Ask the Readers: How Much Do You Spend on Clothes?
Published on - September 16th, 2011 (by J.D. Roth) The “Ask the Readers” feature is well-loved here at Get Rich Slowly, but by far the most popular question I’ve ever asked came at the end of July. “How much do you spend on food?” I wondered, and GRS readers posted 367 comments sharing their buying habits and the costs in their cities (and countries).
Several readers sent me e-mail after this question asking for more. “You should do a whole series of questions like this,” one woman wrote. And she’s right. So, for a while at least, I’ll be posting one similar question every month — a survey of our spending habits as a whole. This is by no means scientific, I know, but it’s pretty darn interesting.
Today, let’s talk about the things we wear. I want to know how much do you spend on clothes?
Because I’ve lost fifty pounds over the past couple of years, I’ve had to buy a lot of new clothes. My method for re-building my wardrobe isn’t exactly what I’d imagined. First, I got rid of the things that didn’t fit. Also, using my one-year wardrobe project, I purged the things that I no longer wore. From the little that remained, I’ve been s-l-o-w-l-y adding new items.
I do this in two ways:
- About half of the time, I buy clothes from thrift stores. All of my pants, for instance, come from thrift stores. (Well, except for a couple of pairs of travel pants.) So do many of my shirts and sweaters. I’m much more selective about what I buy at thrift stores than I used to be, though. I only buy things that I really like. (In the past, I used the shotgun approach to thrift shopping, buying tons of things because they were “cheap”. But cheap clothes you never wear are no bargain!)
- The rest of the time, I buy from outdoor stores like REI. Over the past few years, I’ve become a fan of functional clothing. And wool. God, I love wool. In fact, I recently purged 90% of my cotton t-shirts in favor of a handful of wool t-shirts. I could write pages in praise of Icebreaker wool shirts, but that would be silly. These clothes are expensive when purchased new, so I try to buy as much as possible at sales (REI and Icebreaker both have awesome sales) or at outlet stores.
Last weekend, I bought a new sweater at the Icebreaker outlet near my home. As I paid, I chatted with the clerk. He, too, loves wool clothes, but he’s a student and can’t afford many. “I buy them on eBay,” he told me. “I set up alerts to track the stuff I want, and then buy it if I can get it cheap.” Brilliant!
So, how much do I actually spend on clothes? I don’t know. I’ve been tracking my spending since the beginning of the year, of course, but I haven’t analyzed the numbers yet. Besides, this year is a total anomaly. I’ve essentially re-created my entire wardrobe because I’m now a medium (with a 32-inch waist) instead of an extra-large (with a 40-inch waist). In a normal year, I don’t buy this many clothes!
But what about you? How much do you spend on clothes? How do you shop for them? Do you buy used? Only shop at Nordstrom? Do you have certain brands you’re loyal to? How do you weigh cost versus quality? What tips can you offer for building a wardrobe on a budget? And what role does gender play in the cost of fashion? Last but not least: How much of what you wear is wool?
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I have found great deals on clothes for my extra tall husband at the Land’s End outlet on line. The extra long shirts in their tall line can be snapped up for $10 – $20 at the end of the season.
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Probably about $600 a year. I have to replace work clothes @ the usual retailers like Kohl’s but I buy a lot of things like t shirts from Goodwill and sometimes find some incredible bargains.
I have stopped buying Team t shirts and such @ games. The quality is usually poor and the markup is insane. The teams will just have to live without my merchandising dollars.
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The short answer: an average of $40/month for the past year.
The details: This covers two adults, a small child, and a baby. Plus this year includes maternity clothes, clothes for a new job after grad school, and some cloth diaper stuff. And these kids keep changing sizes all the time! On the other hand we get some hand-me-downs for the kids and the maternity clothes, and we frequently receive clothes as gifts, so that helps. It’s definitely one of the harder categories to budget for.
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Is there a Once Upon a Child in your neighborhood? Not only do they have good quality “gently used” clothes, but they have toys and gear as well. AND – they *buy* good-condition clothes, and pay you on the spot.
Also, check out craigslist. Sometimes people sell entire storage tubs full of baby & kids’ clothes for as little as $10-20.
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Our budget line for two of us is $30 a month. We usually manage to stay within that range, though admittedly some of the ‘fun’ budget will go towards extra clothes as well.
We don’t hit thrift stores much, but will tend to go to discount places like Marshalls. Though a sizeable amount still does come from department stores, but often we get very good deals digging through the sales and clearance sections. I usually manage to pick up work shirts or pants for under $10. Also finding a good clearance price plus a $10 off $25 deal that tends to show up in the weekly ads makes it even better. Generally go to Sears or JCPenny for that kind of department store shopping. Finally, much of our more casual stuff like t-shirts come from the internet, mostly from webcomics or other stuff we like (we’re both nerds like that).
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$100 per year, but really. . . nothing. I only buy clothes when I have a gift certificate, and my father in law gives me a gift card to my favorite clothing store every year for my birthday (from his AMEX rewards program). I’m incredibly lucky that he funds my clothing budget every year. If he didn’t, I’m sure I wouldn’t spend more than $100 a year, anyway. Then again, I’m notorious for wearing clothes that are well past their prime (i.e. completely falling apart).
