I feel like a princess in a glamorous gown
HIRE COST PER YEAR: £2,500 WARDROBE VALUE: £25,000
Kelly-Ann Knight, 40, is a corporate affairs director. Married to Mark, 40, a filmmaker, they have two children and live in harrogate, north yorks. her favourite place to shop for her designer clothes is hirethatlook.com THIS £2,000 Marchesa dress is stunning. It’s a favourite brand of the A-list and royals and it makes me feel like a princess — though I know that’s hardly a feminist ideal.
Thankfully, I haven’t had to fork out a fortune for it. Instead, I’ve paid under £200 to look like this for the evening.
You might be surprised to hear that I’ve got a very small wardrobe. Because I hire dresses when I go out, I buy high-quality pieces which can be easily mixed and matched. But at parties, I’ll wear the most flamboyant frocks I can, by Marchesa or Self Portrait — another label beloved by the Duchess of Cambridge. I work in insurance, which isn’t perceived as a glamorous industry, but in fact we have masses of work events, awards ceremonies and presentations that I have to attend.
As a senior woman in a male dominated industry, I feel that part of my job is to look groomed and glamorous, whether you like it or not. I’ve never been bothered about the fact that someone else has worn the dress. In fact, I take pleasure in looking on the website’s instagram account and seeing other women looking beautiful in the clothes I’ve chosen as well.