Because I spend so much time studying runway collections, both current ones and those in the archives, it’s not an easy feat to fool me into thinking a fast fashion piece could be designer. Nine times out of ten, even when I’m just looking at pictures online, I’ll be able to spot the differences between a $1,000 piece and a $10 one in milliseconds. On very rare occasions, though, certain items will stump me, which is exactly what happened when I scrolled through H&M just this morning.
From tweed lady jackets and ribbed knit tops to drapey body-con dresses and tailored separates, the contents of H&M’s new-arrivals page, which I meticulously scanned for hours today, turned out to be some of the best, most elevated that I’ve seen in ages, especially given that fact not one of my favorites from the bunch costs more than $135 (and some start at just $15). Below, mosey through 30 pieces that genuinely had me thinking I needed glasses after looking at the prices—that is how expensive they appeared.