I spend about $25 a year on shoes, which is just enough for one pair of cheap flats and a pair of flip flops. I’ve tried buying higher quality shoes at a higher price tag, but I feel so guilty about how much they cost that I end up never wearing them so they don’t get scuffed.
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I kind of go through phases of clothes buying. I go thrifting every other weekend or so, and about half my clothes are from thrift stores. I don’t set a limit on what I buy from those, because I don’t shop at high-end consignment or the trendy second hand stores, and I’m picky, so I give myself a free pass what I like there. I’ve spent about $30 dollars on thrift store clothing in the last year-ish which includes four belts, a purse, a pair of heels, two skirts, a dress, a pile of shirts, and a two-piece suit, which gets worn as separates until I need to go on interviews again.
The rest of my wardrobe comes from sales at mall-tier stores or medium to lower end department stores, so I tend to go through phases where I buy a lot of clothes when stores start phasing one season’s wardrobe out, and then don’t buy much for a while. My credit union’s version of quicken tells me I’ve spent about $700 on not thrift store clothing for myself in the last year ($50 more if you include a couple trips to the tailor and shoe repair dude), which may be something of a special case for me because I moved about a year ago, couldn’t bring a lot of my clothes with me due to space constraints so I donated or gave them to friends, and then had to buy a lot of new stuff here. I’m not sure about this, though, because my credit union didn’t have this feature a year and a half ago. It also includes buying a dress for a wedding and a black dress for a funeral while stranded on the other side of the country. Which is pretty good, I think, for someone who’s in *love* with Anthropologie and cute slingbacks! Clearance stalking for the win.
Now that I’ve reassembled my basic wardrobe from before moving, though, I’m thinking of trying to cut that number down. I don’t really need to, as the space is definitely in my budget, but I’d prefer to save a little bit more and my rent is going up next year, so I’d like to do some trimming. I’m not sure if I have enough information yet on my habits to know what would be a realistic goal, though.
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I have to add this kind of funny story when my wife and I were in our building’s Laundry Room one day we were talking with another woman telling her about this great used clothing store called HOUSING WORKS a few blocks away and telling her what great bargains she could get there. She didn’t quite understand the concept so we kept saying like they’re old clothes that people donate, and she replied, “Oh you mean like OLD NAVY.”
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I’m of an age where I have built up a decent “business casual” wardrobe. However, I also love clothes and fashion and finding a bargain. This year I’ve spent about $50 so far, but that has been a choice as I needed money I would normally spend on clothes for other things.
and while I enjoy looking at the “high end” of the fashion world, there is always that little voice in my head that says “$2000 for a purse? $3500 for a skirt? You have GOT to be kidding me!”
I find several “rules” to be useful (YMMV):
1. Do not buy it if it doesn’t “go” with at least 3 other things that you already own. An edited wardrobe results in better looking outfits and is easier to manage.
2. Consider the amortization – that is, sometimes it is worth spending full price for something that you are going to wear for a long time. Buying a $5 Tshirt that you only wear 5 times has an amortized cost of $1 per wearing.
I find it difficult to find nice quality pants that fit well, so if I find some that do I’ll buy them (within reason) – because I know I’ll wear them multiple times a month for years. The end result is that they cost me pennies per wearing.
3. Know what you are buying.
Understanding what consitiutes a good quality garment can tell you if you are getting a bargain or not. I’m a big thrift shopper and a thorough knowledge of materials, workmanship, brands, and styles is a big advantage.
As I said, I enjoy clothing and fashion so developing this body of knowlege has been fun for me. I understand that this may not be the case for others. I trade my expertise with friends who have expertise in other areas and enjoy playing fashion consultant while benefitting from their knowledge of gardening, internet research etc.
Would I like to have a huge clothing budget? Probably not. I subscribe to Vogue magazine (in the entertainment section of my budget
There’s a certain satisfaction to looking good on a budget.;)
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For my family of 3 (DH, DD, and 6yo DD), we spend an average of $200 a month for clothing and shoes. I tend to spend most of that on DD as she seems to need a new wardrobe about twice a year. As she doesn’t tend to get hand-me-downs, I get most of her clothes at Kohls, Target, and Children’s Place. My DH tends to buy in bulk (say 6 shirts at a time) and then not buy again until they wear out. I have the most issues with clothes as the petite selection in stores is not very good, and I need to dress appropriate for my body shape and my age (not too young and not to old.
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So many extraneous ‘D’s!
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The first DD was supposed to be “me”.
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I’m surprised at how low many of these estimates are, though your audience is bound to be more frugal than average… I spent about $1600 on clothes in 2009 and about $2650 in 2010. (Single female, semi-professional attire needed at work.)
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I’m a SPORADIC clothes shopper. Generally, I don’t spend much on clothes, but I shop at random times regardless of whether or not I need them.
