Fancy picking up a pair or two of Jimmy Choos, perhaps a Prada handbag and a Burberry coat, all at a third of the price? Fashion fan Victoria Birch stumbled upon treasure trove My Boudoir in Marlow, and now has to visit without her credit card.

The lure of a beautiful designer shoe, the twinkling of sequins, and the touch of the exquisite fabric is too much to resist.

And the extraordinary aspect is these lovingly-made designer clothes are quite often the same price as the garments in a high street shop.

Owner Mary Barlow has managed to transform My Boudoir, which showcases designer ‘pre-loved’ clothes, into a chic up-market boutique with high standards of service and presentation.

This, she says, is down to her experience of working in retail for 30 years, and grouping colours and styles together like a traditional outlet.

And it all came together like a dream. Mary, who originally lived in Cheshire, was on the search for a shop in the south.

When she spotted the store in West Street, Marlow, the space was the perfect size. It even had the fitting rooms in place, so all she needed was 1,000 pieces to fill it.

Mary, being a designer clothes fan, already had 250 garments of her own, so advertised in the shop window for more. She ended up with exactly 1,000 items before they launched a year ago.

She said: “There is a great demand for consignment stores. This could be capitalised on.

“In America they are very popular. There is one on every block.

“It is doing really well. We are constantly consigning, and we never know what is coming through the door, or what the next phone call is going to bring. It’s exciting.”

Indeed on the day I visited Mary, she had just been sent a highly-prized Hermes Kelly bag in graphite grey – there can even be waiting lists to get your hands on one of these. Mary sold the bag within just a couple of days for the £5,500 asking price. They had even received calls from Dubai.

But this isn’t a one off. Mary also works with the style writer of Vogue, who sends her immaculate designer wardrobe on to sell – and I snapped up one of her collection. A sparkly gold sequin skirt that happened to catch my eye, and will be perfect for the Christmas parties.

And I’m not even going to mention the leather Belstaff-esque jacket I bought too… My Boudoir, 19 West Street, Marlow. 07711 097912.

Mary will also do home visits.