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Budgets, shopping frequency and maintaining your wardrobe

Mo

(website)

Veteran

I have been sticking with a $250 every two months budget this year. Even when I try and SYC I still end up spending this amount lol! I am thinking ahead to next year, after we will have moved back home and jobs (whatever they will be) won't be as lucrative as what we have coming in now.

I, like many here, have been buying quite a bit in trying to revamp my wardrobe. I had many 5 years, and older, pieces that needed updating. Next year I hope to reign things in and contemplated a whole year of SYC. But I don't know if I will need new work clothes, if my old job isn't hiring for the season. Also, I am scared at the prospect of NO new purchases lol. So I'm trying to figure out a budget that's restrained but realistic. I want to stop the idea of acquiring all the time, but don't want to put the brakes on only to have to revamp all over again in a year's time.

I'm thinking $250 every three months, for $1000 all year. In theory, this will allow me one fabulous thing at spring, summer, fall, and winter. Or a few good quality replacement basics each season. Should I look at even less of a budget? I have 160 items - realistically enough to get me through all year.

To those of you who have that magical working wardrobe - what shopping frequency keeps it working that way for you? Do you take a big trip out for spring/summer and another for fall/winter? Or do you pick up pieces as you go? Is the budget the same as when you revamped or can you get by with buying a lot less?

I always feel like I'm playing catch up.

General

23 replies

Latest reply was from anne

chewyspaghetti

Veteran

Realistically, I think that I could go a whole year and not buy anything but replacements at this point. I wouldn't be happy doing that, but I think I could survive. I think your new budget would allow you replacements or a few new pieces.

Mo

(website)

Veteran

I know you have been pretty successfully SYC Khris. Do you feel like you're missing out in a way or do you feel more like it gives you adequate time to really remix and utilize the clothes you have? Part of me would really like to SYC but the other half says - you don't want to play the catch up game again. I just really want to find that happy middle ground of maintaining a wardrobe, I guess.

chewyspaghetti

Veteran

I do feel like I am missing out on shopping, but I think that has more to do with my location and lack of shopping choices than SYC. (and also health issues that interfere with shopping) I think it's pretty clear with my recent challenges that I do have plenty of pieces to remix and come up with new combinations. I think that as long as you still keep some money in your budget for replacements and a few new things each season, you will be ok.

ButterflyLady

(website)

Veteran

I don't know if this helps, but pre-YLF, I would shop with a personal shopper in a department store twice a year, and I spent about £800 to £900 in the whole year (I would spend more on fall/winter than spring/summer). I am not sure how much that is in dollars. That wouldn't include shoes and underwear. I find shoes difficult, as I have fussy feet, and therefore there hasn't been that much investment in that area lol!

Now I am YLFing, I may still go to the personal shopper (as she pushes me to try things I wouldn't pick on my own) but I think I'll have an actual list of things I've worked out I need.

I do find that if you wear your clothes regularly, then they do actually 'wear out' and need replacing. And that white tshirts will go yellow. Bras stretch out and aren't supportive. Plus it's fun to have some new things now and then!

This isn't answering your question *doh* - I think I personally would stick to around £500 a year or so.

Mo

(website)

Veteran

Thanks for the insight. I guess it's kind of like maintaining on a diet - just enough treats to keep your urges satisfied so you dont' go off the deep end, but clean eating most of the time.
I hope you get to feeling better soon, too.

Isabel

Veteran

Hey Mo, IMO, if you have 165 items that are FL items, then you have no Tahoe items. Tahoe's weather is very different.

I would start out by making a list of things that you need for Tahoe but don't have : a warm coat, winter boots, etc. Then decide what the most is that you would pay for them. Then work on the rest of the budget. ALso, are you the type that knows ahead of time what you will wear to death or not ? If not, you might consider putting some cash away to set aside to spend as needs in Tahoe arise for certain clothing.

Does that make any sense ?

Mo

(website)

Veteran

Thanks Isabel, but I *do* have Tahoe items, I just have FL items on top of that lol! I have done this move back and forth 4 times now . . . don't ask - we always think it will be the last. So I do have 7 outerwear coats, 8 pairs of boots (soon to be 9!) and 20 pairs of jeans/pants! Hey, I guess 160 isn't so terrible considering I have 2 complete wardrobes, climate wise. Of course I didn't count shoes in that amount, but still. Thanks, you just made me feel better
I like the idea of having a margin to buy what wears out or one great new trending piece, but overall being content with what I've bought over this last year since I joined here. Now to see if I can put it into practice! I still have to ride out this year; I'm on budget as of right now.

lyn67

Veteran

Did you really count them? Wow!:-)You are brave! I have no ideea how many items are in my closet, now I started wonderring..?
Curious, Angie, how many items does she have?

Mo

(website)

Veteran

A while back we did a thread about wardrobe size and some of us did count. I have (give or take 1 or 2 when purging/buying replacements):

20 dresses
15 skirts
10 shorts/capris
20 pants (jeans, cords, trousers)
60 tops (roughly 15 each of long slv, shrt slv, tanks, layer pieces)
about 15 sweaters
20 jackets from hoodies to wool overcoats

I would guess I have about 40 or so pairs of shoes split pretty equally between summer sandals and winter boots.