I think I’m going to go back to my childhood Back To School shopping ways and only shop for the major seasons (fall/winter and spring/summer).
At this point, I probably don’t spend over $50 bucks a month. Usually shop at thrift stores, Nordstrom Rack, or Ross (because they are close to my house).
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So far this year I haven’t spent any money on clothes. I will spend some before the end of the year for new socks and running shoes. I typically spend well under $100 a year on clothes.
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I love these questions because they make me feel like my expense tracking has more purpose LOL
YTD I’m at $855 for me and the three kids. Funny enough, $470 is just my stuff. This year, my body totally freaked out on me and changed shape in a big way (hello, booty!) so I’ve had to spend some money on clothes and I don’t plan on stopping. All of my work clothes is in disarray and I’m slowly replacing it. My shoes are also mostly in not good shape.
My Daughter is pretty much the same size she’s been for 2 years. She’s thin as a stick. She’s grown vertically but that’s easy to compensate for without spending much money. My youngest is just now finishing up with the bulk of hand me downs from his big brother. This is probably the last year he’ll have a really good selection because I’m finding the older they get the more wear their clothes takes.
I actually love clothes shopping and wouldn’t mind being able to replace things more often. I hate shabby-looking clothes. It makes ME feel shabby. I know this isn’t the case for everyone and I’m not saying I see others in shabby clothes and think badly of them– honestly I don’t ever really even register what others are wearing unless it’s spectacular (awesome or bad). But I do care about the way I look so I get down if it starts to look wrong to me.
I do NOT wear wool. Because in Miami that’s suicidal.
I shop at Target, Marshall’s, TJ Maxx, and Loehmann’s. I also supplement with Payless for shoes– especially the kids. I’ve had mixed results with Goodwill but really have never gotten in the habit of shopping there even though I’d like to.
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I budget Clothing and Gifts together and this year was a very pricey year for us. We have spent $2,119.76 so far on this category.
About $520 of that was for gifts for my friend’s wedding ( $400) and a musical ticket for my mom because we went together. My best friend got married this year and did a very DIY wedding ($5,000 total budget) and I increased this category so I could give her more to help cover the costs.
Of the remaining $1600 in clothes we have the following breakdown:
$250 for winter boots – We live in Calgary, Ab it is critical that the boots are warm, waterproof and have a good grip. I tried a dozen stores before settling on these boots even though they were twice what I was hoping to pay for what I wanted. In the end, I wasn’t willing to sacrifice on my necessary criteria because I like my toes on my feet.
$250 for Bras, and I feel like I got a good deal as this covered the purchase of 4 bras (I normally have to pay $90+ per bra at specialty stores but Victoria’s Secret just opened here and they have a better selection of larger sizes than most of the standard retail lingerie stores). Bras are a necessity for women in my family since we tend to be overly blessed by the boob fairy, and used ones are not an option (not even considering hygiene, used bras aren’t an option because they have generally lost the support in the fabric, which is of course the reason you are wearing them in the first place).
$530 Wardrobe re-size for me – 3- pairs of pants @ $20 each, 6 Camisoles @ $10 each, 6 Shirts @ $20 each, 3 summer dresses (for weddings and work wear, etc.) At $50 each, 3 cardigans @ $20 each 2 pairs of work shoes @ 25 dollars each (2 for 1 $50), One pair of jeans @ $30. This was essentially a complete replacement of my work wardrobe due to health related weight gain. I’m short (5’3″) and do not put on weight the way the fashion industry thinks women should, so I buy what I can find that fits at the cheapest prices. The shirts, camisoles and pants can be worn interchangeably, including with the jeans for “casual Friday”. I work in a University, in an internal department so my dress code is Business casual and I usually spend about $150 a year just on replacement of worn out items (including shoes).
$570 – Work wardrobe upgrade & re-size for my spouse (6’5″). This included two suits for $250, tailoring ($30), Work Shoes ($110), Collared – Work Shirts ($80). He works at an IT company and has moved up into a more managerial position from a technical one and had no suits or dress wear, as well his other work pants were wearing out any way. So we compromised and bought him two suits (it really was 2 for 1 as most other places he was looking at $200 + just for one suit that would fit him).
Most of these purchases are not going to happen next year so we will be able to go back to our normal Clothing and Gifts budget of $100/month (though we tend to do nothing some months and a bunch other months). We’ve recently upgraded it from $50/month because we find keeping my spouse in shoes to be a very expensive venture. (Even steel SOLED shoes have worn out in about 6 months. He has an odd gait because of knee problems and it tends to wear shoes out quicker than we expect, so I’ve increased our budget and I’m going to be encouraging him to look into orthopedic or other therapeutic shoe options.)
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According to my mint account, I’ve averaged $30/month on clothes over the last year or so.
More than 1/2 my spending was on just 2 purchases of high quality athletic shoes and sunglasses. The rest of my spending is at low-end clothing places like Old Navy, Fred Meyer and Khols. I’d like to move my wardrobe to higher quality clothing, but growing up and living poor for so many years I just can’t bring myself to spend more than $30 on a shirt.
