Save or Splurge: long leather gloves from River Island and Marni

There is absolutely no doubt in The Fashion Police's minds that the Marni gloves on the right of the picture above are by far the nicer of the two. They're longer, they're leaner, they have that "gauntlet" look about them that would allow you to dress up in them and pretend you were attending the court of Charles II (or someone), and they're just all round gorgeous, aren't they?

But they're £355.

Are they £355 of gorgeous? Well, considering you can buy a pair of long leather gloves from River Island for a mere £24.99, and that £330.01 (don't forget the penny!) could be put to very good use indeed round these parts, on something other than a pair of gloves, you can probably guess what our answer to that question is going to be. What about you, though? Are gloves the kind of items you're willing to invest £355 in, or do you prefer to just throw £24.99 at your chilly hands and be done with it? Would you save or splurge?

Save or Splurge: bow headbands

We've been wearing a lot of bow headbands lately, and not just because we watch too much Gossip Girl and secretly want to be part of Blair's clique. These are everywhere right now (probably because of the aforementioned Blair Waldorf), but how much would you actually spend on one, assuming you were going to buy one?

Well, if money was no object, we'd love to add the Anna Vince alice band on the left of the picture above to our growing collection, but £120 seems like just a wee bit much for something we'll probably fall out of love with by the end of the season, so we think we'd probably play sensible here and go for the £4 ASOS version which is out of stock at the moment, but versions of which can no doubt be found in stores all over the world for a similar price.

Which would you buy? Would you save or splurge?

Save or Splurge: Prada-esque lace skirts on the high street

Remember all those lace skirts Prada sent down the runway last season? Well, those were pretty see-through, but a little bit of flesh-coloured lining makes the look perfectly wearable, and that's something the high street has cottoned onto, producing a similar look, but with added modesty.

Neither of the two skirts above are what you might call outrageously priced, but the Principles version on the right is still more than twice the price of Next's skirt on the left, leaving us to ask: which one would you go for? Would you save or splurge? Or would you wear neither?

Save or Splurge: Ruffle detail shoes

Once again, the "splurge" option here isn't too much of a splurge - we think £60 is actually pretty reasonable for a pair of shoes, but there's no denying that £15 is something of a bargain, so you may just decide to save your pennies on them, instead of going for the more expensive shoes at four times the price.

The shoes on the left are from Priceless, and are £15, while the ones on the right are £60 from Faith. We think the Faith shoes definitely look more expensive, but would they be worth the extra cash, do you think? Would you choose to save or splurge?   

Save or Splurge: Green tie-waist tops

This edition of 'Save or Splurge' is a little bit different from normal because neither of the two items above is designer, and so neither price is of the "make you faint in horror" variety. The Monsoon top on the right, however, is more than twice the price of the Dorothy Perkins version on the left, and while there are obvious differences between them (the Monsoon top is silk while the Dotty P's one is satin, for instance) we'd still like to know which one you'd buy, if, indeed, you'd buy one at all.

Would you save or splurge?

Save or Splurge: Tiered prom dresses by Miu Miu and Red Herring

The little black dress is often described as a "wardrobe staple", and although ruffles have been very much in fashion this year, we still think this particular style could probably see you through a season or two at least (or you could just wait for the next time ruffles are in fashion...).

Does the alleged "classic" status of the LBD make you want to splurge on one, though, or do you think these ones would date quickly enough to make you want to save on one instead? The dress on the left is our "save" option, and is £16.50 at Debenhams, while the Miu Miu option on the right is a definite "splurge" at £1055.

Assuming you were in the market for a black, tiered prom dress, then, which one would you choose? Would you Save or Splurge?

Save or Splurge? Lace ankle boots by Roberto Cavalli and Topshop

This isn't a look for everyone. It's not, for instance, a look for us, because something about the words "lace ankle boots" turns us off. There's no doubt that lace is hot right now, though, or that ankle boots are still very much in fashion (are they ever not?), so assuming that you wanted to see the two come together, in the form of a lace ankle boots, what we want to know is: would you save or splurge on them?

The Topshop boots on the left aren't exactly cheap at £70, but that's but a drop in the ocean compared to the £695 price tag on the Roberto Cavalli versions on the right, which are from Net-a-Porter.

Which do you prefer? Save? Splurge? Or, like us, neither?

Save or Splurge: flower-embellished shoes by Prada and Caparros

On our last Save or Splurge, Natasha commented that shoes are one of the few items she'd actually splurge on, and we'd have to concur with that one. Let's put the theory to the test, though, with these flower-embellished shoes which come from Caparros (left) and Prada (right). No, they're not identical, but they're both dress shoes, both have similar little roses on the front, and if you wanted the style without the spend, the budget shoe could just be an option.

Is it, though? The "save" item has won almost every single one of these games so far, so let's see if we can tempt you into splashing the cash with these beauties from Prada. Save or Splurge, folks: what's it gonna be? 