I would guess Angie has maybe half this amount! But I'm sure she has a higher budget to replace season by season as well

Lynne

Veteran

Malina, I love the idea of 2 quality items per year. I just don't know that I would have the willpower to avoid those little things that give your wardrobe a nice boost and variety. For me I think I would work on 2 or 3 great things a year, plus a 'consumables' budget for other stuff.

Since you first posted about budgeting some months back, I've stuck to 200US per month. Some months it dissappears on repairs or haircuts, and sometimes it builds up and I get something I really use and enjoy. Clothing budgets are so personal; for me this amount feels responsible but not deprived.

Angie's post about her client Bei Jing, who only shops twice a year and yet has a fab functional wardrobe blew me away - I'm not sure I could do it but it is a great inspiration :).

Laurinda

Veteran

Joha mentioned this in the "advanced closet purging" thread:

"if you are thinking about a capsule wardrobe - this site has a lot of inspiration:"
http://theviviennefiles.blogspot.com/

Her 'French-chic' goal is to have enough, but not too much, with only 10s in your wardrobe. As an example, check out this single wardrobe with a Gray/Navy/Lavender theme.

http://theviviennefiles.blogsp.....ender.html

If I could wake up tomorrow and have everything in my closet removed and magically replaced by that wardrobe (maybe not exactly those colors), I'd be a happy gal!

Then I got to wondering how much that wardrobe would cost? Initially, and then with renewal over the seasons/years. If you worked up to it, it might not be that much.

Just pondering.

Mo

(website)

Veteran

Lynne, glad to hear the budget is working for you! I know what you mean about feeling responsible but not deprived. That's part of why I want to limit my budget more next year when the job situation changes.
I am the same as you in that I don't think I could stick with just 2 wonderful splurges for the whole year. Maybe half the budget on a quality piece, twice yearly, and half for replacements/basics throughout as needed would be the best balance.

Kate

Veteran

Excluding gear, undies/bras, and socks, I'm at 72 clothes, 49 jewelry items, 20 accessories, 6 shoes, and 2 coats. This is the smallest my wardrobe has ever been, yet it's also the most functional!

I was on a $100/month budget, but I ended up spending $1,100 in the first 6 months. I haven't bought ANY clothes/jewelry/accessories since the end of June (I am hunting for sandals for next year, but everything I've bought from zappos and endless is in the process of being returned and refunded).

I tried to SYC in the first couple months of the year, and failed miserably in February. But I made a lot of great purchases - of the 31 items I bought, 1 pair of shoes was returned months later, 1 I regret, and 1 I'm still not sure about. Those are pretty stellar odds! Now I've been SYC since July 1, and plan to keep it going through the end of the year, with a couple choice exceptions. It's going really well.

There are a lot of different variables that go into finding the right shopping frequency and budget. As long as I stay as picky as I am, it seems like most issues of frequency are outside of my control. Many of the stores I shop at get a new batch of items about once a month, so shopping twice a year, or even 4 times a year, would really limit my choices. Plus the colors I buy tend to come through the stores in waves. Right now there are very few items for sale in the colors I wear, but this past spring there were tons! This was counter-intuitive to me, since I wear "autumn" colors that I thought would be abundant in the autumn. The result is that I am looking online at least once a month, but I only go to the mall when I know that clothes that I'm interested in are available. This means that I frequently go months at a time without going to the mall, even when I'm not purposely SYC, and then other times I'm at the mall every couple weeks!

This makes budgeting difficult. $100 a month is painfully low if my colors and styles are everywhere! $100 a month is excessive when there's nothing around that I want. I'm not sure quarterly would help much either, since Feb-June were excellent for me, and the rest of the year has been slim pickings. But anything more infrequent seems rather difficult to stick to. I haven't yet found the answer.

It really helps that my wardrobe is at a place where my focus is on maintaining and adding wonderful pieces, rather than filling holes. I need to find a pair of sandals to replace my current sandals by March, and I would like to get another pair of jeans by November. I still know what kinds of items to keep an eye out for (burnt orange top, plum dress) but they are wants rather than needs.

I certainly don't have the answer, but I feel like I'm getting closer. I hope that this absurdly long response has been helpful!

Kate

Veteran

A couple more things.

I really like these posts on creating the perfect wardrobe. I love the whole blog - even though her personal style is very different from mine (and yours), her approach and insights have been extremely helpful. http://www.deadfleurette.com/2.....-pt-1.html and http://www.deadfleurette.com/2.....-pt-2.html

In my spreadsheet of how often I wear everything I also keep track of how much everything cost (gifts count as $0). All of my clothes cost $1,949.50, accessories are $197.50, and shoes are $485. The average cost for an item of clothing is $27.46 (bottom is $23.33, dress is $45.36, layer is $43.22, and top is $12.95), accessory is $9.88, and shoes are $80.83.

