We’ve all seen it, and we all want it: The most premium, couture fashions from the most exclusive of designers.

Yet most of us, covetous as we are, cannot afford it.

Or can we? According to the authors of “Affordable Couture” (Vivays Publishing, available in October), the high end is accessible to everyone.

You just have to know how to source it.

We caught up with co-authors Jemi Armstrong, a professor of fashion illustration at Santa Monica College, and Linda Arroz, a former Hollywood stylist, to talk about some of their secrets for finding couture on the cheap.

Isn’t it really just a small percentage of people who can truly afford couture?

Armstrong: No. Normal women can go out and get couture or high-end designer clothes now if they just know how.

A lot of this started when I came home with a $1,500 pair of Manolo Blahnik knee-high black suede boots I bought for $87 at Nordstrom’s Rack.

You can do this. Women can look really great and have really beautiful things and do it without a lot of money.

Q: Where’s a good place to start looking?

Arroz: The first thing anybody can do is Google and look for flash sales or online pop-up stores.

There’s usually no charge to belong to the group and you get first dibs.

Q: What’s driving the desire for couture?

Arroz: Reality TV, “Project Runway,” “America’s Next Top Model” and all the celebrities on the red carpet have created this interest.

A few years ago, a lot of the museums started to do these retrospectives of designer collections.

Q: Is the interest in couture in some way a reaction to fast fashion?

Arroz: I think women are really frustrated by fast fashion in spite of the fact that it’s really exciting that a lot of designers are doing things for H&M.

These clothes don’t last. There’s an awareness of the difference now.

Years ago when we discovered we could go to Target for our basics and buy an investment piece at Barneys or Bloomie’s, that opened a lot of people’s eyes that you could mix these pricwe points.

And then moving forward, women are looking to develop their own personal style, and they don’t want to look like cookie cutters.

Q: In the book, you walk readers through the history of couture, key pieces for a woman’s wardrobe and couture care, which can be challenging.

What do regular women get out of wearing couture?

Arroz: The book points out how couture is constructed. The clothes feel so good on your body, they can elevate your self-esteem.

Armstrong: It talks about how when you walk into a room wearing a Margiela jacket, you’re instantly accepted by everyone in the room who’s in the know.

• Susan Carpenter, Los Angelos Time