This happened to me yesterday. A friend of mine arrived at my house looking great, so I ‘interrogated’ her as to where she’d bought her outfit.

Turns out that the stunning tailored shift dress in navy and red was from Tesco’s and the navy blue cardigan she had matched it with was from Zara!

It is always worth remembering that shopping for and buying clothes from that low cost fashion shop or store doesn’t mean to say you will look cheap in their clothes.

A dress from Tesco’s – if it fits you well and suits your body shape – can look a million dollars on you. Whereas a dress from a fashion designer might cost you way more, but if the fit or how it works for your body shape isn’t right for you, then your more expensive outfit can look ‘cheaper’!

Isn’t it wonderful that in this day and age we can look fabulous for very little money – Every Little Helps!

Fashionable Dressing, Boutique and Budget for all Ages

My favourite boutique, the Laundry Boutique in Chester, has a great ethos – most of their clothes are under £45.

They have styles and labels to suit every shape, size and age bracket. My 16 year old daughter has bought fashionable clothes from them, as have I, at the age of 49!

Gone, hopefully, are the times where someone who’s hit 45 has to shop in a specialist older women shop.

In each and every dress shop there is something for everyone. As you get older you are better off looking for more structured fabrics and sometimes you have to pay for that privilege, but not always.

I think Kate Middleton is doing a fantastic job bringing high street names to our attention, and proving that even someone in the limelight isn’t spending stupid money on their clothes.

Kate is also willing to be seen wearing something twice, even sharing with her mother e.g. a Royal Blue belted dress from Reiss that cost £139 that her mother wore to Ascot in 2008 and then Kate wore it to give her first public speech in Ipswich this year.

Personally, I think her mother looked better in it than Kate did, given that Carole has more curves than a very slim Kate, who really needs to wear clothes that put curves into her!

But the attitude to sharing is brilliant.

I think good taste defies age! Do You?