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Jackie- It definitely pays to shop sale racks. I rarely buy anything full price but really like name-brand clothing. A few months ago I bought a shirt that I love from the sale rack at Lucky (and they weren’t having an advertised sale, just their normal sale rack). The shirt was normally $100 and I got it for $30!!
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I’m a middle-aged single professional mom. I have to dress “business formal” for work, but I’ve spent years “getting away” with wearing cheap stuff from the Limited, the Gap, and Target. However, I’m currently trying to class up my business image and expand my career.
This year & the last, I’m spending about $1500-$2000 per year on clothes+shoes–2 suit jackets, 2-3 pairs of shoes/boots, 3-4 work blouses, and 3-4 wool sweaters/cardigans each year. I probably need to update my casual clothing too but oh well! Franco Sarto & Nine West are my favorite for work shoes–cheaper shoes fall apart quickly and end up giving me foot problems. It’s also a good idea to buy all your work shoes so they all have the same height heel–so they’ll work with all your pants.
It’s astonishingly difficult to locate good quality women’s suits, even if you’re close to a standard size 6 and you are prepared to pay a lot. I was at Nordstrom’s recently looking at suits and they were all made out of cheap shiny thin fabric but nevertheless cost nearly $800 for pants and a jacket–ugh. I’ve had better luck finding good looking suits at J Crew and occasionally Talbot’s and paying a tailor to make them fit better. Blazer jackets from Land’s End are made from nice fabric but they are cut too boxy to look good on me.
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I agree about women’s suit troubles. Lands’ End does have curvier suits, though. You’ll want the “modern” or “curvy” fit. I also found some nice ones at JC Penny.
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The quality of fabric in women’s suits is so bad I’m tempted to get some tailored; but that would be a major expenditure and I don’t wear suits very often. I find that I can find better quality in the resale shops.
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You can get bespoke (AKA hand-made for you) suits made in China on ebay. I’ve actually known some people who’ve done that. My family runs so tall and skinny that for years my aunts & uncles have had their jeans and dress shirts made in Taiwan & Hong Kong and shipped to West Virginia.
Search by ‘custom’ or ‘bespoke’ and ‘International’.
Etsy is another reliable source of custom, handmade for you, clothing.
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I like clothes very much but what I really enjoy is buying accesories. From my point of view (woman, 29 yrs) I find them to be not only beatiful but also a GREAT help when trying to “dress up” an otherwise basic outfit (think statament necklace with white shirt and well fitted jeans…boom!) If you have a forever 21 near you, this is a faboulous place to start. The jewerly there is dirty cheap but will last you a fair amount of time if you take care of it. You can find great shoes and bags at Aldo’s and Marshalls.
Answering the actual question from this post
, I think 1000-1200 is about my budget for clothing (shoes, bags, undegarments, accesories)for the whole year.
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I assume that I spend less than anyone in America– About $20/year or so. HOWEVER, I have waaaay too many clothes!
Every few months my girlfriends and I clean out our closets and have a clothing exchange– We throw all the clothes we each decided we didn’t want into a big pile and everyone tries on different items, taking the ones that they want. Any clothes that are left over are donated to goodwill.
This is very similar to shopping at thrift stores, except that it doesn’t cost any money, and we all know who owned the clothes previously. And because many of my friends have similar tastes in clothing, the percentage of desirable clothes is much higher than at a store (even though the selection is obviously much smaller).
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YTD I’ve spent about $300 and will likely spend another $100 before the year ends. A lot of the money I’ve spent this year was to replace five or more items with one in a move to declutter.
Most of my shopping is done at REI or Backcountry.com for technical clothing that I can wear to work or on the trail. I’ve also fallen in love with wool as the wide temperature range and moisture management is unbeatable. This sort of clothing is pretty expensive, so I have to be picky about what I buy.
The things I really try to think about before buying or not are whether I’m actually going to wear it often and to where. I use to buy clothes that I liked on a hanger but I would never wear for the things I did. I also try to think about cost/use. Spending a an extra $10 on a pair of shoes I’ll wear 300 days a year seems reasonable at 3-4 cents a day. I’m also very willing to spend extra on shoes considering how much a good (comfortable and supportive) pair of shoes can improve my mood/health/life.
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I’m in the military, so I wear the same outfit to work every day. I was lucky enough to inherit a pile of used ‘blues’ that will probably last the next decade.
While in Alaska, I spent about $150 to get a uniform fleece, a thermal shirt, a souvenir jacket, and some thick socks. The only other clothing I’ve bought this year was a shirt from Express for $21 (using my birthday coupon).
So, my total is $171 for the year. My husband has probably spent about $100 on pants because he keeps losing weight.
So, $271 for the year for both of us.
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I lied- make that $321. I bought a bunch of pajama and workout clothes from Gap!
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I probably spend no more than $500 per year on clothes (including shoes, socks, underwear, outerwear and purses). I don’t budget separately for clothes, but it’s part of my $50 general food/household expenses budget (which doesn’t include pet food or automotive/gas).
