You’d be hard-pressed to find anyone in the Culted office who can resist the urge to splurge when it comes to shopping. But we thought we’d make it a bit more fun, setting ourselves the challenge of building an outfit with three different budgets: £75, £750, and £7,500 at Bicester Village.
For the challenges, we went to some banging boutiques, including Acne Studios and Diesel, and entered a tabi-induced trance at Maison Margiela. We also swung by Vivienne Westwood and Jil Sander, lapping up some Lucie and Luke Meier design excellence. Keep reading for the lowdown on each look.
£75 outfit
Building an outfit with this price tag at Bicester Village was the perfect way to master the art of being stylish and savvy. Ollie kicked things off in Diesel, picking up an absolute steal with a £28 black logo T-shirt, starting with solid foundations. Then it was over to New Balance to finish the look with a pair of athletic shorts priced at £18 and a dark green crew neck for £26. Given the sporty theme of the fit, it felt only right that he took it for a spin around the shop. Each piece looked great, but in the heat of the moment, Ollie forgot about his disproportionately long legs and didn’t size up.
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Aura opted for a Diesel graphic tee priced at £40.00 and some New Balance shorts for £17.00, sizing up for a baggier fit and finishing the look off with some classic New Balance tube socks, which came in at £8.00. Off the rail, we didn’t know if it was giving Bella Hadid or Adam Sandler, but it’s safe to say it was closer to the former, thanks to some solid styling.
£750 outfit
Next, things started getting fizzy as we sped between Bicester Village’s designer boutiques and restaurants. For the £750 outfit, both Ollie and Aura had an Acne Studios moment, but on different ends of the spectrum.
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Ollie carried over the athleisure seen in his first look into the second, pairing a black cropped Acne Studios hoodie priced at £276 with a pair of off-white shell shorts, also from the Swedish label, costing £132. Next, it was over to Maison Margiela, where he picked up some crisp grey and white Replica sneakers, which set him back £200. He finished off the look with some Vivienne Westwood bling in the form of the Rosita Pendant. We’re unsure if it was an intentional Sunday afternoon Broadway Market bakery run type of vibe or if Ollie was inspired by the London marathon. We’ll let you guys decide.
When it came to the £750 outfit, Aura smashed it out of the park. She wore an oversized Maison Margiela knit, costing £245, with some off-white ripped Acne Studios jeans for £210 and some gorgeous green MM6 Maison Margiela ballet pumps. This look was Aura to a tee, and we can definitely see her wearing it to the office. It was an oversized, deconstructed moment that we won’t forget anytime soon.
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When we mooched over to Margiela, there was designer distraction at every angle, but there was one particular pair of paint-cracked tabis that we were obsessed with. Thankfully, they weren’t available in our size. Otherwise, we could have blown the whole budget on these heavenly boots.
£7,500 outfit
Now things got very interesting, as we were able to venture anywhere we wanted in the village. Despite the high price tag, finding the right pieces for the price proved harder than we thought. But Jil Sander was a great place to start.
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It’s no secret that Ollie is a huge fan of Lucie and Luke Meier’s work at Jil Sander, so visiting the brand’s Bicester Village boutique was letting a kid loose in a candy shop. For this round, Ollie swapped sporty shorts for some loose-fitting trousers, which cost £738, which he paired with a cut-to-perfection black shirt for £438. After wetting his Jil Sander whistle, he grabbed a dark green knit at Maison Margiela for £450 and a pair of timeless Western boots, for £595, which complimented the look perfectly. When it came to outerwear, a heavyweight green Marni leather coat brought the energy, costing £1860. Accessories included a Maison Margiela Grand Slam Bag in Medium, a Jil Sander shopper tote, and some £338.40 Prada sunglasses from Bicester Village’s David Clulow store.
Aura went full Devil Wears Prada for her fit, grabbing a pair of furry Jil Sander boots for £1086 and picking up a fluffy top coat, setting her back £4,656. Underneath, she wore a Maison Margiela shirt for £175 and threw a pop of colour into the mix with some distressed lilac MM6 Maison Margiela jeans, which cost £275. The devil was really in the details for this look, with a £205 Vivienne Westwood bag and £767 Jil Sander Bone Necklace upping the antics. The look was finished with an all-black set of Prada shades, also from David Clulow, costing £338.40, only adding to the “fashion final boss” feel of the look.
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Each store was packed to the brim with premium clothing pieces, and with the pressure of the challenge, we really had to think hard about which items we picked. From Diesel, New Balance, Acne Studios and Maison Margiela, we weren’t short of solid spots to hit up. We loved bringing you guys along with us, and it would be great to know who you think was best dressed.
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