It's easy for Cate Blanchett or Kiera Knightley to look glorious on the red carpet: they have gaggles of stylists, make-up artists, and the world's most prominent designers adorning them.

Many other fashionable women celebrated by Vogue and its ilk have wallets the size of their grand walk-in closets. As the great Marlene Dietrich once said, "Best Dressed Lists are reserved for the rich, those who can afford to buy from the great designers, who have time for endless fittings,...