Hobo or Snob: Prada vs. River Island

Prada Fall 2011

Apologies about my long absence on here, but better late than never as I just had to share River Island's take on Prada's 60's Mondrian style dresses. As usual with a lot of these high street rip offs the designer versions aren't readily available online just yet, but I predict River Island's take will be a high street hit for all those keen to try the 60's trend so ubiquitous this fall

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Shop the River Island 60's Style

1. Black Colour Drop Waist dress £45 @ River Island
2. Grey Colour Drop Waist Dress £45 @ River Island
3. Green Colour Block pleated Skirt £32 @ River Island
4. Red Colour Block Pleated Kilt Mini Skirt £32 @ River Island

And for those really hungry to rip the Prada style, Zara has got some lovely snakeskin footwear you can pair up with your lovely River Island purchases

1. Two Tone Sandals with Tassels £69.99 @ Zara
2. Snake Skin Wide Heel Boot £129 @ Zara
3. Combined Snake Skin Boot £119 @ Zara

And finally here is how to style it like Prada high street style, add a  polo neck underneath a dress or skirt (as shown below), finish up by accessorizing with snakeskin bag or boots

1. Polo Neck Top £7.99 @ H&M 
2. Combined Snake Skin Boot £119 @ Zara
3. Green Colour Block pleated Skirt £32 @ River Island
4Emma Faux Snake skin Bag £15 @ Boohoo.com

 

Hobo or Snob: Stella McCartney vs. Asos

Left: Stella McCartney mesh Polka Dot insert dress at the Fall 2011 Show
Right: One Sleeve Dress with mesh Insert £40 @ Asos

Asos are at it again, this time it's this fall's most loved Polka dot trend getting the Hobo or Snob treatment. Stella McCartney's polka dot Mesh insert dress was clearly the inspiration behind this asos number, once again this designer version hasn't even left its warehouse but its high street copy is available in a  wide range of sizes (sizes 6-18) than the designer version will ever be and at a pocket friendly £40 price too, and oh it comes in blue as well

Blue One Sleeve Dress with mesh Insert £40 @ Asos

Hobo or Snob: Dolce & Gabbana vs. Asos

Left: Bright Boxy Blue Jacket on the Dolce & Gabbana Fall 2011 Runway
Middle & Right: Bright Blue Boxy Jacket £65 @ Asos.com

Gotta love the speed at which the High Street turns out their designer inspired looks, this Dolce and Gabbana Boxy blue Jacket is yet to make it online not to talk of the shops, but Hobo's hungry for designer style on trend fashion can get their hands right now on this Asos version at an extremely pocket friendly £65 price tag.

Hobo or Snob: Miu Miu vs. Warehouse

Miu Miu's most wanted dandelion crepe dress at their fall '11 show

Miu Miu's 40's inspired dresses are set to be fall's must have, their awesome Dandelion crepe dress despite being priced at £3,215 is selling out neat and fast at the Net-a-Porter site. But fear not Hobo's, you can get a taste of the Miu Miu look at Warehouse in their  'maybe not as awesome as Miu Miu but just as good' dandelion crepe dress at a pocket friendly £60 (kerching!!!)

Left: Dandelion Embroidered Crepe Dress £3,215 @ Net-a-Porter
Right: Dandelion Print Crepe dress £60 @ Warehouse

Hobo or Snob: Alexander McQueen vs. Miss Selfridge

Left: Skull Print Cashmere Scarf  £245 @ Net-a-Porter
Right: Skull print Silk Chiffon Scarf £165 @ Net-a-Porter

Alexander McQueen's iconic skull print scarf gets the Miss Selfridge treatment at over 90% off the price of the designer original, its decent looking and it won't break the bank. I'll definitely say YES to their version, I love the Neon skull print scarf the best

LEFT TO RIGHT: Mono Mini Skull Scarf £16 @ Miss Selfridge
Khaki Skull Print scarf £14 @ Miss Selfridge
Neon print Skull scarf £14 @ Miss Selfridge
Skull & Rose scarf £ 14 @ Miss Selfridge

Miss Selfridge are not even hiding the source of their inspiration at all, see below for more proof

Left: Leopard Skull print Scarf £285 @ Net-a-Porter
Right: Leopard Skull scarf £14 @ Miss Selfridge

Hobo or Snob: Burberry Prorsum vs. Topman

Left: Burberry Prorsum's Fair Isle Knit £550 @ Mr Porter
Right: Reindeer Yoke Jumper £40 @ Topman

Summer is barely over and the shops are already stocking Winter knits, not that I mind much of course,  it just means there's extra time to stock up on some Winter essentials. One of which will undoubtedly be this superb Jumper from Topman, I'm head over heels in love with it and can't wait to wear it during those cold winter months. I also couldn't help but notice its similarity to  Burberry Prorsum's Fair isle knit, as a lot of the design centres around the shoulders, both jumpers are beautiful and worthy additions to any gentleman's wardrobe, but at a pocket burning £550, I'd have to wave goodbye to Burberry Prorsum's knit.

