Budgeting for clothing has been a challenge for me.
Do you all set an amount each month to put aside or just buy as you need?
Do you have an annual budget?

I shop for clothes maybe 4-6 times a year only (except for shoes, which I buy online) and don't pay much attention to price (fit and wearability are more important to me). I didnt really budget for it because it isn't a usual monthly expense.

I finally worked on this line item - and I was shocked to find out I spent $1800 in 2007 This was a year I actually thought I really didnt buy anything!

In 2008 I did an annual figure of $1200 allotment but six mns into 2008 I've already spent 2/3 of it and don't know how I will make it.

What do you all spend a year? How do you work and set an amount, etc?
I don't even know what a reasonable amount to spend in a year is - eek.

This budget is just for me and includes everything - shoes, socks, underwear, outwear, suits, shirts, jeans, etc.

I've really curbed my clothing buying, mostly b/c I have way too much as it is, and have been trying to lose weight so I feel like I'm getting "new" clothes when I'm able to fit into something.

I got rid of a lot of clothes via donation, consignment, and eBay and it was a real eye-opener. I don't want any more STUFF!

For the most part, I budget it into my monthly discretionary spending. If I can't afford it, I don't need it. I've also been *trying* to live by the rule that getting something means I have to part with something else, and that kind of keeps it in check. I've found that, since doing this, I buy less impulsively (used to buy a lot of "cheap" stuff and never wear it). I may spend the same amount, but I get more wear out of what I do buy.

According to Wesabe, I have spent $120/month on clothing. However, a lot of that has been gifts, and still others have actually been combined with other purchases where I actually bought other stuff (fitness equipment, household items, etc). Still, though, that is TOO MUCH look at it. I hate shopping and probably won't buy anything else for the rest of the year (other than, perhaps, a dress if I lose some weight) aside from a bridesmaid gown.

I have gotten to where I am able to go shopping w/ friends/family without buying a thing. It's pretty cool going into a store where someone you're with dropped $XXX on clothes and bragging about getting out of there without having spent a cent!

I'm a guy, not that it means I don't appreciate good clothing, but it's not high on my list of priorities.

My approach is to only buy clothing that really sings out to me, and then to keep it forever. Until recently I never owned a dryer, and I think that's why my clothes last so long -- I am still wearing some nice Patagonia shirts I bought in the early 1990s, and I have a Gap shirt that I bought in 1985 that still looks great and I wear it often. I own one pair of dress shoes, which I bought in 1984 (I still have the receipt!), and they look good as new (I've had them resoled several times). Regular workaday shoes wear out more quickly and I probably buy a new pair of shoes every two or three years.

I buy maybe two or three articles of clothing a year, not counting socks, which in typical male fashion seem to go walkabout whenever I'm not looking. I was on a business trip last year and realized I'd forgotten to bring socks with me, so went out and bought six pairs. Within two months they were all gone, I have no idea where they ran off to but they have never been seen since. Underwear lasts me a long time; I buy a new set every three years or so.

The wife and I combined probably spend 1200 a year on clothes. It always seems like a lot to me, I am sure some of that is gifts.

I have lately been trying to use my CC rewards to buy my work clothes. That takes some of the sting off.

Staying in shape is actually really important for clothing because weight fluctuation means a new pair of pants, and those aren't cheap.

A good rule of thumb for a clothing budget is in the range of 2-7% of your take home pay. If you're interested, I can give you a recommended percentage allocation for the balance of your budget items. For what it's worth you can get some unbelievable buys on clothing at places like Habitat For Humanity Thriftstore, St. Vincent DePaul store, Goodwill, etc. My wife, by nature, is a thrift shopper. It's comical in a way because we lived in country club community while living in the suburbs of Madison, WI, and my wife regularly bought new (original price tags still on), name-brand clothing for pennies on the dollar. Before long, a majority of the women in our subdivision began shopping there. Your clothing budget can be stretched a LONG way if you don't mind putting the ego to rest.

