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Budget or Bank?
Laura Brown reveals her fears about this week's mini-challenge.
Budget or bank, bank or budget? That is the question that faced our kids tonight — and it was a damn hard one. If everyone could tell the difference between cheap and expensive, fashion people would be in a whole lot of trouble. Real style comes from a mix of high and low — investing in some high-end pieces, getting some cheap thrills, and making the whole thing look like it goes seamlessly together. And hell, it's a recession! Who's got the money to be all designer, all the time anyway?
So, I felt for them all this time, I really did. I did have a concern when I saw the clothes, which, frankly, were tricky — something from the high street had a better lining than a designer piece! So I thought, what if this becomes like a Rubik's Cube (hello, James-Paul’s elimination frock!), and days, weeks, years, go by when the kids can't solve it? What if the combination is never quite right? Like, ever?
Well, it started off well. Team Tube Dress had it going on — getting it right after one try. But then, as we say in Australia, it "all went pear-shaped." God bless Team Harem Pants, with Markus's weirdly confident handbag smelling and all the random belt swapping. But it was wrong, wrong, wrong! If only they could have seen mine and Kelly's panicked eyes as they got it wrong over and OVER again. It was all I could do not to send someone a hint in Morse code.
And I know it's shocking, but 13 mins passing in TV time is like ... dog years. Especially you are standing there in your dress and heels, it's, um, uncomfortable. Then, throw in a stopwatch you don't know how to work (and I’m not even a natural blond). Sigh.
Eventually, we got there. Merlin’s team, Team Bolero, congratulations. I concur with the ever sage Reco, "You can’t underestimate those little ones."
Anyway, I scooted off back to my day job, thinking I got off easy — after all, I didn't have to make a 40 buck cocktail dress for Tinsley Mortimer.
But the highlight of this episode, for me, was two words from the mouth of James-Paul: “Stealth fighter." Clearly, he’s never met Tinsley.
