My husband and I have different opinions about buying clothes, but we both spend about the same amount. He would rather pay a lot for high quality stuff that he really likes and then wear it for the next 15-20 years. I would rather buy something inexpensive that I really like, wear it out in one or two seasons, sell it in a garage sale for almost what I paid for it, and then buy new.
For example, on our honeymoon, 12 years ago, Darren purchased a $300 Columbia brand coat. It had a zip-out liner, NASA invented thermal liner, tons of pockets and more. He wears the liner as his spring jacket, the shell for a rain coat and when it’s cold he zips it together and wears the whole thing. I nearly had a heart attack when he bought the coat, but so far it’s only cost us $25 a year to use it and he’ll be wearing it for quite awhile longer.
I bought a Columbia brand coat (without so many bells and whistles) at a garage sale this summer for $5. I wore it all winter, am tired of it, and will put it in our garage sale for $5. I’m on the lookout this summer for something about that price in another style.
A few months after our honeymoon, Darren purchased a pair of Johnston and Murphy black dress shoes with leather soles for about $175. The first soles lasted 6 years and he has had them resoled 2 times at $35 each. He polishes them faithfully and keeps them looking brand new. The cost per year (including new soles) has been about $20 a year and they are still going. On the other hand, I love shoes. Shoes with ruffles, straps, and heels. Black shoes, silver shoes, red shiny shoes, pink shoes with black trim…I’d be sad with just one pair of dress shoes. So I buy my shoes at garage sales for $1-3 or at Payless for around $15. They last a year or two before wearing, or I’m tired of them, put them in the garage sale and take the money to get something different.
While Darren’s shopping style makes me uncomfortable since I personally can’t commit to clothing like he can. It hasn’t cost us a lot of money through the years. There’s nothing wrong with buying nice stuff, if you can pay for it, and you know that you will wear it often and long enough to make it worth the price. I look for quality too, but I prefer to buy used quality items. Clothing drops in resale value faster than a new car, but when you buy used, you can generally sell your clothing for what you paid for it.
So which are you? Do you commit to quality higher priced items over a long period of time? Or do you prefer to buy used more often?
I agree that both can work, but I think for me, your way works better. Also, many women go through more sizes over time (pre-pregnancy weight, getting pregnant, post-pregnancy weight not always the same as pre-pregnancy), so for many of us, the same size–even shoe size–may not stay the same long enough for us to get as much value from a high-cost item. I do have a few exceptions I’ll make for quality, but not generally for clothing.
I wish I fit into either of those categories! I’m working on it. I have a terrible case of the I have too many clothes that I do not wear often enough to justify -itis. I have about 10 dresses that I love, but rarely get to wear (one or two with tags still on). Then I have my everyday clothes that I wear until they have holes. If I could resist the impractical items, I’d be much better off. I usually buy quality jeans that last forever, then my other wardrobe staples (t-shirts, tanktops, etc.) come from walmart or target and I wear them until they are in sorry shape before I try to find a similar item to replace it. I love your wardrobe menu suggestion and intend to try it out. I’ve also had excellent luck recently at our local Goodwill for finding quality items for a fraction of the cost.
How do you organize all of your menus and forms that you seem to have on hand all the time (or am I imagining this)… I have never been good with keeping a planner, but it seems so helpful to have it all on hand.
Hi Renee, I’m not a terribly organized person, but when I practice what I preach life is sooo great! I have a 3 ring binder with clear plastic tabbed dividers with pockets. I call it my home journal and I keep my Christmas planner, gift ideas, sewing list, daily routine, and Clothes menu in it. My menu stays on the fridge for easy reference.