Knock-Offs Vs Designers: Can You Tell Which Look Costs £50 & Which Is £5,000?

With designer knock-offs becoming more and more popular on the High Street, Kate Garraway tried three outfits from shops on the High Street and three from top class designers. Can you tell which look costs £50 and which is £5,000 on Kate? Can you differentiate the cheap chic and which one has a weighty price tag?  But then continue…

Kate explains how she feels about the cheap dresses and the top class designers to Dailymail.

Dinner Date

Dress, £20, oasis-stores.com

Necklace, £2.99, and bag, £14.99, newlook.co.uk

Ring, £7, asos.com

Shoes, £5, everything5pounds.com

Total: £49.98

A belt would improve the overall shape of this dress, but at a smart evening event no one would know it cost the same as a posh bottle of wine.

I can’t believe the shoes are only £5; they look as if they’d be at least £50.

Dress, £650, beulahlondon.com

Necklace, £3,195, caratlondon.com

Ring, £235, monicavinader.com

Bag, £195, lkbennett.com

Shoes, £725, arunaseth.com

Total: £5,000

This dress looks sweet and fits perfectly, but it doesn’t feel expensive (75 per cent stiff cotton, 25 per cent nylon with a 100 per cent silk lining). The platforms are comfortable. But the necklace (set in nine-carat gold, but these aren’t diamonds) does not look as if it’s worth thousands.

WINNER: Split: I prefer the pricey dress, but the cheaper shoes and jewellery.

Out For Drinks

Dress, £30, axparis.com

Jacket, £5, and shoes, £5, everything5pounds.com

Necklace, £7, and earrings, £3, claires.co.uk

Total: £50

This dress may be less than a tenth of the price of the more expensive one, but I prefer it 100 per cent. 

The colour is better — it’s a warmer golden shade rather than a silvery grey — as is the fit. On looks, 

I’d think it was the more expensive of the two.

The jacket is smartly tailored, worn-in looking and lightweight for spring.

The shoes have a natty asymmetrical cut at the toe line and feel incredibly comfortable.

Rag and Bone dress, £460, oxygenboutique.com

Leather jacket, £1,845, michaelkors.com

Star necklace, £1,495, sheeva.com

Earrings, £695, astleyclarke.com

Shoes, £505, giuseppezanottidesign.com

Total: £5,000

This is a great dress: sexy, but the length prevents a mutton-dressed-as-lamb situation. The fabric feels a little viscose, though. The jacket is suspiciously shiny, but butter soft. The necklace is set with miniature white sapphires, but I wouldn’t have spotted this as different to the budget version.

WINNER: The cheap option — it makes a better impact all round.

Shopping Trip

Coat, £30, boohoo.com

George at Asda sweater, £4, direct.asda.com

Shoes and jeans, £5 each, everything5pounds.com

Tote bag, £19.99, hm.com

Necklace, £7.99, daisystreet.co.uk

Total: £49.98

I love this (admittedly thin) coat, which looks far more costly. The necklace looks almost identical to the dear one. The jumper is a bit see-through, but the jeans fit like a glove.

Coat, £1,450, aquascutum.com

Adam Lippes silk and cashmere sweater, £740, net–a-porter.com

J Brand jeans, £300, selfridges.com

Tote bag with inbuilt phone or iPad charger portal, £1,500, aspinaloflondon.com

Shourouk necklace, £590, benna.co.uk

Shoes, £420, arunaseth.com

Total: £5,000

A classy outfit. The jeans are soft and supple, the jumper warm, but not heavy, the coat smart if shapeless and the handbag is obviously top quality. But the shoes and necklace were nothing special.

WINNER: The cheap option. With neutral colours and fail-safe cuts, I had to look hard to tell which was which.