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?

www.notonthehighstreet.com/search?filter%5Bcategory_id%5D=18926&filter%5Bdelivery_zone%5D=2&filter%5Bprice_at_least%5D=0&filter%5Bprice_at_most%5D=50&term=gold+earrings&view=many

some lovely earrings here (and some horrors...)

Trucking - the couple in that picture don't look expensive at all to me. They look safe and boring.

I think there's a fine line between looking expensive and looking ten years older than you are. It's a look Kate Middleton has perfected, unfortunately, although I realise she is going to have restrictions on her style of dress that most of us don't have. Personally, I always admire people who show some personality through their clothes, rather than those who look like they want to blend in. That said, clean hair, shoes etc are always a winner.

I work in a private school and lots of the parents look 'expensive' - it's definitely about grooming: no greys in hair which is well cut and nicely blow-dried, not too long or short, subtle jewellery, very slim figure, simple clothes which somehow look well-put-together e.g. skinny jeans (often white or grey or black rather than denim coloured), ankle boots, silk blouse/shirt/naice top, cashmere sweater, good bag.

Kate Middleton is an interesting example because in evening wear she looks amazing but in formal day wear she always looks twenty years older than her age and not very nice with it.
In informal daywear, she does not manage to look chic or expensive (since this thread is about looking expensive!). Maybe she does not want to look expensive though, just innocuous and serviceable.

Kate moss although she wears expensive designer clothes, sometimes looks like her clothes needs good washing,

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, undeux, to me that is the right formula, spend on basics ,not showy items like bags or high heel glittery loubs, , if I had a budget of £500, I wouldn't blow it all on a mulberry or Vuitton while my clothes are cheap looking, a bag or expensive loubs won't change the state of clothes or make them look "better"

I'd get a good cashmere or lambswool sweater good everyday shoes, or well made jacket, buying the best for everyday wear is more important,

a few weeks ago in Paris , an Asian tourist,really caught my eye ,she looked incredibly stylish, she didnt scream flashy desginer , she had a trench on but not burberry, fits her so well, simple tods penny loafers, a lonchamps pliage , bag in beautiful dark green, and plain scarf, that upon closer examination turned out to be an hermes, I might have stalked her around the store to get a better look of her scarf wether she was wearing designer pieces or lesser expensive brands, didnt make a difference, the overall result looked very well balanced, everything looked well made, and though she looked too classic for my taste, I noticed how good she looked, she made that simple nylon bag look so beautiful!!

Marking place

Kate is obeying the rules set by the firm. Being a royal though doesn't mean boring. Look at Princess Mary for example. Jumpsuits, patterns etc.

I find the fatter I get the worse I dress. I start buying patterned things and just give up. After reading this thread last night I got up today and culled my wardrobe.

I follow Alessandra Steinherr on Instagram and always think she looks very polished and expensive. Ok, so she works in the beauty industry (Glamour magazine) so she has access to nice clothes and make up but she wears it well. I always notice her nice hair and brows.

bluebump
Yes, Alessandra is chic. She is also very rich!

Who the Jeff is Princess Mary (pictures stern, Germanic Mary of Teck in a flowery jumpsuit)..

want to follow this and read when DD isn't having round my neck! need the tips!

Good thread.

Can anyone advise me on hair? I have been aiming for the style described and currently have brown hair, length is not quite bra strap but past shoulders, layered with a growing out side fringe. The issue i have is that when i try to blow dry it it never looks like the style i'm after. It is thick hair and naturally wavy but not nice wavy, its frizzy, hedge messy.

So could anyone advise me on what to ask my hairdresser for the cut and do i need to add some subtle high/lowlighs? and also can anyone direct me to some tutorials for how to blow dry it myself?

Love this thread! Buy the best shoes/bag you can afford is a tip I've heard dished out before which makes a lot of sense

I am enjoying this thread but asking myself why I don't look 'expensive.' I am slim and have had enough disposable income in the past to be able to spend a lot of money on clothes and grooming. But I didn't.

I like looking and feeling scruffy some days eg today, baggy jumper, skinny supermarket jeans, slightly greasy hair, last nights mascara. Then when I am on a night out, I like to stand out with big hair, a skintight dress and heels I can't walk in.

I don't want Kate Middleton's look. If I had expensive clothes and jewellery I wouldn't appreciate them. It would be a waste of money for me.

I think attitude has a lot to do with it. I have two friends who follow a lot of the 'rules' mentioned here (always well-groomed, clean, classic style etc). One of them has heaps of money and one of them wants people to think she has heaps of money.

There is a really subtle difference between the two but because I've known them over a decade I do notice the difference and it's in their attitudes. The friend who is worth a few million has an air of confidence about her. The second friend will happily tell you all about her new, expensive, car but the first friend is driving round in a Jag that's about twenty years old (spend more initially on something that will last and it saves money, same theory as buying clothes up-thread).

She's not tall and doesn't have the long glossy hairstyle but she has a presence about her and doesn't suffer fools gladly. She'll never be rude to a waiter or shop assistant but neither is she trying to be their friend.

Oh, and tan leather always seems to look expensive to me, but never Michael Kors.

God this is a good thread

Fresh caramel highlights, a simple grey cashmere jumper with black skinnys, black chelsea ankle boots and a pliage shopper will always look more expensive than brown home dyed hair, a bright jumper, blue skinnys and skyscraper high platform ankle boots.

Princess Madeleine of Sweden has perfected this look, to me.

Love this thread. Does anyone have any more ideas about work? Smart dress but not suits in my office, do skinnies/jumpers are out.

I don't know if I look expensive or not to be honest; I suspect I do because I have quite nice, subtle things. I am perfectly happy to pay £150 for a pair of shoes but not often much more. I have a classic Burberry trench coat in my wardrobe from 1984 and don't wear it because it looks dated. The cut is dated and I don't really know how, possibly the mud calf length that was perfect back then but nit now.

I am of course quite old by Mnet standards. 55. I am also not thin, a size 14 but tall and on the border of my BMI. I would love to be thinner.

But hair. Hmm. I have a very good, retired from the West End hairdresser. I go every six weeks. Every six weeks I have a T Bar colour in two shades of dark blonde/warm tone - no idea what they are. Am lucky because not too much grey. After two T bars I have a half head of highlights. Cut and blow dry every six weeks. Slightly layered so it flicks out rather than under, not quite shoulder length. I spend about £120 pcm on my hair overall. At him a five minute blow dry and five minutes with the curling brush.

Clothes aren't my highest priority. The hierarchy is DH and the DC, home, education, holidays, cars.

I work full time in a relaxed environment and spend a lit of time trying to blend in and not look too well heeled. My bosses don't need to know.

I also check what I write at work for typos

Haha BB, must admit I did read it in an 'Allo Allo' accent

The sort of look I think looks expensive and classy is the cool "Hitchcock Blonde" look. So-a suit or something tailored, make up and a glossy-looking chignon. Sort of Grace Kelly.

A character on Sound of Music is rocking that look now..Georg's girlfriend.