Forget John Lewis's ridiculous university packing list, these dupes will save you hundreds of pounds. The posh 'essentials' are getting roasted, but you can get all the kit for less and have cash left over for what you really need.

When I was at uni, my dorm essentials included the cheapest laptop I could find, a second-hand pan from a car boot sale and a tin opener. I splashed out a bit when the first student loan payment came through and bought a pack of highlighter pens in THREE different colours.

It seems students these days have loftier demands. Or at least the British department store chain John Lewis thinks so. Its suggested essential university packing checklist reminds me of Jony Ive's 'every day' design tools. The list includes, among other necessities, up to 40 ‘Standard’ velvet clothes hangers, a £495 Marc Jacobs bag, a £399 desk, an £80 spice rack carousel and a £185 Ralph Lauren quarter-zip for freshers who want to look like they're working on Wall Street.

Other musts include a £50 Cole & Mason electronic pepper mill to save your hands for those late-night essay writing sessions, and, obviously, a Rose Quartz Stanley Quencher to take to the lecture theatre. Suffice it to say, the list is being roasted on TikTok.

Given that buying these 'essentials' would blow most students' annual budgets, I've rounded up some thrifty dupes that will allow you to indulge the John Lewis student in you for less than half the money. They all have star ratings of at least 4.5 on Amazon, and together could save you hundreds of pounds. That will hopefully leave you with some spare change to invest in something you actually need for uni, like one of the best student laptops or the best Android drawing tablets.