{new in}

Black boots & minky pink tunic top with pussy bow from Mr. Price

Luxurious Country Road leggings and gold multi-strand from Woolies {I loooove me my multi-strand!}

If you've been following me on Twitter, you'll know that I recently had a little go at SA Marie Claire magazine.  In their first few pages of their mag, they have a feature called "TrendBooks", where they show you the hottest look for the season and product that you can buy here at home that will help you achieve that look. 

Great feature - love the concept - but dont love the price of the product that they feature.

A lot of the items on these TrendBook pages cost R22k {for a bag}, R4k {for a shoulder bag}, R7k {for a pair of sunglasses}.  I know that there are some people out there who can afford them {Angelina Jolie, Jennifer Anniston, etc etc} but isn't it a little "obnoxious" to feature such ridiculously priced items that truthfully none of us can ACTUALLY afford {some might buy the items but spend the next 2 years paying them off - i.e. can't ACTUALLY afford it but say that they can}.  And to think we've just come out of a recession blah blah blah {we've heard that word to death now - am I right?!}

I get that magazine editors want to feature aspirational product in their pages, but seriously, the product Marie Claire has been featuring is a tad extravagent. 

Which brings me to my main question: do customers really want to spend these prices on this product?  It seems almost cheaper to hop on a plane, jet off to the UK, NY or Dubai and have a little shopping spree!  Perhaps a better way to feature the latest trends is to say "this product could cost you R50k if you bought these items from Mango, Stuttafords etc etc, but a more budget-friendly approach is to buy similar items from these stores x,y,z and save your money while still looking stylish".  If there are women out there who can afford to swipe their credit cards to purchase R22k worth of handbag, then I want to meet them: they surely do not live in Durban...

I prefer to be a smarter shopper: someone who uses thrift and vintage stores to incorporate real vintage pieces without breaking the bank.  And I'm not saying this because i just happen to own a label that sells 2nd and pre-loved clothes and accessories, but because surely that's where the trend is, and thus what customers want? 

Or am I loopy?  See the items I bought above?  They cost me R400 in total.  I am bang on trend, and don't have to eat crackers for the rest of the month until payday...  Who says fashion needs to be expensive?

xoxo,
Pippa