How Much Do You Spend on Clothes, and: Am I A Cheap Bastard?

I make a little less than you but I spend a lot on clothing. I have very low rent and few expenses but I spent about $5000 on clothes this year I think. I really depends on where your priorities are. I think at least good shoes and a good leather are worth shelling out for.

I would rather have cheaper clothes so that I can afford to spend more time out with my friends or on food. Like Uncontrol said, it's all about where you want to spend your money. My wardrobe consists of mostly j.crew and rl and I like it. I enjoy seeing some of the more expensive articles of clothes on here, but I have never been tempted to drop $200 on a button down of $800 on a jacket.

I'm assuming your job is business casual so you can probably combine your wardrobe into one humdrum lot focused on fit and footwear. If so we can turn this into yet another $1K Capsule wardrobe thread.

Outerwear - $100-$700
Shirts - $40-$150
Shoes - $30-$500
Jeans - $150-$300
Whole Wardrobe - no idea, 1 yr, very small wardrobe, sell whatever I haven't worn recently or won't where in the near future.
Monthly - no idea. It varies a lot.
Monthly income higher than what I spend!
No debt.
I wouldn't spend $500 on 1 pair of shoes on $40K salary. But it's really up to your own priorities. Everyone has different priorities.

First, don't spend $80 on a J Crew shirt. They aren't bad, but you can get some nice deals from the sale section if you have some patience. I think you can build a respectable looking wardrobe with their shirts and you can get them for $40 or so if you're careful. At that price they are a good deal. If you can afford it, Gitman and the like is where it's at and definitely worth the higher price if compared to full price J Crew shirts.

I make about the same as you and spend a fair bit on clothes. I don't go out a bunch, and I rarely travel. I have some other expensive hobbies but I have all my gear established for those these days so really, clothing is my only extravagant expenditure. It sounds like you have a number of other hobbies that you want to put money towards and that will probably force you to prioritize and make choices. Most of my shirts are Gitman or Engineered Garments (with some WWM, RRL, Iron Heart, Sugar Cane, Sunny Sport, etc. thrown in). I have a few nice pairs of pants/jeans (RRL, EG, Somet) and some decent footwear as well (Alden, Quoddy, White's). I don't have a ton of outerwear and what I have isn't terribly expensive but it gets me through a Wisco winter with a wool Filson coat, and an EG Bedford jacket for fall/spring.

Unless you are really into clothes and get a lot of enjoyment out of them I wouldn't suggest spending what I do if all you want is to look decent. It's unnecessary. It's a bit of a hobby for me however and I do really enjoy them so, for me, the expenditure is worth it.

Since you live in Milwaukee have you made it over to Madison to visit Context yet? I pretty much build my wardrobe out of their store.

That is certainly a concern with any clothes, just more of a concern with nice clothes I guess. I will say I'm pretty conscious when wearing some shirts but because of that I'm just very careful. Haven't done anything that wouldn't come out in the wash yet. It does get better as you get more nice shirts too. When you have one or two you tend to worry about them compared to your less expensive clothes. Once you build up a closet full they start being just shirts again and you don't worry so much. In most cases anyway. As far as boots/shoes go, I look at scuffs as character on those and am not really bothered by that....same can't be said for a big ketchup stain on a nice shirt however.

I'm always a proponent of buy less but buy better. I would sooner drop $500 on a great pair of boots that I know I'll use for years than on two pairs of shoes from Kenneth Cole that are made of paper. In a way, you're still being a cheap bastard because that good pair of boots will likely outlast two shitty pairs so you end up getting more for your money, and you'll look better doing it. That said, you should really only buy what you can afford. If $500 for boots or $800 for a jacket isn't realistically in your budget, don't buy it.

I feel that if you're spending time on this site, and you're reading about all these clothes, you should buy some of them. If you make the time to read about clothes every day, it's crazy to not buy the stuff you like.

Look at it this way - is this really a hobby if you don't actually end up owning or handling the things you're reading about? I say make the decision to participate.

My own example: I spent a year reading about MMM high-tops, looking at all sorts of pics, lusting after them, etc. Finally, I just spent the dough, bought some, and now I have them, I wear them, I love them. Were they "worth it"? I can get some converse for $30, so definitely not - why pay 15x the money for the same thing? But they're not the same!

You can participate at any level, and there's no right or wrong way to do it. I just encourage you to dive in on a few sweet items you really want. You'll be happy you did.

No, you just want to get the best for what your money can buy. Instead of ToJ maybe you should opt for Aero (could be cheaper). Never pay full retail price for anything unless you absolutely cannot find a cheaper price or cannot compromise.

buying habits;
-usually buy clothes abuot 2x's every month
-usually spend about $150-$250
-usually buy one or two things at a time
-look for sales either online or in the official sales thread
-major proponet of quality over quantity

I wonder what 5K worth of SF approved clothes looks like haha.


+2

Last year a confluence of things convinced me to switch to "buy less, but better," not the least of which was discovering Epaulet and this site at nearly the same time...

I will spend about $300 a month on clothes this year (wife and i make a yearly budget), but how I do so hasn't yet been determined. last year I bought a suit and loaded up on work shirts and casual pants; this year I think it's going to be 2 pairs of nice shoes/wool coat/denim. In the past I've spent a lot of gear for my various hobbies (climbing/surfing/vintage audio/cycling) but I'm good for now on those fronts...I'm probably spending the same as I was before I started researching the back story on clothes I like, and my style hasn't changed, but I'm buying smarter and better fit/quality. (i.e., one pair of Epaulet chinos vs 2 pairs of JCrew chinos)

FWIW I barely buy spring/summer clothes: a few T-shirts and I cut off old pants to make shorts...I also don't wear sweaters.

Go slow and steady man. Once you purchase a few nicer pieces it's much more difficult to wear out your clothing before its becomes outdated. This is especially true for denim. I believe I still have a pair of unworn Diesel jeans at my parents house circa 2002 because I still rotate two pairs of straight leg, dark wash Helmut Lang jeans from the pre-Prada/Theory era of around 2001-2002. For casual footwear, I never understood the appeal of ultra premium sneakers. I'm comfortable with wearing $30 Adidas Sambas or Pumas. If you live in seasonal climate, good outerwear is worth the expenditure. I like Barbour.

Don't feel too bad if you live frugally. I made less than the SF minimum wage until last year and still carry a boatload of student loans. Max out your 401k/403b or IRA, and then start to worry about spending discretionary income. Also, refer to the 1k rainy day fund from the Current Event forum.

Pause.