I think that these numbers are a bit low for the amount that I'll be spending per item as I move forward, plus they're including gifts and swaps with my sister as free items. So maybe it makes the most sense to figure out a budget in terms of replacement rate and cost per item. So if each year I buy 5 new bottoms at $40 each, 4 new dresses at $70 each, 4 new layers at $45 each, 12 new tops at $25 each, 3 new accessories at $20 each, and 2 new shoes at $85 each, that gives me a budget of $1190 for the year. This all seems completely reasonable to me, and is basically the same end amount that I was planning on spending per year! Plus it keeps me replacing roughly a third of my wardrobe per year (less for accessories, more for tops).

Now that I think about it, this might be a much better budgeting system for me than trying to do figure out how much money I have for a set amount of time. If I'm doing one in, one out, I can figure out what's a reasonable amount for me to be spending on that kind of item that I'm replacing, and use that as my budget. I hope this hasn't bored you too much, because it's been great for me to consider!

Mo

(website)

Veteran

Kate, your post was wonderful! Thank you! I really appreciate the insight. I feel like sometimes it's an endless circular attempt to get rid of the old (not well thought out) purchases and replace with the new, right choices. I know realistically there is never a point that the closet is perfect in it's state and can just be left alone. But I don't want to be hunting down wardrobe holes forever

Another big factor for me is the amount spent at one time. Although I alotted myself $250 per 2 months this year, with the idea that would leave room to buy a bigger ticket item guilt free, I never did. I never bought any one thing over $78 all year, in fact. So, if I am to make this seasonal splurge idea work, I have to let go and be okay with one big item instead of 5 good ones.

If I do $250 every 3 months, that is effectively cutting this year's budget by 1/3. That feels totally doable to me. In reality, I could even buy a leather coat finally, or a pair of Frye boots on such a budget - if I only replace tops or shoes and such, as they wear, with the rest of the money.

At this point, I don't need or want more (in number of items), I simply want to continue to hone in on my style and replace things gradually as they naturally wear out with choices better suited to me. Thanks to everyone for their own personal tips and experiences. I'm inspired to make this work.

Mo

(website)

Veteran

Ah, we posted at the same time! Looks like we are thinking along similar lines, too!

rae

(website)

Veteran

I don't know if this will help you, but my "budget" is whatever I get from reselling stuff from my closet purges. As you go along, and find things that you tire of, maybe you can consign or ebay them and use that $ for smaller, fun/trendy purchases so you don't feel deprived.

Jjsloane

Veteran

I"ve read every thread with interest on building a quality wardrobe, one in one out, only having things you love. I have finally come to the realization that I will never be one of those people. Like there are different styles I like to have new things. I like the thrill of the hunt and a good bargain and being able to fit new things with older things and then to get wear from them again. I enjoy shopping. I try not to overspend and sometimes I have regrets, but then I return. I honestly don't think I'd be satisfied with a closet of limited amounts of even really great stuff. Like you Mo, I think I'll save up for one big ticket item, but then I always get tempted by several smaller ticket items or I just can't bring myself to buy a big ticket item when I know I can have several smaller ones for the same amount. And I'm working on accepting that so as not to feel badly when I don't follow the aforementioned styles/rules for wardrobe management. Make sense?

Queen Mum

Veteran

sigh.. one of these days I'll get back to sticking to my clothing budget... just like one of these days I'll get back to counting calories

Joy

Veteran

This has been such an interesting thread. Since I've built a wardrobe back up from nothing about 3 years ago, I'm now allowing myself about $100 a month to spend maintaining and adding a few on trend items once in awhile, hoping to save up toward a big item (for me) a couple of times a year. That's not happening as much as I'd like. I get bored easily and get seduced by sales. I wish I could always tell when I was going to get lots of use out of something and it would be a treasured piece for years, but I can't yet. Some of my bargains have been treasures and some are just ok.

ButterflyLady

(website)

Veteran

Despite everything I said in my reply, I've just ordered over £400 of clothes online! But 6 of those are jackets, and I'll only keep one, two at the most lol

Kristine

Veteran

I spend about $125 a month, although sometimes I allow more for shoes or coats. I had a lot of building to do so it was enough, but slow and involved some thrifting. Now that I have a mostly functional wardrobe I'm hopeful I can add some nicer pieces. I'd also love to do the twice a year trip but it never seems to work out that way. Fall's a great time to start though! My problem is that it takes so long to find certain things that it goes on for months.

I really think with a good base, $250 every three months is enough for maintenance. Fortunately with a lot of clothes, yours won't wear out as often either. So it's really a question of fine tuning and filling any holes if there any.

anne

Veteran

This is an interesting thread.

I think a little like Kate, without her wonderful analytical number crunching.For me it is also about looking at the year as a whole. I try to think of what needs replacing (like Kate I need one pair of sandals and one pair of other shoes per year), what could be replaced (this year my 5 year old coat) what wardrobe holes I fill (this year it was heels to wear with dresses) and leave room for some impulse purchases and fashion trends.

Last year I budgeted for $510 and only went about $40 over that, though that was padded out with nearly $200 in vouchers.To keep to that required some discipline! But I think $250 per 3 months should really be adequate!