Except for socks and underwear, I get just about everything used and have a “one in, one out” policy (okay, I’ve only been doing this for about four months, but so far, so good). This “one in, one out” keeps me from overspending and finding myself with racks of clothes that I’ve worn once or never worn.
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We used to spend a lot on clothes, about 5% of our (at the time, when “stuff” was more important to us) of our mid-six-figure household income. Yes, that much (including jewelry).
Now that the scales have fallen from our eyes
we have still have more than enough clothes, in the last 4 years I have purchased under $250 of clothes (underwear-on sale!, ‘barefoot’ style shoes, t-shirt for ‘volunteer staff’ at church, that’s about it). My spouse has purchased more like $600 in that time frame, mostly new (that is, larger) sized pants (on sale or at outlets).
Food is still a budget focus for us (we will budget more for local food, and moved to a low-cost area where local food barely costs more), but new clothes don’t matter nearly as much to us. And beyond my wedding ring I don’t need any jewelry (we sold most of what we used to have – we each kept our least expensive watch, wedding rings, and anything that the estimate was less than $100 value)
Thrift stores, Nordstrom Rack, outlets (especially if you sign up online and get a coupon via email that you can combine – spouse once scored 7 items for less than $100 at Polo RL outlet), even end-end-end of season clearance at expensive stores all may be good options for us in the future. One very high end store near us has a “dollar sale” 2x a year – buy one item at sale price, get the second equal-or-lesser-value for $1. Still in the ‘affordable splurge if in your budget’ category, as this is the sort of store where even after 3 markdowns an item is likely to be $150-200 (vs $500-800 initially), but if you pay $201 for total initial price of $1,600…hm, still don’t see myself doing that again any time soon!
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I spend a fair amount, dollars-wise. But not a lot as a percentage of my overall budget, and not at the expense of savings or other priorities.
I care about clothes and fashion so I make room for what I like in my budget. I find that as I get older I need a lot less, because I’ve invested in timeless, quality clothes that I can wear over and over again. So I tend not to buy anything for months at a time, and then splurge on a really great pair of boots, or a striking coat.
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As an educator I try to dress the part. I like to look good when presenting to people (maybe it is a vainity) however I spend extra in this department to look sharp. I am still a conservative person at heart and shop for sales and buy as cheaply as I can. Yet this is an area where I splurge not because of how much I spend but how often I spend. Over the years I have accumulated a pretty large wardrobe. I try to use everything in it from time to time but it is still larger than most men I know. 20 pair of shoes 5 suits, 10 sweater vests, 15 sweaters, 20 button up shirts, 30 ties, 15 polos, and 6 hats. I try to wear all of this by mixing and matching outfits.
Overall – $200 a year
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I have keep pretty good financial records on MS Money, so pulling up these types of financial summaries. Over the last four years, we average about $50 a month on clothing/shoes for a famiy of four (2 adults and 2 little ones under age of 5). Before kids, this number used to be quite a bit higher (around $125 a month). This was when I was an office manager and routinly bought new clothes to wear at the office. Now that I am a SAHM, I tend to get a lot of kid clothes at garage sales and shop at goodwill for myself. I still shop at the local factory outlet store for my husband as he is big&talll and needs dress-casual clothes for the office. Our biggest expense tends to be shoes.
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I *love* bargain-hunting for clothes! Just this past June, I scored 60% off deals at Plato’s Closet & Once-Upon-A-Child because they were clearing summer inventory to get ready for back to school. I walked away with 4 giant bags of clothes for myself and my two little girls, and I think I spent only about $150.
Not many people have the patience to scour racks for a skirt (that actually fits), then scour the racks once more to find a great top to go with it, but for me it’s the thrill of the hunt that I really like. Not only that, but I secretly *love it* when I get a sincere compliment on a name-brand outfit that cost me a grand total of $4.50.
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I don’t really enjoy shopping for shopping’s sake, but I like to have good quality, well-fitting clothes. I tend to shop infrequently, but when I do, I buy a lot at once.
I am a single woman, in my late twenties. I am finding that I am slowly coming into my own in terms of personal style. I recently went through and exercise of donating all clothing that didn’t fit well, I no longer like, or hadn’t worn in the last year. I am now in a period of updating pieces since I got rid of a lot. More than half my wardrobe was donated! I find the tax deduction to be more worth my time than trying to sell the clothes.
So far this year I’ve spent $1300, which is higher than normal. Last year I spent $720. This doesn’t include any technical climbing clothing (I’m a mountaineer – gear, including special clothing gets expensive!). I feel okay about spending this much on clothes that make me feel good about the body I have. Body issues are all too common and well fitting good quality clothes are cheaper than therapy, assuming you’re not going into debt to do it, of course. I save about 34% of my income so I feel no guilt for spending on things that make me happy.
