Fashion
WAGs and bling-lovers get their own sparkly currency card
Filed under: Credit Cards, Travel, Fashion
Travel money firm Travelex has launched a WAGs application for its prepaid foreign currency card. The Cash Passport card is a Mastercard loaded with money before you leave. Now the Prada-and-fake tans set have their own special bling-themed card to use in South Africa. Pre-paid cards are a good compromise between the convenience of taking a debit card, and the security that comes with a maximum amount that can be spent on it. Coleen Rooney is possibly taking note.
The secrets to cheap designer fashion
Filed under: Fashion, Freebies and Bargains
Designer threads may have been ditched in favour of paying bills and putting food on the table since the recession reared its ugly head, but we all know you don't need to spend a weeks' wages to pull a decent outfit together.There's a host of ways to score designer goodies for less than the eye-watering retail prices, so here's a few secrets to find high fashion goodies for a fraction of the designer price tags.
OFT cracks down on fake 'sales'
Filed under: Travel, Fashion, Freebies and Bargains, Food and Drink
We have all seen the absurd claims in shop windows of 80% off – lots of stores now seem to have permanent "sales" which turn out to be far from what they seem. Travel companies are just as bad. But these attempts to mislead the public could soon be banned.Clothes shops are some of the worst, with promises of sales which turn out to refer to a single rail at the back of the store. But the Office of Fair Trading is looking into cracking down on these sharp practices.
Get your festival gear for less
Filed under: Entertainment, Fashion
It's coming round to festival season again, and if you're a first timer you'll need to get your hands on all the essentials to make sure you're prepared for anything. I've sought out the best value clothes, camping gear and accessories so you can enjoy your festival fun without having to spend a fortune. Check out what's on offer over the jump.
British women spend like Carrie Bradshaw on handbags
Filed under: Fashion, Insurance
Sex and the City fever is sweeping the nation yet again. The four ladies with their city lifestyle and their designer shoes and bags have become icons for a generation of women from the days when it was just a good old television series. So much so, that a survey by Churchill Insurance found 30-something women have collectively splashed out £163 million - about £113 each - on 'must-have' handbags. The difference is, Carrie, Charlotte, Samantha and Miranda (in the programmes at least) don't have to deal with the consequences of having their arm candy stolen.
We're wasting £1,000 a day on clothes
Filed under: Economiser, Savvy Shopper, Fashion
We all know appearances matter, and we'll be judged at work and at play partly by how we look. So most of us have justified some sort of overpriced outfit on the grounds that it's an investment, but a new survey shows we're not investing - we're squandering.Apparently, our every-day outfits cost an average of £1,000 - even before we get into the kinds of designers being sported at Cannes. So how does it add up and how do we cut costs?
Al Fayed sells Harrods to Qataris
Filed under: Fashion, Food and Drink
So Harrods has been sold to the Qataris, who already own large chunks of other well-known British companies. Its colourful Egyptian owner, Mohamed Al Fayed, sold the famous London department store for £1.5 billion because he wants to spend more time with his children and grand-children - although he will stay on as honorary chairman. What does this mean for customers?
How to find bargains in charity shops
Filed under: Savvy Shopper, Fashion, House and Home, Freebies and Bargains
We're forever hearing about vintage fashion and reclaimed homewares, and the trend to reuse and recycle has never been more popular.
Yet charity shops and second-hand stores can sometimes seem like a musty maze of garish granny clothes and random nick-nacks, so as a seasoned bargain-hunter, here are my tips to finding some treasures amongst the trash.
Love the 1980's, it's saving us Loadsamoney
Filed under: Entertainment, Fashion, Food and Drink
Our love affair with the 1980s continues, but this week the trend is great for your pocket. Last week we revealed the horrifying news that the yuppies of yesteryear haven't let go of their Loadsamoney ways, blowing their cash on gadgets and bling.This week, however, comes the news that for a good swathe of the population the 1980s lives on in a far healthier way, because 40% of us are still using stuff we bought 25 years ago. So just how wedded are we to the 1980's, and how much is it helping us save?
Spring-clean your wardrobe
Filed under: Fashion, Budgeting & Planning
When approaching a spring-clean, I would like to think that I took the William Morris approach, of having nothing in my wardrobe that I didn't know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful. But I'm not willing to approach Spring with four things plus underwear, so I have to be a little more forgiving.
Nevertheless, watered down, this is not a bad theory. What is the best way to go about it in practice?