Save or Splurge: Studded ballet flats by Daniblack and Giuseppe Zanotti

OK, let's be honest: neither of the items in this edition of Save or Splurge are what you could call "bargains", are they? Even the "save" option, the Daniblack shoes on the left of the picture, are $150, which is only a "saving" when you compare it to the $650 price tag of the Giuseppe Zanotti flats on the right.

Do the comparatively high prices make a difference, though? If you're spending $150 anyway, does that make you think, "what the hell, may as well spend a few hundred more?", or are the designer shoes just too expensive to justify, even if you're already committed to making a bit of an investment in the style?

Tell us: assuming that you were hankering after a pair of studded ballet flats in the first place, would you choose to save or splurge?

Save or Splurge: tie-side briefs

OK, so clearly the two items shown above aren't identical, but the style is roughly the same, so what we want to know is: how much would you pay for a pair of knickers, anyway?

The pair on the left are from Accessorize, are made of cotton and are a wallet-friendly £6. The ones on the right, meanwhile, are much more of a splurge at £65, but they are made of silk, and are by Myla, available at Net-a-Porter.

We think both are rather cute, but tell us: is the luxury of silk worth all that extra cash to you, or would you settle for cotton and spend the extra £59 on something else? Assuming that you'd even buy this style in the first place, would you save or splurge?

[More Save or Splurge items!]

Save or Splurge: 2-in-one dresses from Nanette Lepore and Dorothy Perkins

Two-in-one dresses are absolutely everywhere right now. Most are of the "shirt-attached-to-a-pencil-skirt" variety, but there's also a lot of the "t-shirt-worn-under-a-strapless-dress" variety around too, and it's this style that's the subject of today's Save or Splurge.

Now, we quite like these dresses. At first we were a little suspicious of them on account of our reservations about Clothes That Are Stuck Together, but we soon got over it, and started to really like this casually dressed-up style. But which dress do we like most, we ask ourselves? Well, the Nanette Lepore Gin Sling dress is the more expensive of the two, at $260, and we like the striped t-shirt top. At just £30, though, and available in either red or white, we think the Dorothy Perkins dress is the better buy, and we prefer the shape of the bodice, so that's the one we'd go for.

What about you, though? What do you think of these dresses? And if you'd buy one, would you save or splurge?

Save or Splurge: check shirt with pussy bow ties - Warehouse V. Dolce & Gabbana

Let's just get this out of the way straight up: The Fashion Police have a bit of a "thing" about puffed sleeves. We like them. Quite a lot, actually. Which is why, even if the shirt on the left wasn't by far the cheaper of the two, and even if we existed in a parallel universe where we'd actually pay £478 for a checked shirt*, we'd still choose Warehouse's £40 shirt over Dolce & Gabbana's £478 one. It's just more fun, isn't it? More flamboyantly, "hey, lookit me, I'm a puffy sleeved check shirt, and I'm proud to be one!", while the more expensive version is just that little bit more restrained.

Yes, we'd go with flamboyant any day, but that's just us. Which would you choose, readers, assuming that you were absolutely desperate to buy a pussy bow necked check shirt?

* We wouldn't pay £478 for ANY shirt. Unless, of course, it was solid gold. Studded with diamonds.

Save or Splurge: Strapless Jumpsuits

With winter drawing in, strapless anything is probably the last thing you want to be buying, but let's say you were in the market for a black, strapless jumpsuit at the moment: would you be saving or splurging on it, we wonder?

The two jumpsuits show above aren't identical: the one on the left is by Black Halo, and is wide-legged and floor length, as well as being $390, while the one on the right is by good ol' Topshop, and has capri-length trousers with a sweetheart necked top. At £45, it's not exactly "cheap", but it is significantly cheaper than the Black Halo suit, and while the difference in price can be seen in the fabric,  we much prefer the narrower legs and shaped tops of the Topshop version, which we think would look great with a pair of black ballet flats, a waist belt and a pair of black sunglasses, worn on a chic summer holiday.

Which do you prefer, though? Assuming that you'd buy either of these, would you save or splurge, and why?

Save or Splurge: purple cardigans

In comparing these two cardigans, we have to admit up front that we're not technically comparing like with like, because one is 95% cashmere, while the other is a cotton/nylon mix. (No prizes for guessing which is which). The styles are broadly similar though: these are the so-called "girlfriend" cardigans (or "boyfriend" cardigans if you prefer) so beloved of The Fashion Police. We'll be wearing these all winter over skinny jeans and dresses, but we have to admit, we're much more likely to be spending £22 than £485 on them, cashmere or not.

What about you? Which of these two cardigans would you buy, assuming that you'd buy either of them? Do you think a basic cardi is worth splashing the cash on, or is it something you look to buy cheap and wear out? Or, to put it another way: would you save or splurge?

Product details: L'Wren Scott cardigan, £485, Net-a-Porter; Purple girlfriend cardigan, £22, Dorothy Perkins