As featured on womenco.com!
Girls: Tell me the truth. What do you do Friday after work when you know you have a jam packed weekend ahead? What do you do after a recent breakup or terrible week? I hope you have a better answer than I do, because I go shopping (and occasionally dye my hair too, but that’s another story).
Anyways, yes-I go shopping. The girl who writes about putting money into your 401(k), building an emergency fund, buying a home and paying off your credit card debt.
There’s just something about a quick $20 fix that holds me over and distracts me from reality. I don’t feel guilty at the moment because of course I justify that a $20 top is way cheaper than buying one from a nicer store which could cost almost $100. For $100 bucks I could buy 5 new things AND new earrings from a store like Forever 21! Right?
Well, last night I started cleaning out my clothes in preparation for my upcoming move. As I went through my stuff, I realized that I hate half of my clothes and could care less if I ever see them again. Where are all these clothes I hate from? Cheap stores that shall remain nameless.
They have not held up to my washing machine, the colors fade, the stitching comes out, and after a few months they look dated and cheap. Dare I use the term “disposable clothing” in a time of economic despair?
Then I think about the skirt suit I am wearing today. It is from White House Black Market and I’ve had it for well over a year and I wear it all the time. It has great thick woven fabric that makes it look like a Chanel suit, a skinny white belt and a great fitting jacket. Every time I wear it, it feels like a new suit and I feel great. I wouldn’t even THINK about throwing it away or replacing it.
So now my brain is curious. What is cheaper: buying a $300 outfit and wearing it for 2 years, or buying a $60 outfit and wearing it 3 times?
Let’s say I wear my WHBM suit an average of 3 times per month over the period of 2 years. That is 72 wears. The cost per use of this fabulous suit is $300/72= $4.17.
Now let’s look at the cheap outfit. Let’s say you wear a $20 top, with a $30 cropped jacket over it and $10 worth of cheap jewelry (which will undoubtedly break or change colors immediately). Let’s say I wear the outfit a total of 3 times before it breaks/fades/goes out of style. $60/3=$20 per use. Fine, maybe I’m being a snob. Even if you wear it 4 times, the cost is still $15 per use, which is still more than triple that of my $300 outfit. Plus we should add the “cost” of feeling like the outfit is lame by the 3rd time you wear it.
So, I guess the financially savvy conclusion is to choose quality over quantity when buying clothes. Which means next time I’m having a bad week or want to look fabulous for a night out I will need to find a new “quick fix” other than shopping to satisfy my need for something different.
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
Great ! Now i have a good excuse to buy expensive clothes!
As a quick fix, i once heard we should focus on someone else life that is kind of miserable at the time and try to help them. You’ll realize your life is not that bad. You know what? It works!
As a side note, there is a fine line between durable and expensive clothes. There are some items that are made in the same factories and yet demand higher price points – your Old Navy vs. Gap vs. Banana type situations, and then items more expensive because they are truly made better. You also may be paying $300 for a sweater just because it is handmade, when it really will last as long as the items from Forever 21.
I also think women want to be on top of the fashion game, and sometimes can’t justify the pricetag for “what’s hot” at the moment. By the time runway styles have filtered down to H&M and Forever 21, they only have 6 months or so until they are out again, and buying designer in this case may not make sense.
I am all for making stuff last and buying the durable stuff the first time around, but you have to make sure it is a staple that won’t be out of style by the time it does need to be replaced.
The best rule is to find your style (which has to do with finding yourself, but that’s another story entirely) and stick with it. Durable clothing can be found in any style, and one of the great things about living in this era is that no matter what your style almost anything can be both classic and modern at the same time allowing for a personalized look without being a fad chameleon. I say “almost” because while they enjoyed a brief resurgence recently, I doubt any the trends of the 80’s will ever be considered classic, let alone modern, sophisticated, professional, or chic. Some things though, are timeless: the cocktail dress with it’s a-line skirt and feminine silhouette of the 50’s, alter-egos the pencil skirt and wide leg pants of the 60’s and 70’s, the menswear influence from the 90’s – these are all classic elements of style that will be reinvented for eras to come. So whether your an aspiring Martha Stewart who prefers button downs and chinos or a hippie activist who looks for US-made organic materials, if your style is genuinely your own, you should have no trouble finding durable clothing that will last as long as you can fit into it. But that’s another story too.