From working women about town to the 'yummy mummies' of playgroup car parks, women in their twenties and thirties are under growing pressure to spend more than ever before.
The desire to emulate celebrity lifestyles and meet competitive pressure from peers, combined with historically easy access to credit, can be a dangerous combination - one that is putting some younger women at real risk of financial implosion.
The Advertising Standards Authority recently ruled against a mailing from Shop Direct Financial Services that warned shoppers that 'Mr Right could be long gone' if they waited to save for that new outfit. But do such tactics merely tap into what some personal finance experts feel is a growing problem with young women's attitude to credit?
Leanne Holder of financial advisers Helm Godfrey says: 'Credit used to be about buying the big things in life just before we could afford them outright. These days, we're using our credit cards every day to fund clothes, weekends away, expensive restaurants and more extravagant lifestyles generally.'
Louise Brittain, head of personal insolvencies at accountants Baker Tilly, agrees, saying many younger women are suffering from the 'Madame Bovary syndrome', where they fall prey to the type of pressures that beset Gustave Flaubert's eponymous heroine. 'Modern-day Madame Bovarys are used to looking good and going out and if they can't afford to pay for it now, they won't worry because credit has been so normalised and easy to get. Add this to the bar being raised on what women expect to spend on socialising and their appearance and this leaves many women in their twenties and thirties not thinking twice about overspending,' says Brittain.
A survey by Co-operative Insurance claims the average 30-year-old woman spent £253 every month last year on creating the 'body beautiful', laying out cash on all manner of skin, hair and nail products, dietary regimes, fragrances, make-up, cosmetics and gym memberships.
Similarly, research conducted by Egg on Mumsnet.com suggests that a third of new mothers feel under pressure to buy certain brands for their new arrival and that many felt they had to start spending on beauty treatments shortly after giving birth. The survey indicated that the factors encouraging this spending included peer pressure and the influence of celebrity parents such as Gwyneth Paltrow and Angelina Jolie.
But the news is not all gloomy for female finances. Evidence from the Consumer Credit Counselling Service suggests women are more likely than men to seek advice when their finances get close to the wire - 60 per cent of its clients are female. And there are a number of straightforward measures women can take to curb their spending and wipe out their debts.
The first step in fighting the pressure to spend is to face up to how much you are splurging, and on what. Work out what you have spent on credit recently and ask yourself if you have anything to show for it. If all you have is a bulging wardrobe, think about cutting your spending, says Holder. One way might be to sort out the stuff you don't wear and sell it on eBay, using the proceeds to reduce your debts. If you want a new outfit for a big night out, organise a 'swap-shop evening', when friends bring unwanted garments and sell them. Try cutting everyday spending by using websites such as Mysupermarket.com or Petrolprices.com. Many young women would be well advised to review their store cards, as they carry high interest rates, typically close to 30 per cent.
To limit the amount you pay in credit interest, compare different card deals. Research from Abbey suggests that more than three-quarters of women with credit cards have never switched their debt to exploit a better offer. If this sounds like you, go to Moneyfacts.co.uk to check out cards that offer 0 per cent balance transfers. Watch out for balance transfer fees - virtually all credit cards now charge these, but they vary from 2 to 3 per cent of the debt you transfer. Try to pay more than the minimum every month. If you don't start chipping away at the capital of your debt, it will swell with interest once the initial 0 per cent offer expires.
Once your debts are under control, it is time to start saving in an easy-access savings account for holidays, weddings or cars. Try Moneyfacts.co.uk again. A live-now, pay-later attitude may seem glitzy, but there is little glamour attached to being deep in debt.