One in three shoppers admit to taking a dress back after wearing it, according to a report on Mail online.

Deceitful female shoppers are saving money on outfits amid the recession - by taking new clothes back to stores AFTER wearing them. One in three women admit to having 'freestyled' - bought a nice dress, worn it with the price tag hidden, then claimed a refund because it didn't fit'. And one in ten women said they carried out the practice every time they had a big night out, wedding or dinner party to go to. Nearly three quarters did it because they couldn't afford the clothes they 'bought' - but a crafty 28 per cent confessed they did it because they enjoyed the buzz.

A survey of the 3,000 women for internet market research company www.OnePoll.com revealed only 19 per cent felt guilty about 'freestyling'. The survey also kicked up a few stories of freestyle shoppers being rumbled including a young woman who bought a £200 dress from a designer store and wore it to a party, only for a fellow party-goer to spot her label hanging out and rip off the tag and hand it to her.

Another shopper bought a £180 dress for a wedding, got drunk and ripped it, making it impossible to return. A spokesman for www.OnePoll. com said: 'This survey shows how ruthless women can be when it comes to shopping. Buying something and then realising it's not quite for you is one thing, but wearing something and then expecting a refund from the shop takes real nerve. It is a way to look good for less but retailers should wise up and be more stringent when customers return things.'

The study found the average 'freestyled' item costs £70 and is usually bought from larger department stores. It also emerged 24 per cent of respondents thought it was perfectly acceptable to take stuff back after wearing it. Some of the clothes weren't in the best condition when they were returned either - more than one in ten said they had left the outfit screwed up on the floor overnight before taking it back.

Another 10 per cent say it stank of smoke when they returned it to the shop and two even spilt a drink over it.So it's not surprising that four per cent have had to cough up to have the outfit dry cleaned before getting a refund. And it's not just shops women return worn clothes to either - 8 per cent have also sent stuff back to mail order catalogues after wearing it.

But these cunning women have some sneaky tricks up their sleeve to try to fool the shop assistants into thinking the clothes haven't been worn. A shrewd 18 per cent keep the labels in when they wear them and a third makes sure they keep the receipts. Weddings are the most popular reason for wearing an outfit and then returning it with 40 per cent of women saying they have done this. More than one in ten say they have done it for a black tie ball.