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I shop at thrift stores and discount stores for clothes as well, and I also make a fair bit of my own clothes (haven’t bought a skirt or dress in years–they’re so easy to make, and it’s much less expensive and usually better made than store-bought!). When I’m shopping for clothes, I’m SUPER picky and will not buy something, no matter how inexpensive it may be, that is poorly constructed, made of cheap material, etc. I also often say “huh, I could just make that for like 10 bucks…why would I pay $60 for it?”. So I probably spend $200 a year on clothes from stores, and around $500 on materials for clothes I make. I’m so glad I was taught to sew…seems like a lot of other folks my age (mid-20s) don’t have that skill.
The costlier side of clothing budgeting for me is shoes…I live in MN, so I have quite a few pairs of cold-weather appropriate shoes, and my tastes run toward more expensive materials and long-lasting construction…so I wear a well edited collection of very nice shoes. Each pair lasts for ages, but I probably spend upward of $500 a year maintaining my shoe wardrobe.
Again, though, I make a conscious effort to be very picky with my purchases…but dealing with 4 full seasons, outdoor hobbies (in all 4 seasons!) and a job that requires a varied and “nice” wardrobe means I spend a bit on clothes…but still not more than I mean to!
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You bring up a good point. Families who only have to shop for warm-weather seasons probably spend a lot less than those who need to get snowsuits & coats every year when the kids outgrow them…
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well, our wedding was this year, for which we bought my honey a custom suit and some nice dress shoes ($1000), and which i used as something of an excuse to buy a fancy dress ($225) and expensive shoes ($70). all of these things will be worn again, and i especially consider the suit a great investment, but those numbers make me panic.
i do not like spending money on clothing. i have actually spent a year trying to make myself spend *more* money on clothes – not alltogether, but on each item. i finally know how i like to look, and i am very particular, and i have decided that i will not tolerate buying clothes that i have *any* doubts about. the main point of that is to stop buying new stuff because i “have nothing to wear” (read: hate the clothes i have).
that said, clothes from target fit me extremely well (i never spend more than $20 per item there), my favorite skirt (r.i.p.) came from the thrift store ($2-8, i don’t remember), and i have a project in the works to sew replicas of it (about $10 each for materials)
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Thanks LC. Good advice. I’m a freelancer my whole life. Watch every penny and unfortunately don’t always have patience for the waste I see as not appreciating what we have and taking care of it. We are eating out tonight on a coupon.
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When I window shop online and in stores I spend hundreds of dollars each time!
When I go to Goodwill and other consignments stores every 3 months or so I spend about 20-$30 on clothes and shoes.
I will only shop when they are having a sale on already “low” prices.
There are times consignment stores charge more than a department store sale price.
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I personally find that consignment stores are a rip off for the person selling and the person buing (for the reason you stated).
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Quality on sale is my mantra. I work in an office, and think it’s important to look professional and polished. I buy lots of classic pieces that I’ll wear for years and that can mix well with other pieces (Ann Taylor is my go-to for work clothes). I was surprised to look up my clothing budget this year and find I spent $1800. But, it was a rebuilding year. I retired my old suit that I wore for probably 8 years, and needed a new one (two pairs of slacks that I wear with other things). I also spent a lot on good quality shoes. I like to walk on my lunch break for exercise and hate wearing gym shoes, so wanted some good quality comfy shoes. I think I spent $700 last year on shoes alone, but they were worth every penny.
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I budget $16 for myself per month. I work as a Lands’ End sales associate at Sears, so this is a hard budget to stick to. Every day I see the shirt, shoes, and jackets I’d like to buy.
I have a few shopping tips:
Ebates.com + plasticjungle.com + coupon code = easy savings
Don’t wait for a clearance sale if you need something. Keep your eyes open for a good sale and you’ll get the colors and styles you want at a decent price. Quite often a mid-season sale plus a coupon yields a better price than a clearance mark-down.
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What a great question! I’m an odd woman in that I don’t have many clothes, rarely buy them, and hate clothes shopping. I own like three pairs of shoes.
Clothes, for me, are interesting in that I will pay for quality. I figure that if I pay $100 for a pair of pants, but wear them for 2-3 years that is a great investment.
I’m also the queen of hitting online sales. I bought about 6 shirts from Macy’s online the other day for less than $50. You see, I got an email from Macy’s – 80% off of already marked down prices (so a $70 shirt, marked down to $35 with an additional 80% off of that) with free shipping. The great thing about Macy’s (and Nordstrom, and many other stores) is that they will take returns at stores – if I get it and it doesn’t fit, I just drop it back off for a refund.
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I love buying clothes but have had to slow down because the closet is just too full… I have had to transition to a one in one out strategy as a result. I would say at this point I am spending about $200 a month average, some months nothing and some months $500. Total clothing expenditures are about 3% of my income. I shop mostly at Nordstrom and Talbots. One of my best discoveries though has been designer jeans on Ebay… have got some really good bargains that way.
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I have no idea. I know I don’t go shopping very much and only tend to want to go shopping when my old stuff is no longer adequate (for work or worn out). At this point in my life, I’m trying to buy quality over quantity – but the quality at the price point that I’m comfortable with seems so shoddy these days. I think that’s my greatest frustration – I’d be happy to spend $70+ on a quality item…but looking at the stuff…I might as well go to Old Navy and sometimes I do just that. The quality I’m wanting seems to be at a $150+ price point and while I have the savings/means to probably swing it, I’m reluctant to do it for fashion.
