T-shirt: H&M; Jeans: Gap sexy boyfriend; Boots: Zara; Bag: DVF Harper; Sunglasses: Gucci

Dubai Outlet Mall is only 20 minutes outside of the city, but it feels like it’s further because it’s surrounded by nothing but the desert.

It’s worth the drive as I scored an amazing long black Temperley beaded eve dress for 500 aed, that only needed minor alterations (still not sure if it was the price or the style that had me first). I also got a pair of Valentino heels that I would have lost sleep over.

After that first visit, I left behind the most amazing Victoria Beckham black & coral lizard/leather clutch bag. I decided to punish myself with my second visit a few weeks later.

But alas someone else had snapped her up – they knew a good thing when they saw it. I eased my loss with a gorgeous lemon Alexander McQueen chiffon dress for 500 aed. This also needed minor alterations – I will blog abou both purchases once they have been altered.

After snapping up the McQueen, something else caught my eye – a stunning Proenzer Schouler dress. It was too expensive to make me reach for my purse, but I couldn’t stop thinking about it and searched ebay hoping to find it for less.

The non-stop thinking about the dress resulted in a third trip to the outlet mall with Mr R, with the vain hope that it had been reduced further. It wasn’t Whilst showing Mr R the dress, I spotted a similar print Proenzer in a slightly different shape for half the price. But Mr R let me know right away: “The other dress is nice but you can tell it is cheaper. The level of detailing is nowhere near the same”.

The mistake was asking him what he thought. He then reminded me that I had lots of dresses, so why was I looking for more? Ahh, the shameful reminder of why you should shop with your girlfriends

This is the second time I’ve fought the wind and lost