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Byline: Paul Sims

THEY don't own a luxury car, live in a mansion or have a wardrobe full of designer clothes.

Instead, the men and women we judge to have 'made it' in recessionhit Britain live a little more modestly. According to research published yesterday they shop at Tesco, eat at Pizza Express, buy their clothes from Marks & Spencer and wear Clarks shoes.

The average Mr Made It is 5ft 11in - an inch taller than the average male overall - is 51, has brown hair and blue eyes.

Meanwhile the average Mrs Made It is 54 years old, 5ft 5in, brunette and has brown or green eyes.

Researchers found the profiles of Mr and Mrs Made It by surveying 1,600 members of the public and asking them what they would consider someone who had 'made it' would earn, how much their house would be worth and how much they would have in savings.

They then took the average figures that would put someone in the 'made it' bracket according to their peers, and found that 110 of those polled, or 7 per cent, fitted into the bracket themselves.

By analysing the lifestyles of these 110, they were able to come up with a picture of the average husband and wife who would be considered to have made it in modern Britain. And the replica rolex results were surprisingly unambitious.

The average Made Its own a house worth at least [pounds sterling]320,000, have a household income of [pounds sterling]79,000 and savings in the bank in excess of [pounds sterling]82,000. The highest number live in London (14 per cent), followed by the South West (9 per cent) and South East (8 per cent).

Almost nine out of ten regularly shop at Tesco for food, followed by Sainsbury's (82 per cent), while 40 per cent had also shopped at budget supermarkets Lidl or Aldi in the past year. The 'Made It' family home has on average of four bedrooms, a power shower and offstreet parking. In the driveway is a BMW or Ford Focus car.

They take more foreign holidays on average but prefer to take trips to British coastal resorts, which they do tag heuer replica five or six times a year.

They eat at restaurants at least once every two weeks - double that of other people who participated in the research - with Pizza Express the most popular destination.

They have a penchant for red wine, drinking an estimated five glasses a week, double the UK average.

The research also found that almost half of those polled (45 per cent) do not think they will ever 'make it' themselves.

Social commentator and trend analyst William Nelson, who carried out the study on behalf of More Than Premier Insurance, said: 'Challenged by the recession, consumers are perhaps wiser and thriftier than two years ago.

'Our study revealed that over 65 per cent of people see "making it" in life as a matter of becoming welloff and comfortable, not superwealthy.

This paints a far more realistic view of success than normally portrayed in the media.' Pete Markey, marketing director for More Than Premier, said: 'In the eyes of ordinary Britons, the Mr and Mrs Made Its are not "blingedup" celebrities or bankers flaunting their bonuses.

'They are working individuals and couples who have achieved financial stability and a degree of security.'

A [pounds sterling]79,000 INCOME ... AND CLARKS SHOES

MR MADE IT Age: 5