I love a good investment piece, I really do.
However my bank balance really, really doesn't.
So why not shop around and be clever with your money.
For example, I adore the classic Burberry Sandringham Trench which is an iconic staple but with an incredibly eye watering price for essentially a cotton coat. I know this piece is incredibly well made, goes with everything, and will NEVER ever date, but I really can't justify a near £1300 price tag which makes me want to wince, collapse on the floor and cry whilst stroking the sleeve on my face.
I got to work tracking down the dupe of all dupes and surprisingly worked out an entire outfit for less then probably what the price of two sleeves and a handful of buttons could buy me from Burberry.
I can't quite believe this outfit comes in at £980.01 cheaper then just one coat. £980.01! Its an insane amount of money saved just from shopping around then splurging on one item.
First off I set to work tracking down the perfect dupe of a trench and I discovered this ASOS Lightweight Trench Coat in Stone which to me, looks identical to the Burberry one albeit without the belt but heck! who uses the belt on a trench anyway? For £60 I couldn't quite believe how well constructed and smart it looks and would definitely be snapped up by me if I had the chance. I then thought about what else to pair it with and didn't want to go ultra minimal with the colours but I didn't want to go too seasonal either so I feel like I got a great balance between clothing and accessories. Next up I found the ASOS Super Longline Knitted T-shirt with Mock Shirt Hem which is the perfect layering piece as you don't get the bulk but you get the look of layers which is perfect for me because I find layering incredibly fiddly and hot. You can't go wrong with an incredibly tight pair of jeans (well, depends on where you stand on how tight is too tight) and Topman do some incredible Black Super Spray on Skinny Jeans which won't break the bank and look/fit better then other high end brands. For accessories I kept with the autumnal theme as its soon approaching. For the bag, I found this Burberry AW15 inspired suede tote from Zara which Im actually lusting after but I'm trying to muster the courage to spend £109 on whats essentially a unsafe bag but oh well! I surprised myself by finding this All Saints Bronson Fedora for £30! Yep you read correctly, something from All Saints that isn't going to break your bank and hit you right in the guilt which has happened to me many,many times before. I also found these H&M Leather Chelsea Boots which actually look like they could be from a higher end brand and also look like they're age beautifully with time too.
If you like these ideas of styling, let me know and Ill try and do more of them using different key, higher priced items and how to get the look for less!
Until next time guys,
Jay
