Gone are the days when people would immediately buy a dress no matter how much it cost, especially if it represents what your sartorial philosophy is all about. Since the advent of fast-fashion chains, another process has been integrated into our shopping habits, probably without us even knowing, to make sure that we’re getting the best value for our dirhams.

The existence of high-street copies of pricier designer items has ultimately become the deciding factor as to whether we’re buying something or not. Any which way you look at it – maybe you refuse to buy something that has been imitated by Zara, or perhaps you only want the inexpensive copy to channel a trend that would eventually become passé (or more accurately, in two seasons’ time) – a visit to H&M or Forever 21 to search for runway-inspired fashion is now necessary to push us over the fence.

And that’s what today’s question on Ask La Moda revolves around. This time, the shopper is of the second variety, one who looks for more affordable copies to save a bundle, and has asked us for help in her search for the perfect high-street copy.

Dear La Moda,

I saw this really nice dress at BCBG Max Azria the other day but unfortunately, the price tag is a bit on the heavier side for me. I’ve just gotten out of university so I really don’t have so much to shell out. The price tag is a whopping AED 1,500 (whopping for me!).

I managed to find a pic of it online and attached is the same. I love the color combination and was looking for something like this.

Is there anyway some of the high street brands in Dubai have a similar dress (the cut and design, the color combination etc?). I know I may be asking a bit too much but I hope you can send out your fashion detectives

Hoping to see a positive reply on your website about this.

Happy New Year.

Myra

Hey Myra,

Thanks for writing in. We do apologize for taking so long to answer this question; we did scour the high-street shops in the hopes of finding something similar at a quarter of this BCBG number’s price tag, but alas we were unable to find any.

But despite the seemingly steep price of this frock, it’s good to know a couple things that might sway you into thinking this is probably a good deal. Firstly, this Max Azria dress convincingly looks like it’s made by Hervé Léger, a French high fashion house which was acquired by the designer’s company at the turn of the century, and whose creative direction Azria now oversees.

An Hervé Léger dress usually costs upwards of AED 5,000 – we’ve shot one that’s worth over AED 8,000 – so you can see how you’re already getting a good deal from this Max Azria. It almost looks like a bandage dress, which the more upscale Hervé brand has, over the years, become synonymous to, and gives mere mortals like you and me the chance to wear one without having to shell out a month’s mortgage payment.

Another thing to know is, if you still think the AED 1,500 price tag isn’t worth it, it’s DSF until later next month, so this has probably been marked down to move stock and make room for the SS2011 collection. We won’t be completely surprised if this dress gets a red tag and a 50% discount. If you really love this frock, you might want to drop by the nearest BCBG Max Azria store to see if the price has been lowered to something that’s well within your range. And don’t worry about it being last season – colour blocking is big next Spring (which apparently, it always is every year).

Beso beso.

LMD Fashion Squad

Need help? Write us at help@lamodadubai.com and we’ll see what we can do about your fashion emergency.