We both have rather small wardrobes (about 18 inches of closet each, plus two very small drawers each for underwear and such.) We definitely run our clothes into the ground. Lately we haven’t donated many clothes, just toss them or cut them up to use as rags when they’re irremediably stained or worn.

I also try to be very discriminating about what I buy, though that sometimes involves splurging. A few years ago I bought a classic and well-fitting black tropical wool pant suit from Banana Republic, about $250 on sale for the ensemble. I wear either the trousers or blazer of that suit at least 3 times a week. They’re still in like-new perfect condition and should last me at least another 10 years, and at this point 20 or 30 wouldn’t surprise me. Last year I bought a red silk haute couture trench coat (a sample) from ebay for about $100. It sounds impractical, I know, but I wear it every chilly day and it’s amazingly stunning and I get constant compliments on it. It’s cost per use is probably already below $1, and should go down and down for many years to come. This year I’ve only bought a pair of black sandals (after my other sandals fell to pieces after about 5 years) at a discount shoe store for about $20, and two dresses appropriate for work when no skirt that exactly fit my expectations could be found in my city. They were about $40 each at a shopping mall boutiquey chain. They’ve both gone through many washes now, and I can see that one will last much longer than the other. Same brand, same price, not the same quality. Oh well.

Oh yes, and here’s the last way I’m able to spend so little: I have a good friend who’s a compulsive shopper. Every year or so I help her clean out her closets, and she gives me things she can’t bear to just donate to strangers. I resist most of her would-be donations-to-me, but I get a few t-shirts and trendy belts and what-nots this way.

I would probably spend $50-$100 a month on clothes, usually only the one item. I like nicely made clothes, I like nice comfortable leather shoes, I like good leather handbags. I don’t go crazy on brand names but I like quality stuff and I try to shop the sales.

I found over the years that for me, trying to save money by buying a cheap tshirt is a false economy. If I only get one season out of it, I prefer to spent more money up front for one that will last say 3 times as long for only twice the price.

I wish I could shop in thrift shops, I often pick up furniture there to do up for our house and have a great time doing that but I have no luck at all finding clothes there in my size. Also all the people saying TJMaxx and all only have large sizes need to come to my local store I swear all they stock are smalls and petites. Maybe we can work out some sort of swap.

Anyway, I always try to buy on sale (I’d like to get more second hand but here thrift stores are almost non existant, so I buy something on eBay). I buy a lot on line when there are sales and/or discount codes: Amazon, Yoox, Esprit, Gap… Recently I bought several basic Esprit tops for 60 euros, some fab Clarks shoes for 50 and a pair of Hush Puppies for 30. Of course I tend to buy mostly from brands I’d already had, so I know my exact size.

By the way: when some shirts or pants I really like lose colour, I dye them – at least if they are black or blue, because with other colours the result is unpredictable. So some favorites of mine can look again new, or almost and I wear them for years.

Btw, eBay is great for finding stuff from stocks at interesting prices, like good quality (and pretty) underwear, like bras (I bought CK or Gossard bras for 10 euros each).

I do enjoy shopping, but don’t enjoy going alone. So I will save the shopping trips for outings with my mother/sister/cousin or when someone is in town visiting. We normally hit up Nordstrom Rack on our trips.

I could get by at my job looking vaguely professional, but in ill-fitting, badly shaped clothing, but feel better about myself when I look nice. No one here is a fashionista/clothing critic – except me. Some days I will dress up especially nice because I “woke up on the wrong side of the bed.”

I’m also rather tall for a woman with a slight pear shape (but not overweight) and 35″ inseam! Buying pants was an absolute nightmare until Joe’s Jeans came out with the “Muse/Icon” fit. It took me a long time to learn to dress myself properly and I thought I was fat until I started wearing clothes that actually fit me.

Our clothing budget also includes the money to dry clean and launder my husband’s professional pants and shirts so they are well-pressed and ready to wear. I know a lot of frugal people would not agree to sending clothes to a cleaner, but my husband only sends them once every 6 weeks or so. He changes out of those as soon as he comes home, so he gets several wears out of each before they need cleaning. His weekend clothes are all wash-and-wear type.

We make our purchased clothes last YEARS before replacing them. My three pair of work shoes were bought 6 years ago. A little polish here and there and they have lasted and will last much longer.

Under-estimating the amount we spend on clothes is perhaps something we do, but so far this year we’ve spent even less than our usual budgeted amount because of other projects that have needed the alottment.

For myself, my main focus over the past two years since leaving the world of boutiques has been focused on products that are as locally made as possible as well as being as sustainable as possible. Whenever possible I buy pieces that are made in North America. And not only made in the continent in which I live but also made ethically.

