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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to think that you are really not that much affected by the 'credit crunch' if...........

76 replies

cordonbleugh · 03/10/2009 19:17

......you can afford to spend over £100 on a cardigan!!

Seriously, the style and beauty threads of late are just ridiculous, someone asks for help finding, say, a coat, and what follows are links to coats similar to the OP's description.......mostly over the £100 mark!

Is it just me who thinks spending that much on clothes is silly?! My top budget for a coat this winter is £30! And the clothes that get linked to are not that dissimilar to what I can get for a fraction of the price!!

OP posts:
bonkerz · 03/10/2009 19:19

well i cannot even consider buying a coat this winter.......have a cardi which will have to see me through, may be able to buy gloves and scarf to help keep me warm!
am also still walking around in open toed sandles!

rookiemater · 03/10/2009 19:24

Well I think YABU.

For a start I don't know if the people on the style and beauty threads are claiming to have been affected by the credit crunch.

Secondly it has always been the case that clothes can be bought cheaply or expensively. I agree with you that sometimes I find the items linked are expensive, I tend to buy most of my stuff from M&S, Sainsburys and Boden (in the sale). I think if people have a certain budget in mind then they usually specify that so that posters try to work within those limits.

Do the cheap and expensive clothes look the same ? In some instances you could be right, but I tend to find that certain brands last longer than others. I also find that when I am at target weight I can buy my clothes just about anywhere and they sit nicely, but with a few more pounds ( sadly at the minute) I can't get away with cheaper brands as they aren't cut as nicely.

You might just as well say that we should get rid of the Holidays thread as everyone should just camp for their holidays as it's just as enjoyable.

squilly · 03/10/2009 19:25

I got a £10 fleece from Decathalon and I've got last years rain coat, a Regatta from TKMaxx for £20. They're going to have to do for me for this year.

I agree...£100 for a cardi is heaps.

I tried on a £50 cardi at Denebums (as my daughter calls it). It just left me with cardigan envy and a lot of fluff on my bum (even after I'd asked the staff for a defluffer and requested that they put up a warning sign to stop others, like me, getting covered in fluff).

£100 is usually my winter wardrobe budget tbh. YANBU.

Original poster
cordonbleugh · 03/10/2009 19:25

me too!! I'm still wearing my £2 primark flip flops!

Do you think its all relative though? I mean, I'm a single parent, maybe you need a husband with a high earning job to be able to splash the cash?!

OP posts:
flowerybeanbag · 03/10/2009 19:26

Are people buying £100 cardigans and at the same time complaining about being affected by the credit crunch then? Or do some people on here just have more disposable income than others, as in RL?

Not at all ridiculous to link to coats over £100 unless the OP has specified a budget under that. I think when people give a budget people mostly stick to it when finding links.

Celery · 03/10/2009 19:26

Well, to be honest, I don't think the people who post on these style and beauty threads are claiming to be affected by the credit crunch. Not everybody is, not the extent that it effects their clothing budget anyway. It's all relative, and that's life.

Our household bills have gone up in the past year, but our mortgage payments have gone down, and my husband has had a promotion and a pay rise.

If people can afford to pay £100 for a cardigan, then why shouldn't they if they want to?

VintageGardenia · 03/10/2009 19:28

I think normally on teh S&B threads people give their budget - some have a little, some have a lot. Don't think I've seen anyone claiming to be affected by the credit crunch and then flinging quids around on clothes.

I do think a hundred smackers is a hell of a lot for a cardigan though!

nickytwotimes · 03/10/2009 19:29

Yab a bit U.

I spend tuppence ha'penny on clothes. Most of the time I look like a scarecrow BUT if I had more dosh then I would buy a lovely cardi at 100 quid if it was good quality and I would get loads of wear from it.
Don't care what others spend.

You cut your cloth, doncha?

Original poster
cordonbleugh · 03/10/2009 19:29

lol rookie, I never actually stated that people claiming to be suffering in the credit crunch were simultaneously paying silly prices for clothes did I?

I'm just saying that spending £120 on a cardigan is extortionate.

