I’ve never really understood those ‘Get the Look’ features that women’s magazines are so keen on and I have only now realised why. You have to have a real lust for the ridiculously priced designer garments before you can find joy in locating something similar for less, something that rarely happens to me. Of course, it is never possible to find something that looks as good as the original, but sometimes it’s a reasonable variant on the look and the reduction in cost is enough to warrant it being a suitable substitution for the object of your desires.
Today, I actually felt the need to create an alternative shopping list of my own when I opend Agent Provocateur’s latest email and followed a link to their Soiree collection. It’s all rather lovely but, unsurprisingly, also shockingly expensive. So I have selected the three items that really caught my attention and have located alternatives. Let me know what you think.
1) Billie Jacket & Body – £895
This jacket is utterly beautiful and so I would be sorely tempted to buy this outfit on the strength of that alone, if I had that kind of money to spare. However, I found an alternative body from M&S for £35 and a lovely jacket from Oasis for £85 that would do a fine job of recreating the look for anyone wanting to spend less than £800.
2) Heloise Corset – £2450
Now, this one was more eye-catching than desireable. I mean… leather on the inside, and spikes on the hips? What were they thinking? Still, it’s a nice design and shape so you could always go for the Insomnia Halterneck Corset (£35 from Debenhams) and then visit your local haberdashery department for some studs and spikes if you so desire. However, I think it looks gorgeous as it is and you get a much more practical garment for £2415 less than AP’s spikey craziness.
3) Gardinia Corset – £750
Very little I’ve seen during my many hours of corset browsing lives up to the photo of this beautiful Gardinia corset but, at £610 less, you can forgive this What Katie Did Pigalle Sophia Corset (in gold) a little if it lacks the same ‘wow factor’. However, if I was spending £750 on a corset, I think it’d probably be made to measure. After all, not everyone looks like an AP model 😉
You've done an amazing job tracking down those alternatives! All of the utterly gorgeous too! I actually was stunned when I saw the Gardinia Corset. What woman wouldn't feel like a queen in that! Wow!
I always figured that the “Get the look” stuff was for the pseudy bastards who wanted to look like designer stuff without spending the required amount.
Mind you, I always used to look at them as comparisons for “why designer really is the way to go, if you can afford it and/or see it as important”, as most of the cheaper alternatives found on pages of the Daily Fail etc really did look nasty.
All the same, good job!
I know what you mean about those “get the look” articles, they always seem to me like a substitute for actually finding your own style!
Those cheaper alternatives to Agent Provocateur are pretty good though! I think if you like something and hunt down an alternative it's different from just trying to get a designer “look”