Spent £1,500 on a black Miu Miu trouser-suit

Just five years ago, I would have greeted with a snort of derision the news that of every £4 British women spend on fashion, £1 would be snapped up by the pile 'em high, sell 'em cheap brigade ? the likes of Primark, George at Asda, TK Maxx and Tesco.
For me, and for thousands of other self-deluding crackpots with more money than sense, part of fashion's appeal was its elitism.
It wasn't just the hefty price tags - £500 for a Dolce & Gabbana Arran sweater; £700 for a pair of Manolo Blahniks - that kept the masses at bay.
It was also the snob value of a 'serious' fashion label that would, along with the soignée shop assistants in the swanky glass-fronted stores on Bond Street, repel all but the most fashion-savvy, the most confident, self-assured and deserving.
But, thank goodness, the tide has finally turned, and now it seems all of us - fashion magazine mavens, working mums and teenagers alike - are scurrying to places where we once wouldn't have been seen dead.
So what on earth changed our shopping habits? Was it the oversize designer handbags that cost £1,000 but still managed to look ubiquitous and common? The shoes so uncomfy and expensive you wouldn't dare wear them in case you came across a puddle? The £1,000 dress that will look hopelessly out of date next year?
What happened is that the designers got greedy and the sheer ludicrousness of the prices finally forced us to look elsewhere.
And how about that old adage that luxury labels are synonymous with quality and, therefore, worth the money? That you will wear them for ever? I recently spent £1,500 on a black Miu Miu trouser-suit, only for two of the buttons on the jacket to ping off the first time I wore it.