I became a fan of thrifting as a teenager. I still enjoy it - whether or not I find anything worthwhile.
I dont like shopping all that much not that I'm "mature" - so I tend not to look everywhere possible for bargains. I just want it over with.

Where I used to live had great thrift shops - lots of rich stuff with the tags still on. I miss those days.
'round here it isn't so full.

I almost never buy clothes. I haven't bought a bit of clothing in at least a year. I got a new pair of shoes three years ago, they are still fine. Only thing I've bought more recently than that was running shoes.

So it kinda gets fit into whether I have money or not and what I need.

i shop by seasons.. so i'll spend a couple benjies 4 times a year

i have two pairs of good jeans that pretty much go with anything.. and some khakis so that's never a problem

i buy vintage shirts at a local hip hop store i go to about once a month

oh and my goal is to buy a new suit once a year (only have two right now)

Oh - and is that 2-7% net or gross?
Whenever they give those percents I never know which the mean (b/c net is really all I have to work with)

Wow! I the math with my take-home pay - I can't afford 7%!
(but it gave me a useful number, thanks)

I don't buy clothes with regular frequency, but I like above average quality that will last a long time. Usually, my clothes start looking old before they start falling apart, meaning they get a flat, faded washed-a-million-times look to them. This usually happens over a year and even more, but I do need to look a little decent for work . If there is a rip, I'll sew it.

Then, when I find a shirt or pants that I really like the fit and looks of, I'll buy 2 or three and sometimes more of the same thing in different colors. My inventory runs around a week and a half to two weeks max, but I wash every weekend and rotate the unworn the next week.

I buy a lot online except shoes. I have to try them on and they have to fit just right. Of course, I've returned some things and it's not too hard to try first and keep the one that works for about a $6.50 return fee.

I tend to buy as I need. I allow myself to buy from consignment shops with abandon, and try to make a point to hit the end-of-season sales at my favorite consignment shops so that I benefit from deep price reductions. I also buy from discount stores like Marshall's. Rarely do I buy from stores at the mall, too expensive.

I also have started consigning clothes I don't wear. Yesterday I bought two pairs of shorts, a very cute & funky silk summer top, and a sweater for next year for 50 cents + the credit I built from items I consigned last fall.

I would estimate that I spend about $700 a year for clothes, underclothes, shoes and jackets. I have both professional and casual wardrobes. I only wear new clothing. My shoes and underthings cost $300 out of that.

Some of us who are hard to fit don't have much success in thrift stores.

I don't have a set clothing budget - I group it in with other discretionary/fun spending, and just buy clothes as I need them. I don't buy a lot of clothes, and I'd rather have one fabulous item of clothing than two or three that are just okay, so when I see something I really like that I know I'm going to wear a lot I don't mind spending money on it (and who knows when I'll be able to find it again in my size?)

I read one of those advice books for young women getting started in their professional careers and it said that $300/month for clothes was reasonable on a starting salary. That seems VERY high to me, but I guess I can see spending that much for a few months if you're in the kind of job that requires suits every day and you're just starting to build your professional wardrobe.

I shop off-season. Towards the end of each season, clothes are on sale 75-90%. I shop in the store and online. Also, I always do a Google coupon search before shopping, and I often save an additional 20% or get free shipping. I sign up for email coupons, such as NY & Company, which gets me $30 off a $75 purchase almost every week.

Some of my favorite stores that offer a high percentage off are Nordstrom (they have an entire online 70% off section), J Jill, Eddie Bauer, Banana Republic, and NY & Company.

Very high is right! Almost every one of my bosses during the past 20 years has been a woman, and I can only think of one of them whose wardrobe was large enough that she didn't wear the same outfit twice in one week. These were all senior-level managers, program directors, and vice presidents. Clearly their careers weren't being held back because of their limited wardrobes.

I suppose women in some corporate environments might feel pressure to have a large wardrobe, but that's a shame. Why is it that men can wear the same suit every day (changing the shirt and tie) but women are expected to have a different outfit each day? It seems unfair and silly to me.