How to look 'expensive'

[INeedSomeHelp]

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?

ha ha!

I'm partial to a bit of lep myself. I have a leopard skin umbrella. Let out my inner liz

I think pale is back in NoMore314.

What I find tends to happen is once the WAGS/Made In Essex brigade get hold of a 'look' (tans, eyebrows, eyelashes, hair, Louboutin shoes) and take it to the extreme, things then tend to move in the complete opposite direction.

I think natural pale skin looks fab.

Aye that's half of Essex ruled out then............................... (I live in Essex and I love to people watch)

I had the Great Debate with my 13yo that paying £45 for a branded sweatshirt wasn't good.
Just paying to be a walking advert really.

It's all about grooming/ongoing maintenance and not going over the top in your clothes choices. Pieces should last for years. Don't forget the footwear too if you're going for this look. Ideally leather rather than synthetic and C.L.E.A.N. and P.O.L.I.S.H.E.D.

funny cross-post 70

Also agree with nothing that is obviously 'branded', regardless of the brand.

MrsCampbell, I love short hair! I think it can look incredibly stylish. I wish I could go short, unfortunately my bone structure isn't up to it......

Liz Hurley looks 'expensive ' to me and she has extensions.

This looks expensive to me. Young, attractive, tanned, glossy, thick hair, preppy style, good teeth and white jeans!

Trucking
Great pic, they look gorgeous and happy but honestly that peach jumper does not scream expensive to me!

This looks expensive to me and is not Sloaney or classic

Liz Hurley wears MN's fave look (Breton top plus skinny jeans, albeit cropped) and manages to look expensive here.

I really don't like this look, but it looks expensive and is not loafers / stud earrings / decent coat from Jaeger :)

And here's Kate Moss looking fabulously expensive and not a silk scarf in sight.

Actually, maybe that pic of Kate Moss is cheating. Evening dress and fur coat, well, that's an expensive look for starters.
But here is a more day look, very rock chic and she looks expensive here, too. Although still not really a look for Tesco.

Good underwear.

You can wear incredibly expensive clothes but the wrong bra - even though unseen - will give you a terrible shape, bumps in the wrong places and awful posture. Find a decent bra, buy it in three colours, and you can get away with cheaper clothes. Likewise knickers - ones that give you a vpl or that are forever disappearing up your backside will do nothing for your style and comfort levels. You need the right underwear for the right clothes. Knowing when a wonderbra is appropriate is crucial too. Cleavage that looks like it'll take a small child's eye out is definitely not an expensive look on the school run, but might work in the evening (I'm doubtful it will ever work but I might just be jealous!).

Good basic pieces is the next step.

Never buying anything in a sale just because it's excellent quality and vvvvv cheap . There's a reason that cashmere sweater is reduced to £15, and it's usually because the colour doesn't quite work for anyone, or the length is just slightly too short. I have just culled my wardrobe of some lovely clothes bought in sales over the years - they'd make someone else look stylish/expensive but the colours are just too dark/strong/yellowish for me and will never make me look my best. I look great in turquoise and navy but need to be much more careful with teal.

I feel a bit of a hypocrite though as my wardrobe is definitely tatty atm and I'm overhauling it as my NY project. I am guilty of too many GAP t-shirts and sweaters since having DC.

As PP have said, grooming is also important. Brows make a huge difference, I feel desperately unkempt when my brows need threading or nails need doing.

It is easier to wear a wider range of clothes if you're tall, but I don't think tall necessarily equals stylish/expensive. I know a couple of tall women who tend to stoop, so things hang badly and they look less confident. I know one of them has real problems finding well-fitting clothes too. It's a case of knowing what suits you. I have several friends around 5'4" to 5'6" who always look 'expensive'; height isn't crucial. Yes, they are all slim.

Personally I think that wearing head to toe from one expensive shop/designer looks cheap. I don't really know why though. Chucking a e.g. Zara piece into the designer mix seems to liven it all up a bit.

Will watch this thread as I continue to chuck stuff into the charity pile!

'''good underwear''. I am only a 32b or something. I don't need to spend a £100 on a bra. So I don't.

I agree with you about the staying slim though and knowing what suits you.

I leave my brows alone, pretty much, pluck a few stray from underneath.

Expensive bag? Check
Skinny leather jeans? Check.
Fabulous show stopping shoes? Check.
This is how I would look to step out to Tesco in my dreams.

Sorry to say I also don't agree about the need for fabulous or expensive underwear.

The best underwear topped off with a cheap top is never going to look expensive.

Love that 10:12 look UnDeux.

Although I disagree on the 9:36 Kate Moss pic. I don't think that's an expensive look. Fur and tassley boots don't say expensive to me!

This look conforms to the rules mentioned up thread: simple colours, good coat, good bag. And classic lines, nothing too edgy.

I never said 'expensive underwear'! I have plenty of bras from JL and M&S, several bought in sales for less than £5. By 'good', I meant well-fitting, smooth etc. No faster way to ruin an expensive outfit than by having rolls of back fat spilling over the top of a bra strap, or having a weird profile, or by permanently hoiking up bra straps which keep slipping.

Actually as a 30B-32C myself, I find a good bra makes a huge difference to how clothes hang, and yes, it does make cheap clothes look more expensive. I don't suggest a good bra would ever make a trashy top look good, but it can make a huge difference to a cheap high street dress. I have a £50 sleeveless dress from Zara - wrong bra, with straps exposed, bumps from lace showing under the material, and no padding makes the dress look like a dishrag. A decent padded, uplifting, smooth bra with crossover straps made the dress look fantastic and I received many compliments. Doesn't matter how much it costs as long as it fits well.

This also works according to The Expensive Rules
Nothing wildly fashionable but the overall look is chic and groomed and lovely.

Kate Moss never "looks expensive". Her trademark style is lower middle class with more money than taste 😄

Kate always looks trashy - like Kath from EE in a fur coat.

i like the esprit website, to me that looks good quality, not cheap, but smart/casual and good prices.
just ordered a fine knit jumper and a shirt.