Fashion

10 Crazy-Expensive Purchases You Could Actually Make

Although our bathroom cabinets may be stocked with $5 nail polish, and our closets home to hordes of worn-out Converse, the upper echelon of society is out there dropping $5,000 on a single manicure. Maybe that kind of conspicuous consumption will never be in the cards for us, but here are 10 things we'd kind of be tempted to buy if we had the cold hard cash. Is it payday yet?

by Tori Telfer

Even a girl on a budget can dream, right?

Although our bathroom cabinets may be stocked with $5 nail polish, and our closets home to hordes of worn-out Converse, the upper echelon of society is out there dropping $5,000 on a single manicure. Maybe that kind of conspicuous consumption will never be in the cards for us, but here are 10 things we'd kind of be tempted to buy if we had the cold hard cash. Is it payday yet?

Marie Veronique's $375 Facial Serum

You've heard of La Mer? This is the natural beauty world's response — and it's even more expensive than the Hollywood favorite. The Pacific Topical Marine Treatment contains biofermented algae and promises to "increase the number of fibrocytes in your skin, stimulate blood vessel formation, and thus increase the production of collagen, elastin and hyaluronic acid...Reverse the skin's aging process after just three months of treatment and move forward with younger, thicker and healthier skin." Kinda tempting, huh?

Debbie Wingham's $3,600 "Diamond Cut" Jeans

And you thought your 7 For All Mankind pair was a splurge. For a mere £2,300, you can swathe your lower half in hand-dyed denim that comes with a sparkling back pocket, a button embedded with 10 diamonds, and the pair's limited edition number sewn inside the waistband in 14-karat white gold thread. (Who's Debbie Wingham? The designer of the world's most expensive dress, that's who.)

Christian Louboutin's $2,595 Sneakers

Being the center of your own little universe is easy when you're wearing a pair of kicks that are this pumped up. These sneakers are so glittery and laid-back at the same time that we're tempted to put them on the credit card. Just don't let them anywhere near a gym.

Chanel's $3,800 Perfume

It's 30 ounces of gardenia-infused fragrance, created by Coco herself back in 1924. Don't you dare use the mist-and-walk-through-it technique reserved for Bath & Body Works sprays. Chanel's website gives you two options: The perfume "may be dabbed onto the skin using the jewel-cut stopper or displayed among a woman’s most cherished keepsakes." Like her house. Or her kids.

Louis Vuitton's $2,460 Laptop Bag

Once you've dropped over a thousand on a new Macbook, you might as well go all the way with a laptop bag to match. If the whole jig gets stolen, just think of yourself as the Hemingway of 2013.

Balenciaga's $1,695 LBD

Balenciaga is known for their pricey black dresses that are so effortlessly cool, the price tag begins to make sense. This particular gem is a study in simplicity: A basic, shift-like wool body paired with some seriously awesome long leather sleeves. Who needs accessories when the main event is this captivating?

Tiffany's $20,000 Diamond and Black Onyx Ring

This show-stopping gem was inspired by Baz Luhrmann's over-the-top take on The Great Gatsby, and we can totally see Jordan Baker languishing about on Gatsby's terrace with one of these glittering on her finger. We can also totally see ourselves sporting a knock-off at the next 1920s party.

Burberry's $4,995 Lambskin Trench

This biker-inspired trench coat with sleek ribbed sleeves is so cool it hurts, and it's obviously the perfect accessory for any dame with a lucrative career in detective work. Why does it have to cost as much as approximately 4.5 years of daily lattes?

Rihanna's $5,000 Manicure

Rihanna probably should have insured her hands at last year's Grammys, because her subtle gold manicure was done with Red Carpet Manicure's Amour 24 gel polish, worth a shocking $5,000 per bottle. Sadly, the polish is not available for sale anywhere online. Or maybe that's a good thing. #oneclickshopping

Hermès $91,500 T-Shirt

Not pictured: The obscenely expensive crocodile-skin t-shirt that Hermès was quietly selling at its Madison Avenue store in NYC for $91,500 (photographic evidence here). Pictured: a baby crocodile who would really prefer not to be made into one of the most ridiculous luxury items of all time.

Image: Chris Christner on flickr

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