One of my very first posts for my blog was “To buy or not to buy?“
I’m hoping that my readers from the beginning are living this formula every time they go shopping; but for my new readers I thought I would cover this one again.
My formula is quite simple; what’s the value of the item divided by the number of times I think I will wear it.
Last week I was with a girlfriend and the subject of cost per wear came up; I think we all have our own way of justifying the purchases we make, however sometimes I think we perhaps don’t apply it to the staples in our wardrobe.
So which out of the two should you truly invest in?
- A pair of designer evening shoes costing £200+ that you may wear to say ten events over the next three years. Cost per wear = £20+
- A pair of good quality work shoes costing £100 that you will wear a minimum of twice a week for six months. Cost per wear = £1.93
Now let’s be honest most of us spend a higher value on those special event items and for the day to day we would buy more budget shoes from NEXT, TK Maxx, New Look etc, shoes costing more around £30, but these are items you are wearing most days! It doesn’t make sense. Why do we seem to invest in those items we save for best?
As you are starting to change your wardrobe from summer to winter, and thinking of replacing those items that are worn through, why not consider in investing in good quality brands on those items you wear every day. And buy smart on those items that will be worn a few times.
If you do have pieces that you’ve not got value from, have a think about how you can style it differently. What could you add to it to make it look different. If you bought it for going out, can you simplify it to make it work for day?
When you next go shopping be true to yourself about the value you will get, but whatever you do, don’t save any item for best – Buy it, Style it and Wear it!