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According to Quicken, we spent a bit under $300 last year for clothing and shoes. I buy my clothes at the thrift store (not shoes, though), and I usually buy them with a BOGO free coupon. However, this year I wanted a special dress for my 30th anniversary so I went to Nordstroms when I was in Portland (no sales tax) and paid full retail, which was about 1/2 of our entire clothing expense for last year. Oh, well. I looked darned good.
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As a self-employed consultant whose client contact is seldom face-to-face, and secondarily as a church musician who can dress casually almost all the time, I’m not faced with the problem of having to purchase and maintain much in the way of professional wear.
My spending seems to vary a lot from year to year. For example, in 2007, almost $2,100; in 2010, under $300. That includes shoes and tailoring, which I have to do a lot of because I’m short, wide, and very curvy. I have had very little luck at thrift stores or consignment shops because of my size/shape.
I used to shop a lot at Old Navy and still wear a bunch of tops and fleece I got there years ago (the t-shirts have been worn to death but still look pretty good and fit well), but the quality has declined a lot recently and I don’t shop there any more.
I like TJ Maxx, Marshalls and Syms. I’ll occasionally buy at Kohl’s but their pricing strategies make me crazy–everything is always “on sale,” which means the “original” price was artificially inflated to begin with. Sometimes I shop at Lane Bryant but most of their clothes are styled too young and trendy for me. I shop the sale racks at Nordstrom, Lord & Taylor and Macy’s, and will occasionally buy something at full price if I’m sure it’s worth the investment. I can’t buy cheap jeans because they don’t fit me properly; I’ve only found success with a couple of brands, one of which costs $100+ a pair, and usually have to buy them at full price because by the time they’ve gone on sale, my size is almost always sold out. I also buy from Lands End (tops only–their bottoms are cut for women with no butt), either on line or through their shop at Sears.
Most of my underwear comes from Wal-Mart; the expensive bras I tried from the specialty lingerie shops cost 4x the price and didn’t fit or wear any better. Most of my shoes come from DSW Shoe Warehouse, and I generally buy classic styles that are made well and last a long time.
I live in a 4-season climate and winter wear can really eat into a budget. The past couple of years, instead of buying a new coat, I treated myself to a nice new scarf and hat.
Tailoring is really the key to getting the most out of a clothing budget. My tailor hems pants, takes in waistbands, shortens sleeves, and even re-contours shirts and jackets. Because my wardrobe fits well, I’m happier with the clothes I have and less itchy to go out and buy something new “just because.”
Oh, and speaking of itchy–I used to wear a lot of wool sweaters and even jerseys and didn’t find them itchy, but as I get older my skin is becoming more sensitive. The only wool garments I’ve bought in the last 5 years or so, besides a winter coat, have been (discounted) cashmere.
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I budget $400 per month for clothing for our family of 4. After reading everyone’s responses, I am embarrased to say that rarely is this enough. While my husband’s clothing needs are minimal being self-employed, I am an executive in a large insitution. I buy most of my clothing, on sale, at Talbots, Ann Taylor, shoes at Cole Hahn or Nordstrom’s. I can’t wear inexpensive shoes 98% of the time because of fit problems…I try! Most of my casual wear comes from Target or the Gap. Our daughter is in medical school and we choose to help her out with her clothing, again, which needs to be professional and appropriate for the patient care setting. She has a strong sense of fashion…as does my teenage son-which translates into high $$ if we are not careful. I’m a careful shopper, but it is a joke in my house that the clothing line item is, 10 times out of 12, always unfavorable to budget.
I wear very little wool….living in the south and being a woman of a certain age prevents me from enjoying it as much as I would like.
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Between myself, my husband, our three teens, and our almost-teen, I’d say we probably spend $2000-4000 a year. My husband is a truck driver and I am a student/housewife, so we dress pretty casually.
I find that when I shop thrift stores, I spend a lot of time digging through racks only to end up with a closet full of clothes that I don’t wear. I’d rather have a handful of good quality things that I enjoy wearing, so that’s what I work towards.
Two things I have decided not to skimp on are shoes and bras, because those are two things that can make you miserable if they don’t function properly. I don’t need to be trendy, but I want to be presentable and to be comfortable.
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If you are into wool, thick wool socks from New Zealand keep your feet really toasty in the winter.
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Here’s a breakdown of our clothing expenses per year:
Me:
$50 clothing
$40 shoes
Husband:
$60 jeans
Kids:
$400 uniforms
$100 sneakers
We wear out our clothing, literally. I have even gotten rid of dry cleaning expenses by getting the Dryel kit. For $6.99, it beats the cleaner’s prices.
I try to buy EVERYTHING online to avoid paying tax and most of the time, I can find free shipping.
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$1000 a year each is ideal to me. We buy some dress clothes. We live where outdoor coats/boots are a necessity. I usually don’t buy anything unless it’s on sale. I prefer clearance! I hate shopping for clothes. We don’t care about name brands.
