How to look 'expensive' 2

[IkeaGoddess]

(old thread got to 1000 posts)

But I don't think the site Boffin posted had bags with massive fake logs. Were they blatant copies?

I know I had this bag from M&S:

uk.pinterest.com/pin/399624166912719181/

Which is 'rather similar' to:
thisbugslife.com/2014/08/07/mulberry-annie-in-oak-darwin-2/

Is is that different to clothes from the catwalk being copied by the high street?

I don't have a 'fake' bag btw, but I'm sure most 'middle range' bag brands are 'inspired by' designer ones.

Compare and contrast this with the YSL Cabas Chyc, as carried by Angelina

Yeah I'm feeling a bit silly now as done some researching on expensive designer bags (trying to gauge whats affordable) and realised I have very similar styles all bought from the high street I had to google Birkin 😂

I've been walking about with "fake" bags my whole life, oooops

DD1 swept in for Christmas bearing the Marie Kondo book, and hinted very heavily that I should read it and take it to heart. So I did. I now have clothes that I know will all go together and a 'look' I am happy with. I got rid of a big black bag of clothes (donated) - just stuff that wasn't working and didn't 'bring me joy'. I am conscious that the stuff I have left is what I really love.

So I suggest spreading every single item of clothing you own all over your floor(s) and keep the items you love, and send the rest on their way to the next phase of their life.

When you know what you have and you are sure you are wearing a look of your own taste you will feel great, which is half the battle, imo.

Another thing to do is get your hair cut so it doesn't fall into your eyes all the time and avoid clothes that wear you -- your clothes are a frame and so is your hair.

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news.images.itv.com/image/file/661210/stream_img.jpg

i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/01664/samandcarla_1664839c.jpg

-- What person do you see and what clothes and hair do you see?

Yes Amber's picture totally illustrates it - a big Y is clearly totally copying Saint Laurent.

The high street always does filtered down looks of designers - that is different to blatant copies. Also I'm sure the shop Boffin linked to isn't linked to organised crime etc but lots of fake bags are. It is not a nice industry.

a summary here and again I am not saying the shop linked supports organised crime. However they have blatantly copied someone else's design.

I guess this thread is changing direction somewhat.

Just wanted to suggest Zara's sale . It's got some really nice , simple basics at great prices.

Ach that passed me by as I was looking at the others. They could have got away with it if they hadn't stuck a big Y on the front. This one is obviously a Bayswater copy but no more so than the version M&S did.

vanilla-paris.co.uk/tara-grey-leather-handbag-853.html

I hadn't realised about the bags.

Yes but wearing even a filtered down Bayswater is never going to look expensive - because the style is so well known - my natural reaction is to take a second glance to see if it's real...actually that's the question I ask myself when I see one of the more usual designer bags - the ones that are commonly copied - is it real? You have to look really expensive to convince me you are carrying the real thing.
Not that it matters much to me but if you really care about looking expensive I don't, a popular designer looking bag can easily cheapen your look.

I agree Higge - I love Chanel and have one but I saw a lady in Tesco yesterday with a massive black shiny flap bag. Now, I don't know whether it was real - the fact it was patent made it look cheaper - but the fact she was wearing it with tracksuit bottoms and uggs in Tesco meant the look did not work at all - it looked incongruous.

Oh I lost this thread!

I'll come back and read later, but thought I'd say that I've just spent this week in Italy with work and I have noticed that one way the Italian women look more expensive is to wear lots of muted colours. Even very small girls are wearing navy, browns and creams, nice wool fabrics and leather. Not pinks and purples.

I liked it.

No that's not right - little girls should be up to their ears in mud, paint and goo....not looking effortlessly stylish. DD always chose her own clothes - some of the outfits were very...creative and people would ask if she dressed herself!

Nothing was for best, everything got worn and it was pink - still would be but she recognises that pink is not cool among her peer group so she's a closet pink lover.

If you can't do it when you're little....if you always have to be tasteful - does that not fuck you up a little bit.

Well I guess it depends on your tastes and whether you feel like you're having to dress for approval from others or not.

I personally quite like natural fabrics and colours, and blacks, greys and navy. I'd prefer to wear them over garish colours or neon. So it's no hardship for me, I don't feel I'm missing out by not wearing pink polyester. I didn't like pink as a child either, in fact I'd veto anything that had pink in it. I was a bit of a tom-boy.

If someone's natural affinity is for bright colours/sheer/sparkles then by all means they should wear that if that's what makes them happy and feel like they look good. Lots of people who also like pink and sparkles (and there are LOADS) will also think they look great!

PS I don't hate pink now! I wear it sometimes, I have a lovely blush pink soft wool jumper, and a scarf that's magenta, so pretty bright.

PS I don't hate pink now! I wear it sometimes, I have a lovely blush pink soft wool jumper, and a scarf that's magenta, so pretty bright.

I personally quite like natural fabrics and colours, and blacks, greys and navy I was referring to your approval of small girls in tasteful muted colours navy, brown and cream, fair enough if your little girl has a desire to look tasteful - I'd imagine it's an unusual priority when a child dresses themselves.

I returned the synthetic leggings to RI...and bought a pair of real leather M&S ones, for not much more money...the joys of ebay!

Sorry, perhaps I wasn't clear in my post.

I meant that not all younger girls want to wear pink. I think it's a bit of a social construct, girls in pink. I didn't like pink as a child (not that I dressed myself well, I just didn't wear pink).

I don't mean that you have lots of 8 year olds trying to look tasteful in Italy. I more assumed that because the women there are wearing more muted tones, children do too more naturally. So yes, they are dressed tastefully (IMO), but not because they 'want to be tasteful', but because they have a proclivity to more tasteful clothes because of those around them.

Perhaps their mothers are forcing them into navy against their wishes though.

Being a bit fick I was not even aware of the significance of the big Y. I thought it was a style feature.

I don't think this shop is a Mafia den, BTW, just a Chelsea pitstop for the tight fisted where an enthusiast has seen a gap in the market.

Ha, ha. Omw to Chelsea now. If I have time I'll check it out. Might take a pic of my bag when I get home and challenge you to identify it . Don't get too excited.

I've been in there Boffin, deffo not a Mafia den.

I agree re little girls in muted colours - fine if that's what they like and want to wear, but shouldn't be forced. My DD is four and loves colour. Not just pink, but all of them. And long may it last.

One advantage of children wearing colour is that they stand out in the playground- DS has always liked & worn bright colours, and he stood out like a beacon in a playground full of boys in black grey & khaki.

I've just been on the tube with nothing to do but look at my fellow passengers, and their bags. One woman had a 'Salvatore Ferragamo' handbag, the clasp on which closed with a very authentic- sounding click, but I hope she didn't pay a lot for it, as the leather looked horrid, and the stitches were wonky. I can't believe it was real SF. The next one along had a Whistles bag (complete with name in gold). That was beautifully made, with thick, soft leather and perfect stitches. If it hadn't had Whistles on it I would have thought it was really expensive.

I hate having labels showing, even when it's a designer and either don't buy if you can't remove them, or snip them off. I think they signal something you've overpaid for! Or a fake of course.

There you go. Got bored in the waiting room but didn't make the shop. Popped into Waitrose Little shop near Battersea Bridge and saw a squidgy Mulberry attached to the worst dressed person I have seen in ages.

just read through the returns policy for Vanilla Paris- they only accept returns for faulty goods? Really wanted a look at the CClaudia in real life , but feels a bit risky now..