Hobo or Snob: Gucci vs. Topman

Left: Gucci Embroidered denim Shirt £1,690 @ mrporter.com
Right: Blue Navajo Embroidery Shirt £36 @ Topman

Gucci's super pricey Embroidered T shirt gets the Topman treatment.

Here's the shirt as worn on the Gucci Spring '11 Runway

Topman 's version is clearly inspired and although i love the faded wash on the Gucci Shirt, there's way too much embroidery going on at the back, I love Topman's clean and rather minimal embrodiery design on the back of the shirt.

Left: Gucci Embroidered denim Shirt £1,690 @ mrporter.com
Right: Blue Navajo Embroidery Shirt £36 @ Topman

Topman wins for me both in terms of design and Price on this one

Hobo or Snob: Jimmy Choo vs. Zara

Left: Jimmy Choo's Private Suede Sandals £560 @ net-a-porter.com
Right: Zara's Instep Strappy Sandals £29.99 @ Zara

This edition of Hobo vs. Snob is between Jimmy Choo's Private Suede Sandals and Zara's Classic Instep Strap Sandal which looks like it was clearly Inspired by Jimmy Choo's (note Inspired is the KEYword here). They both come in almost the same shade of Purple, they're both Suede and just about the same height (Jimmy Choo's is 5inches while Zara's is 4.13inches). A major difference and what matters above all, is the price difference between both sandals, while the Jimmy Choo's cost a whopping £560, Zara's cost a measly £29.99. Now of course I'm sure Jimmy Choo sourced the finest leathers, cobblers etc. to add up to that massive price point. Zara's heels are by no means shabby at all and if worn carefully and maintained properly they'll last for years. I'm calling Hobo on this one, how about you dear readers.

Hobo or Snob: Fendi vs. Reiss vs. Mango

Fendi Colour Blocked sandal £479 @ Mytheresa.com

Fendi's Colour blocked heels which is a favourite amongst many fashionista's shopping list gets the High street treatment in this edition of Hobo vs. Snob.

Fendi Colour Blocked sandal £579 @ Farfetch.com

Fendi's block sandals are clearly the inspiration behind Reiss's Amanda sandals, of course they've made a few changes by adding some animal print detail to the straps but the similarities are simply too large to ignore

Amanda Colour Block Sandals £129 @ Reiss.co.uk

Next up is Mango and their colour blocked heels, gotta love Mango for spoiling  customers with choices. They have the best range and they're the cheapest ones too

Colour Block Sandals £69.90 @ Mango

I'd love to be a snob and go with Fendi but at £575 , that's a lot of money to pay for a pair of heels, especially since an all too similar version is available on the High street so i'd recommend being a Hobo leave Fendi to the celebrities and super rich folks

Credit: Fendi

Cheque: Reiss

Cash: Mango

And now, it looks like celebrities are simply loving these heels

Image Courtesy of Red Carpet Fashion Awards
From Left to Right: Giovanni Battaglia, Solange Knowles and Karolina Kurkova in Fendi Block Coloured Heels

Hobo or Snob: The Chloé vs. River Island Edition

Chloé Silk Crepe de Chine Vest £345 @ net-a-porter

Purple Silk Vest £29.99 @ River Island.com (web exclusive)

Purple print Bow detail Vest £19.99 @ River Island

Now this isn't a copycat allegation on the part of River Island by any means, I just simply can't help but wonder from a consumer's point of view on what would make a customer buy Chloé's silk vest at a whopping £345 (well apart from being immensely rich or being a fan of the Chloé label) and not River Island's vest for a much more pocket friendly £20 or £30 depending on your choice. While I'm sure Chloé probably sourced out the finest silk and their vest is tailored to perfection, the River Island version is by no means shabby and in this case as it shall be a lot of times on this blog, I think I'd rather be a Hobo


How about you readers would you be a Hobo or Snob on this one

And in other Fashion news Chloé's creative director Hannah MacGibbon has been replaced by Clare Wright Keller who used to be a  creative director at Pringle (Read more about this here )

Hobo or Snob: Pierre Hardy vs. Topshop

thehighstreethobo.blogspot.com

Part of the mission of this blog is to find smart high street fashion buys alongside High street versions of designer goods. Let's face it, not everyone can afford to drop £400 on a pair of shoes, T-shirts, jeans or whatever the said designer item may cost.

I've always found it quite ridiculous to pay £,000's for something i might only end up wearing once or twice but then fashion aficionados might argue that designer pieces are key investments which I'd agree with in some cases, but most times,  I'd maintain my 'no thanks' stance. Enough of my rambling, the first Hobo or snob entry on this blog is between Pierre Hardy's Colour block canvas and patent leather wedge sandals (available at net- a -porter) and Topshop's Natural linen platform wedges

Pierre Hardy Colour Block Wedge Sandals @ Net-a-Porter

Topshop Natural linen High Vamp Peep Toe @ Topshop

No arguments about who copied who here, but this Topshop version of Pierre Hardy's canvas wedge is just as easy on the eyes as it is on the pocket, in fact I prefer Topshop's version. So over to you readers, followers, By stoppers etc. will you be a Hobo or A Snob on this one