Lately I haven’t budgeted anything for clothes, but if I need something we’ll take out of a different budget category, like eating out.
After my house is paid off we’ll probably go back to budgeting $550-$100 each per year.
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I’ve had 3 babies in 5 years so I’ve been a size 14-18 and every pregnant size in between. For these 5 years buying clothes has been a necessity. Sometimes women really do need to buy clothes frequently. Now that im done with babies im trying to buy only things I really love even if they cost a few mire dollars. 14 outfits that I love are way more important than a closet full if clothes that I wont wear. I mostly shop at walmart or target. I shop at kohls for my “nice” clothes.
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I budget $35/month for clothing (including shoes, socks, and underwear). I don’t buy used clothing, mainly because I don’t have the patience to go to thrift stores and sort through clothes to find stuff I like. I do almost all of my shopping online, so I like to buy the same brands that I know will fit.
I wear cheap polo shirts from Wal-Mart to work because I work with chemicals and have ruined a lot of shirts. I like a certain brand of jeans that fit better than others, and they are kind of pricey ($50 at regular price), but I only buy them on sale.
I get a clothing allowance of $150/year from work. I have to wear safety shoes for my job, and I go through a pair in about a year. I usually spend about $100 on safety shoes. I try to buy them on sale if possible, but this is something where I am willing to pay more for quality.
I don’t think I have any wool clothing.
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We are a family of 3, two adults and a 20 month old girl. I would say 70% of my daughters clothes are hand-me-downs from family and friends, but as she is growing so quickly I am often having to get some items myself. I shop for her clothes pretty exclusively at Old Navy, unless I have a gift certificate somewhere else. I also shop for myself there and will now only shop if there is a sale or if I absolutely need an item (i.e., need something to wear to a wedding and none of my pre-pregnancy dresses fit anymore!). I am a SAHM so I don’t need much in terms of new clothing. I try to keep the per item cost for both me and my daughter at around $10. My husband works at a place where khakis and a button-down is acceptable and he only replaces things when they are threadbare, so maybe once every 6 mos for the pants and once a year for the shirts. The one thing we don’t skimp on is shoes. My hubby will get Ecco shoes at $100 a pop for work, plus new running shoes every 6 mos at about $90. Baby shoes are stupid expensive, so even for those I have used hand me downs, but my daughter is a delayed walker and I had to buy her a few pairs for herself, one at around $40 for a pair and I got two more at a buy one, get one sale. I am like Imelda Marcos when it comes to shoes – so I actually haven’t bought a new pair in quite a while and have taken to getting my older pairs fixed when they are worn. When all is said and done, I would estimate (that I am saying that tells me I need to keep better tabs!)between $1000 and $1200 for the three of us, per year.
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I’m not really sure how much I spend on clothes. It depends and right now I’m spending more.
I recently relocated from Florida to New England so there are things I need to buy that I didn’t have. Somehow I’ve ended up with lots of light weight jackets and I even have a lighter weight wool coat. So I think I’m good for while.
I usually shop consignment shops, clearance sales, and I went to Ross a lot (but there’s no Ross near me now) but there is TJ Maxx and Marshall’s.
I’m plus size so that makes things harder to find. TJ Maxx/Marshall’s don’t carry as much as Ross did and things tend to be more expensive and there are fewer options in consignment shops, etc.
I did discover I have a ton of points through various rewards programs and can get gift cards for several hundred dollars to LL Bean, but their plus selection isn’t that great. Land’s End has a great selection and even had some of last winter’s clothes on clearance. So I used some of my own money recently to pick up a few things – lined raincoat, down vest, etc.
I don’t mind clothes shopping, even though I have to try on tons of stuff to find 2 or 3 pieces that look good on me.
Shoe shopping I HATE!. I have slightly duck shaped feet – wide at the ball, narrow at the heel, and a high arch. I can’t wear slingbacks. And finding boots is going to be hard. My foot is too narrow for wide width and most wide calf boots only come in wide width shoes. And even then, I’ve measured, my calves are usually still to big.
One thing I’ve learned recently is the importance of tailoring clothes.
So far I can’t afford to have anything tailored. But I’ve read several places that for people who have a hard time with fit, it’s best to buy something of good quality that will last, that fits the widest part of the body, and then have it tailored.
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I LOVE to shop for clothes. I could be one of those fashionistas that we all love to hate. I manage to keep to about $150/month for my husband and me. Part of it is that my work and hobby wardrobes are diverse; we are onstage performing professional musicians, we teach at a conservative private school, and we ballroom dance. The ballroom dancing is the hardest; finding good shoes cheaply is a realy challenge! I mostly shop at Value Village, off the rack if it’s at least 50% off retail, preferably 75% off (just scored three designer dresses for less than $25 each). Do I need as much clothing as I have? No. But it’s fun for me, and I’m 100% debt free at 42, including my mortgage, so it’s not a hardship.
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I almost bought a $150 wool sweater after reading this conversation. Luckily, I closed the window before clicking “add to cart”.
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