How to look 'expensive'

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I'm not sure if that's the right word but I was in Sainsbury's today and the woman in the queue in front of me just looked 'expensive'.
She wasn't wearing anything remarkable - a leather jacket with a fur collar, skinny jeans and brown knee length boots but somehow she looked 'done' whereas I looked like a sack of spuds.
How to achieve that expensive look without the budget?

I also think people with a bit of money might spend a lot of cash on a black cashmere sweater or a white fitted shirt whereas people on a budget might spend the same amount of money but they would want something visibly wow, so a leather jacket or similar. So there expensively dressed person looks inconspicuous but everything is just luxurious.

I feel like this about expensive shoes. I would never spend £500 on a pair of plain black leather Louboutin stilettos because I would feel it was a bit of a waste on a basic item. If I was to spend £500 on shoes I would want something remarkable and noticeable.

I agree undeux but the lady you saw probably loves clothes and has time to think about them and buy them.

I disagree that anyone will ever look expensively dressed in a cheap leather coat though. I think items like that have to be exquisite to be carried off.

I wouldn't buy the Laboutins either. But my stiletto days are long gone.

Nomore, being honest the first lot look like jewellery for children to me, the gold earrings you posted the pic of are, IMO, absolutely gorgeous. Very classy.

Thanks! I prefer the gold ones too but they are about five times the price. BOo.

Anything similar anywhere for under 50?

I'm afraid I think the only way to look expensive is to buy expensive - which is a bummer for most of us.

Agree your entire outfit doesn't need to be expensive but the trouble is that we don't always notice the same things. Some people recommend spending more on bags but that would be wasted on me cos I never look at them. And I always assume jewellry is cheap! I probably notice hair first.

I think it's all about a beautiful coat, boots, bag & hair.

It doesn't hurt to have a big ring.

No more I can relate to that situation very well!

The second ones are real gold I assume? So lovely.

I'm following this thread with such interest because I'm struggling to find anything that's both affordable and decent enough quality - will be going with an approach of quality not quantity for clothes buying this year, and everything I look at, that looks, say, a nice shape, on closer inspection is fire hazard territory polyester. As a result I don't buy and have a desperately bare wardrobe at the moment!

Where's good for quality, non frumpy clothes nowadays, at non-eye watering prices?

French Connection is about my level in terms of price and happy with quality generally (even better in the sale), but nothing catching my eye there at the moment.

OP great thread.

I think it comes down to good grooming, good shape, good fabrics and no flashy patterns/ accessories.

TBH I think it is very hard to look expensive without having good taste to begin with. I know taste is subjective, but I noticed that very wealthy people with tacky taste I know IRL tend to still look tacky rather than expensive, no matter how many thousands £££ they are wearing.

I always buy my clothes and shoes in monsoon & john lewis and in the sales. No way i could afford the full price. I think i look groomed. I dont wear tracky bottoms, always clean looking (i hope) and id rather wait and save up for the yearly christmas sales than go to primark for my clothes (sorry if any of you are primarniers).

I agree a lot of posters have described a classic / Sloany look, but I think that's in part because its a relatively easy way to achieve if you can afford good quality basics.

I don't think classic always looks expensive though. I do think you need a good fit, good quality fabrics and the rest of the grooming (glossy hair, neutral make up, and subtle accessories) to really achieve a polished / expensive look.

I suppose I often default to a slightly Sloany look for casual wear (although I'm about as far from being a Sloan Ranger as it's possible to be). Good quality jeans, boots, cashmere sweaters etc. are easy to wear and fairly forgiving.

I do classic but not sloany. I don't own a pair of loafers. Especially not camel ones, and I'm not keen on white shirts.

I quite like a look that suggests that you had a quick look around tommy hilfiger and were inspired by what you saw but didn't buy anything there.

I've even bought a top in Boden though! so I'll be escorted off the thread now. I liked it so much I bought it in black too.

ilovetorrentialrain yes, real gold and they are €490 euro by Martina Hamilton I think.
So if anybody has spotted something really similar in next or monsoon, let me know

I also think if you are used to good quality things you pick up something that is relatively inexpensive but will swish and hang with a bit of panache because you know the fabric's good and cut on the bias. I've found things like that in surprising places such TK Max and occasionally places like Principles (does Principles still exist?). There are plenty of expensive things that aren't well cut and don't hang particularly well.

I take the point entirely about the classic/Sloane business and agree there are more fashionable ways to do it but most of us don't need to be that dressed up all the time - perhaps for the odd trip to the opera or the occasional lunch in the West End but I'd look daft in my local Sainsbury's dressed in a suede skirt and faux long gilet however waggy my Surrey shop is. In Burlington Arcade as I pop through to King Street to meet a friend for lunch, yep, I'd get more dressed up and feel comfortable to do so but not every day.

I love that top 1234. Wrong neckline for me but lovely.

Sorry, but Louboutins just scream tacky.
The only people I know who still wear them are the young PAs in my office, who blow their bonus on a pair and then wear them to death all year. The point at which people started painting the soles of their shoes with red nail varnish was the point the brand died

I've got a couple of pairs which I can't bring myself to throw out, so they are being mothballed until they have a resurgence but I suspect it will be a long wait

I think anything that fits properly looks expensive. So even if you are slightly overweight, as long as your clothes fit you well, means you will look pulled together.

I've found that it's better to buy something in a larger size and get it tailored to fit you - particularly jeans.

I am a fan of silk shirts in a multitude of colours, plain or patterned (banana republic do decent plain ones that are worth buying in the sale).
These I would wear with dark or white jeans, and always wear a belt with jeans, I believe it finishes the look!

A blazer, cashmere v neck jumper, or coat finish outfit.

This is my standard everyday, year round look.

Good posture also makes a person seem more expensive. No slouching and no rushing. You have to amble like you have all the time in the world.....

Slim hips, olive skin, swishy hair, straight white teeth.

These are just my observations after living in a very naice area - the women all seemed to have a 'thoroughbred' quality, regardless of what clothes they were wearing.

Be slim. No tattooed or coloured in eyebrows. No fake tan, or even an extreme real tan. Fake nails also a no no. No fake hair extensions. No heels you can't walk in. No cigarette hanging out of your mouth. Subtle make up. Nothing fluoro. No tassles, diamanté or sequins. Basically nothing heading towards the extreme.

Nice classic colours, clothing that fits well, good quality leather accessories. A good blow dry. Pale-but-healthy looking skin (if you're Caucasian), if darker

I love a bit of fake tan and red lipstick.

I am Liz MacDonald

Sorry...

If darker, not too much makeup.

Oh, not thick fake eyelashes, forgot that.

Basically, look at WAGs and do the opposite.

"I am Liz MacDonald"

Liz frequently looks terrific, so no problems there!

But she's not an example of the 'expensive' look. The nearest in Corrie is probably Carla. Leanne has moved towards it too.

That made me laugh ayeamarok. The laydeee in clinique was complimenting me on having the palest skin the other day. I think I look like I need a pint of blood myself. I use spf to avoid getting freckles. I've been using spf for 20 years and I haven't a freckle on my face. i'm like wednesday adaams though.

I had to google liz mcdonald. Oh dear!

Seriously, I would be worried if my only aim was to look expensive. Fashion is meant to be fun.

And obviously I don't really look like Liz - for one thing I have short hair and have weaned myself off the leopard print. Still like the white skinnies though