I think many people would assume that since a certain item of clothing is made in the US, it has been made without sweatshop labour but that unfortunately is not always the case (Hello, American Apparel!)

Also, apart from these requirements, I have what many would call a “minimalist” wardrobe. I keep it down to only 30 items, including shoes, jewelry, purses and other accessories. I can do this and still stay “fashionable” because I only buy well-made, good quality pieces that I love!

So for me, while I might spend more than the average GRS reader – about $3,500 last year – I always feel good about my purchases because I know that I will not only wear the pieces for years to come, I have also shopped as ethically and sustainably as I could.

My (estimated) numbers: I probably spend around $5K/year. That said, I work in marketing in a major city, have a senior-level job, and don’t have the time to go to all the thrift stores/second-hand shops/discount places to look. (I also really hate shopping, but love fashion.)

A couple points missing from this conversation:
– Opportunity cost: hunting for bargains in price takes time from other things. It reminds me of my aunt who used to brag about how much $$ my cousin “saved” with coupons by spending 20 hours/week clipping the coupons. She could’ve doubled her money by getting a part-time job. I’d rather spend the time nailing a presentation that can get me ahead.
– Looking professional: I know people are going to say you don’t need to spend money to look professional, but I have to disagree. You have to get quality, and timeless quality can cost. There’s some people that I work with who do stellar jobs but look like they could be taking care of the office plants (and, I’ve noticed, they don’t get the attention they should). Yes, we should not judge people on appearances blah blah blah… but, as Oscar Wilde said, “It is only shallow people who do not judge by appearance.”
– Penny wise, pound foolish: Some of the brands cited here–Kohls, Old Navy, JCPenney–turn out disposable clothing that won’t last. I don’t like shopping, so why do I want to do it more often because I buy cheap crap that needs to be replaced?

We have a family budget, but for the larger individual purchases my wife and I use our own spending money set aside for our discretion. That way if we want to spend more on a high priced item we aren’t cheating the rest of the family our in the clothing fund. At the same time we are greatly limited since our spending money is greatly limited.

I used to purchase a larger amount of cheap clothing, but now spend twice as much per item and purchase about 25% as much. I’m much happier with my clothes, they are lasting much longer and are more comfortable.

Having lost 35 pounds over the last year and a half I’m slowly replacing my wardrobe, and it takes a lot of time and money when purchasing quality. But worth it!

Sometimes the comments in this blog become a bit of a “measuring” contest in frugality. I don’t find that very compelling. It is more interesting to me to see how, within my own lifestyle choices, I can make simple changes to save a few pennies.

Over and out.

I also hit up thrift stores for tops and knit sweaters and accessories for myself. I’m trying to choose colors that suit me and fits that are not oversized.

$100 a year is nuts if you ask me.. but if you can get away with it.. more power to you!

I am by no means frugal.

I do spend some time reading GRS at times and I stumbled upon this post and I was surprised at that the fact that spending $150.00 a month was FRUGAL!

I spend maybe 100$ a year on clothes! probably less actually!

And my friends make fun of me for how much money I spend on other things however!

I just thought it was interesting how we rationalize frugality when we tend to relocate our cash in other areas

I do love clothes and am willing to spend on good suits and business wear, but love to find fashionable/seasonal items on sale – they won’t last long enough to justify the expense. My budget is $40 a month, but in reality this year I’ve spent around $7-15 several months in a row, and then $300 a couple months in a row.

I don’t think there’s a gender rule – my sister hates shopping for clothes, and has relied on hand-me-downs for her young kids. My brother likes to be well dressed and will invest in good clothes. I have dated guys with more shoes than I have, and more jewelry too!

I highly recommend REI’s Used Gear sales/Garage Sales if you haven’t been to one yet. They re-sell all customer returns. Often items were returned just because the person decided they didn’t like the item but it’s still basically new. We often find great deals on nice shoes this way.

I buy nicer clothes for my husband so he will look presentable at work. But I buy from thrift stores for myself and our two boys. In fact, I’m so cheap I hate paying “full price” at thrift stores and only go on their half off days. There’s one store near me that regularly has their clothes on sale for 50 cents each, and every once in a while 25 cents each!! In metro Atlanta, where cost of living is not ridiculously low! It’s in a nice area, too, so the stuff is decent quality. I figure out what colors look best on me and only look for those colors on the rack.

I also buy clothes at Target when they have their great printable coupons on clothing items. ($3 off Merona brand, for example.) I look at the clearance rack and get things for free with those coupons.

We’ve also been blessed with lots of hand-me-downs for our boys from older cousins or church friends. They are still small and have very little opinion about their clothes.

All in all, I spend on average $10 a month for our family of 4, which includes my husband’s clothes at full retail.