And no, its not like saying "get rid of the Holidays thread as everyone should just camp for their holidays as it's just as enjoyable.".......there are plenty of foreign holiday bargains to be found if you look hard enough

OP posts:
TrillianSlasher · 03/10/2009 19:31

Note to all S&B users - specify a budget or else you will be linked to beautiful things that are far too expensive. Or conversely, if you want something good quality specify that or risk being shown something just like what you want in Peacocks (which will go bobbly after 3 washes).

flowerybeanbag · 03/10/2009 19:33

It's all relative. You think £120 for a cardigan is extortionate. Some people might spend £500 on a cardigan and consider £120 to be cheap. The problem only comes when people spend more than they can afford, same as with holidays, cars, or anything else people buy.

There are threads on Style and Beauty looking at and for things on all sorts of different budgets.

Original poster
cordonbleugh · 03/10/2009 19:33

ok, thread title may be misleading........but actually, even if I won £34 million on the euro lottery, I would still shop in primark and george@asda!! Fact.

Obviously people are entitled to spend their own money on what they like, just to me seems ridiculous to pay £120 for something when you can get pretty much the same thing for a tenner!

OP posts:
bodeniites · 03/10/2009 19:33

cardigan has gone up by £20 in a couple of minutes now thats bad inflation

rookiemater · 03/10/2009 19:36

Well cordonbleugh ( great name btw ) you did kind of imply it in your title about the credit crunch.....

I think its all relative. A few years ago when I was single and relatively high earning I started a new job. I thought I'd treat myself to a new flash suit and trooped along to Harvey Nichols to be utterly horrified to discover that a jacket cost over £500.

So I think we all spend within our personal limits, I have to admit to this childish thing of being foolishly vain about relatively expensive purchases. Have just treated myself to a Whistles jumper ( 25% off due to Grazia voucher thanks for the tip S&B readers) and I feel super special in it, even though to the untrained eye its just an ordinary grey jumper.

Original poster
cordonbleugh · 03/10/2009 19:36

haha lend me some money then! and maybe I can spend £50 on a coat!

OP posts:
flowerybeanbag · 03/10/2009 19:38

I am happy to confess I am sitting here typing wearing my new Isabella Oliver cardigan, and it was very expensive I agree, more than I would normally pay. But on the other hand I am and will be wearing it a lot and I defy anyone to find anything remotely the same quality for a tenner. It's all about what you're looking for, what your budget is and what's important to you I guess.

Original poster
cordonbleugh · 03/10/2009 19:38

Maybe I'm just jealous

OP posts:
Lilyloooohhhh · 03/10/2009 19:40

When i think what i spent on clothes pre dc and a bit of
It's all relative £120 for a cardigan would be someones primark range
I just follow the threads with

franklymydear · 03/10/2009 19:40

we haen't been affected by the credit crunch at all - it's luck and fortunate life style

so if I want to buy something I will do with little thought to the price - it doesn't make me a worse person you know - but i don't do style threads anyway

Hulababy · 03/10/2009 19:41

Providing the people spending higher amounts of the cardigans aren't the ones complaining they have no money or are affected by the credit crunch then YABU.

I have to admit that actually I am not particularly affected by the credit crunch. Just fortunate really. I haven't actually been out and brought a £10+ cardi, but have chosent o spend the money I have in different ways I guess.

If people have the money it is up to them how they spend it.

Original poster
cordonbleugh · 03/10/2009 19:41

Looks very cosy though.

OP posts:
mwff · 03/10/2009 19:43

not another s&b more money than sense thread

Original poster
cordonbleugh · 03/10/2009 19:45

So it is all relative then. Im not saying you're a bad person, just that it goes against everything I've had to teach myself about budgeting and priorities.

Obviously if you've got the money then its your perogative to spend it how you like (but I can get 10 of the same for the same price )

OP posts:
Original poster
cordonbleugh · 03/10/2009 19:47

sorry mwff, I lurk everyday, am always often looking on active conversations, and haven't seen a similar thread recently.

Unless it's not recently you're reffering to, in which case, can I point you towards the many replica threads on other topics?!

OP posts:
llareggub · 03/10/2009 19:49

Oooh, I've been hankering after that cardigan, flowery!