“I used to look at $3,000 dresses and think that was reasonable – expensive, of course, but worth it. That's just what things cost,” says New York businesswoman Betty Sargent. “Then I saw all the sales last autumn and it altered my perspective.”

Sargent, founder of internet dating agency Clicking Online, is not the only shopper who has started to question the price of designer clothing.

Brix Smith-Start, owner of London boutique Start and a big stockist of expensive, high-end labels, believes prices are reaching ridiculous levels. “There were a few designers – I'm not naming names – who were creaming it for a while,” she says. “Nine hundred pounds is just too much for a blouse, I don't care if it's spun from gold. It's just too much – unless you're a sultan's wife or very rich, but that's a very small percentage of the world – even smaller now.”