There will be lots of Lady This and The Hon That.
Is that the vibe you want ?

I had a boyfriend in the early 80s whose parents were what you might call the faded echo of aristocracy. Everything shabby, antiques everywhere, treated casually and used for everyday, she wore pearls for gardening with hands that looked like she gardened, books, pictures, falling apart clothes, madly polished and mended good leather shoes for both. Muddy wellies in the porch, 50s ballgowns still hanging whispering in the wardrobe. Silver photo frames with black and white pics of them in their youth at all the season's events decades before. He was vague and kind, corduroys, soft well worn check shirts, ancient tweed jackets and full black tie somewhere in the background if ever needed. A spaniel. They lived in a portion of a ramshackle mansion in the middle of nowhere. There had been money, lots of it, once.

What a lot of posters are suggesting is old, landed gentry wealth. But as soon as you are asked a question those in the know would Sus out if you are faking it.

New wealthy, Kardashian wealth, it's all fillers and fake tan, and they are wealthy beyond landed gentry means.

There are nice and not so nice folk in all walks of life. Have a shower, wear what you are confident in and relax, don't be ashamed or judge others. Works wonders.

Those things don't make you look classy, just a certain 'type'

I love this.....so descriptive! Beautiful.

My mum always maintained it was shoes that defined someone's social standing. Didn't matter how old the shoes were as long as they were clean and repaired if necessary. Just now thinking about it.....the saying "to be down at heel" implies being poor so maybe some truth in it.

Thankyou 🤗 I think being 'on their uppers' is another old term meaning their shoes were completely worn away through lack of money.

The Outnet is good for dressing well on a budget, I usually shop there for bargains, it's the discount store for Net a Porter.

You can get dresses for 30 or 40 pounds reduced from a 100 or more. Shoes and trainers too.

I don't like shopping second hand but I rarely pay full price for anything new.

Clean shoes

• polish leather
• wipe pleather
• scrub/wash fabric shoes
• clean muddy soles, unless wellies/country boots/walking boots etc
• new shoelaces!

I cannot see any point whatsoever in trying to look wealthy. Seriously, why? How do you think it will enhance your life? What bloody difference will it make to anything worthwhile? It's just totally vacuous and shallow. Wear what you feel comfortable and happy in. Decent people don't care and those that do, well I suspect they'll be far too wrapped up in themselves to give a damn about anyone but themselves.

The OP hasn't said WHY she wants to look wealthy. But there are advantages (and disadvantages). We don't know her reasons.

But to come back you, this post isn't about you, it's about the OP. And since you have said that you are wealthy, then may I suggest that you have 'wealth privilege'. You don't know what it is to be poorer, look poorer, or low class. Wealth privilege' is like 'pretty privilege' and 'white privilege'. When you have these things, you have no idea what it is not to have them. Only people of good and middling looks think that beauty isn't important .

Personally, I am the happy recipient of all three above privileges. and will give you a parallel example. As a white woman, I will never know what it is to have monkey noises made at me by van drivers as I cross the road at the lights This was told to me by one of my darker skinned pupils

Well fillers and botox will almost certainly have been had, just not very obvious! Your lips, cheeks, boobs and eyebrows shouldn't walk in the door 15 seconds before the rest of you. As you say, less is more.

Just want to say I absolutely love this post. If you don’t write, you should.

Be slim.
Have glossy hair.
Buy good quality coats and sweaters on Vinted.
Spend what money you have on good new shoes.I wouldn't buy those second hand.
Honestly, if you are slim, few people can tell the difference between a £10 plain white tee and a £100 plain white tee, so get basics somewhere low cost and reliable like Uniqlo. Even Primark does some long lasting basics.

As PP have said, plain neutrals look chic. But not necessarily wealthy imo. Lots of skin colour, white and black always suggests trying to look put together within a budget rather than having money to buy what you really love. The very wealthy women I know have quite a few boho patterned clothes, but nothing you'd find on the high street or identifiable as a specific brand.That's why vintage clothing helps. And warehouse sales of top brands. That stuff goes for 70% discount or more.

You won't necessarily look 'wealthy' but you will look well-put together.
This! Wealth has a confidence and ease which is difficult to emulate. I know people who are very wealthy dress in supermarket clothes, cut their own hair and drive an old banger but they have that confidence and poise specific to the wealthy

@JFDIYOLO I completely agree with @Catnipcupcakes . Please write your novel…I’m already welling up over the whispering 50’s ball gowns 🤣.

And on the subject of looking wealthy…from personal experience, I agree that being slim helps enormously, regardless of clothes. Glossy, swishy hair - which I definitely don’t have - does the trick too.

I know very, very well what it's like to be poor and I thankfully do not have your pretty, white, unbelievably sanctimonious privilege.

Good posture . Walk confidently .

Learn to tell the quality of clothes so you can spot an actual bargain and not be duped into overspending on a label. There are lots of you tube videos that will show you what to look for.

Squeeze the fabric in your hand for about 30 seconds to see how it will wrinkle with body heat. And look at your hand through the fabric.

Look at the seams to see if the weave of the fabric lines up- if it doesn’t it won’t wash well. Even better if the pattern lines up as well.

Look inside the back collar and along the shoulder seams. These need to be reinforced or they will sag quite quickly.

Some cuts are more classic than others - shirts/blouses with a yoke will last longer than those without which are fine for fast fashion but won’t last as long. Never buy an unlined coat or jacket.

Avoid white, cream and light beige unless you can actually afford the cleaning bills.

And marry an Austrian aristocrat

The way you walk, talk and hold yourself says 1000% more than anything you wear. So even if you managed to look like an aristocrat when you’re not, the moment you open your mouth it will all go wrong!

Mmm, yes. I was going to mention that but thought better off it.

However I think if you stopped proffering that tin with the word 'Change' on it outside Waitrose, you would look less tramp-like. Oh hold on! Are you collecting for Labour?

This is funny especially the ‘experts’! Some seem to be retired just seventeen journalists! How to look rich, Faux horror at Stanley cups and primark!

Where I am the car of choice for the most ‘well to do’ neighbours are either tractors or quads (We are not talking Chelsea tractors).

Wellingtons are the most worn footwear (a massive no thank you to hunters etc).

We dress for the weather or activity rather than for show. Although give us a good country fair and we will be there dressed in our best!

Why do you need to look wealthy?

Hunter wellies are terrible quality these days and split so easily. Shame.