As a shopping editor, I spend a large proportion of my time scrolling through online stores, eagle-eyed and on the lookout for the best buys. As we’re a site that tries to cater to all needs (high-street, high-end and second-hand), I like to think that I have a pretty good idea of what constitutes a successful purchase. This is, however, particularly tricky when it comes to high-street, as you can’t always rely on price to guarantee quality (which, to be fair, it doesn’t always).
While there are a few items that can benefit from a little more expense, in general, I’d say that you can usually find expensive-looking high-street iterations of most wardrobe staples. In my experience, fabric is key, and while that might be harder to judge when shopping online, there are certain options that are safer bets than others. For example, I find that linen is something that can look premium at a more affordable price point, especially when it’s paired with a minimalist silhouette.
Of course, this is not a definitive rule, and you can definitely find cheap-looking leather or linen, for example. However, it might be a way to help you sift through the overwhelming number of items that often confront us online. To give you a head start, I did a bit of digging and came up with an edit of high-street buys within each category to spark your imagination. Scroll down to see and shop my picks.