I recently went High Street shopping for the first time in quite a while, most of my wardrobe is from Ebay, Primark, thrift or charity shops, and, to be honest, I was surprised at how EXPENSIVE everything was!

Teeny little jumpers costing upwards of £15 and fairly plain simple evening dresses costing over £50 even in the most basic shop.

Nice as it feels to come home toting bags and bags of brand new pretty things I just found myself filled with a nagging guilt about spending so much on clothes that I knew with a bit of hunting I could probably find just as nice in a charity shop at about a tenth of the price because someone else has worn it once!

To me it felt wasteful, and also runs the massive risk of running into someone else in the exact same dress. What a waste of £50 if you don’t even feel special!

So, if you’ve got a big party coming up and want to look glam and have plenty of pennies left for the night itself here’s my Retro Chick High Street Switch favourites.

This cowl neck dress (above left) is from Star by Julian Macdonald. It’s beautiful and elegant. However at £100 the only place I’ll be able to afford to wear it is McDonald’s!

Instead why not treat yourself to this cowl neck dress (Above right, originally from River Island) for only £14.99 from Retro Chick.

Then treat yourself even further to a couple of bottles of Champagne with the left over £85!

This rose applique shift (above left) picks up on this seasons obsession with corsages, with a little cluster on the shoulder. It’s from Oasis and costs £70.

Get a similar feel with this stretch shift with corsage trim in this seasons essential plum colour (above right, originally Sacha) for only £14.99 from Retro Chick.

If you’re going to a formal evening do and fancy buying yourself a bit of Grecian style, this silk chiffon evening dress (left) is heart breakingly beautiful with Grecian style drapes and ruching. However, quite frankly it wants to be for £315!

Instead why not grab this gorgeous 70s vintage Trina Lewis & Marjon Couture evening dress with Grecian Style draping for (right) only £29.99 from Retro Chick. Leaving plenty for gorgeous accessories and getting your hair done!

Of course, even if you’re not going to some glamorous evening event (like I do allll the time, obviously) you still want to make sure you’re getting your monies worth!

This gorgeous grey and black skirt (left) in a so this season check is from Rocha.John Rocha at Debenhams and costs £45.

Stay on trend with this bias cut linen skirt (right, originally Monsoon) in navy and red tartan print for only £14.99 and spend your savings on a nice chunky belt to go with it.

Or if a mini skirt is more your style this distressed pale denim mini (left) is £25 from Top Shop.

Alternatively this pale denim mini (right, originally Old Navy) is just £7.99 from Retro Chick. If you like the distressed look a packet of sandpaper costs a lot less then the £17 you’ll have left over!