Readers of our blog will know we have a soft spot for the lovable stylist  Gok Wan and we are enjoying the return of his Clothes Roadshow (Tuesdays at 8pm  on Channel 4). Knowing what suits your body shape is a lesson well learned if you want to avoid becoming a fashion victim and Gok excels in educating ladies of all shapes and sizes on what they should wear and, equally importantly, what they should avoid in the wardrobe department.

We especially love the weekly fashion face-offs, in which Gok goes head to head with designer label lover Brix Smith-Start in showcasing key trends and inviting the audience to vote for high street or high end. This week’s show, from Nottingham, featured four fabulous fashion themes: tartan, metallics, bold florals and fringing.  Now while we would expect the designer looks  to be expensive (and they were!), Gok’s ‘humble’ high street outfits still averaged a whopping £465, which is way beyond many fashionistas’ budgets, especially in these austere times. There are plenty of key pieces which will set you back far less than £100 on the high street, or even less than £50 if you are a creative eco-fashionista, so we thought we’d show off some of our own frockery as a far less expensive, yet  stylish, alternative for each of these four featured looks.

Tartan

When it comes to tartan, we always have a good selection in our Scots Frockery department, often for a lot less than Gok’s (admittedly stunning) picnic blankets look! And despite the designer price tag, we also wholeheartedlyapproved of  Brix’s choice, as there is simply no beating traditional tartan and the skill of an expert kilt maker. However, there are plenty of preloved and vintage pieces available at a fraction of the cost of new designer or high street, and tartan is consistently one of our own best sellers which can be worn season after season for traditional occasions or everyday attire .

Plaid pieces from our current stock include this vintage tartan wool jacket with cute fringed pockets (a snip at £25) and this vintage tartan maxi skirt with metallic embossed buckle (only £18).

Metallics

We think we can also compete pretty well in the metallics stakes. Metallic dresses and jackets are enduringly popular, as are shoes, shawls and accessories. Our current favourites include this  silver metallic dress (reduced to £15) and this glam retro metallic jacket (£10).

We also love these metallic peep toe shoes (£12) and gold metallic heels (£14), both by Roland Cartier.

Bold florals

We always have lots of florals in stock for boldly mixing and matching or playing somewhat safer with classic floral frocks.  Take, for example, this bright bold floral  dress (£15) or this 70s bold floral print dress (£20).

Or how about a  red floral silk top (£9) and/or a vintage floral skirt (£12), all suitably accessorised of course.

Hey, we even have some bright floral shorts (think Brix’s floral designer choice) in stock!

Fringing

When we saw the £845 (gulp!) designer dress for this look, we had a sense of  déjà vu as Alison owns a similar fringed frock bought in south London  in 1982 which she remembers patiently waiting to be reduced in a sale. At above knee length, it is longer than the  Brix dress and is not designer, but it is every bit as wearable today as it was then.Sadly, Alison’s size 10 shape has long since timed out, but the dress is still occasionally worn by her svelte daughter.

In stock at the moment we have this cute black fringed dress for £20 which still has its shop tags attached and fits the fashion trend perfectly. And for only £10 we have this sheer net fringed poncho with sparkly dots, which can be belted in at the waist (slightly reminiscent of Gok’s £300+ customised crystal encrusted number?)

We hope you’ll agree that, while Gok undoubtedly rocks, the Frockery both rocks and rolls back the cost! We stand firmly by our Frockery mantra, which applies to designer and high street labels alike:

Why buy new when it’s more fashionable, frugal and eco-friendly to go retro?

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