Investment vs Bargain Fashion

For so long I have bowed down to the shrine of hard and fast fashion, that is, cheap and in bulk. There's no greater feeling than looking at your bags after a days shopping and rejoicing in the fact that you got 20+ items for practically nothing.

I like adding good quality designer pieces with my high street heavy wardrobe.

Now I'm not saying that I don't do that anymore. You'll see plenty of Primark, H&M and charity shop finds on this blog, and 90% of my wardrobe is made up if affordable high street pieces. But as I've got older and have a bit of a disposable income (not a lot though!), I've started looking to have items that will last over multiple seasons, and more importantly over a number of years. 

Let's do a bit of fashion maths:

1 high street polyester bag = £50+ and lasts (in my experience, a maximum of 18 months of weekly usage).

1 designer handbag = £300+ and potentially lasts a lifetime (most designer stores will always fix or replace a genuine item no matter how long you've had it).

Certain things that I use on a daily/weekly basis need to last and I'm fed up with replacing things so frequently. Frequent items for me include a black handbag, black boots, brown boots, winter coat, summer coat, sunglasses and black flat shoes. Over time I'm planning to get these pieces as investment items, but will not be replacing everything I own with stupidly expensive versions as I don't need to and more importantly can't afford to!

I wrote recently about how to get these items in sample sales, and I stick by this being the best way of finding designer pieces without breaking the bank. I found a pair of Miu Miu real leather biker boots (see first pic above) at one for £70 which is about 90% off RRP, and are hands down the warmest, comfiest boots I've ever worn.

I've also recently bought a couple of full price items (I can't stress enough that I've been saving for these for well over a year to be able to afford them!). My Miu Miu sunglasses and Mulberry Del Rey bag may make my Mum's eyes water, but I know that they will last AND go with whatever high street pieces I wear with them.

What's your opinion on designer vs high street fashion?