You're kidding! You can save £212 on three identical outfits just from buying teenage ranges - and even Tess Daly is doing it

When Strictly Come Dancing host Tess Daly took to Twitter to say she had bagged a bargain gym outfit from the children's rails, it came as no surprise to me.


I have been doing the same thing for years. In fact, growing numbers of women are sneaking into the teenage departments of high street stores to buy their outfits. This is no doomed attempt to roll back the years, however: the savings on offer are huge - 20 per cent and more, since children's clothes do not attract VAT. Even Tess, at 5ft 8in, could find some things to suit so, at 5ft 3in, I fit perfectly into high street children's fashions (left). Better news still: over the past year there has been little difference in style from adult ranges (right). Next, H&M and Zara are all selling fashionable garments for teenagers. A Next outfit for a 16-year-old girl is the equivalent of an adult size 10 to 12 in the same store. And children's shoes can reach up to a UK size 7 while selling for half the price of identical pairs for adults.