I know we've discussed this before, but how long do you expect your clothes and shoes to last? I'm thinking about it again after clearlyclaire's post about her summer 10 item wardrobe, and thinking about fall plans, and "succession planning," for want of a better phrase.

For example, one of my pairs of sandals is starting to fall apart - the sole is coming unglued from the top of the shoe. I might be able to get it repaired and it'll work for a bit longer, but it's pretty worn already. I *think* that these sandals are in their third year, but it might be just two. Honestly, that's pretty good for a pair of everyday sandals, I think. Two seasons, for summer sandals, seems reasonable to expect. Maybe less, of course, if there's something wrong with them. Earlier this summer I had an older pair of sandals literally fall apart when I was out walking to the store...I'd prefer not to have that happen again.

This seems to be relevant as far as budgeting, too. If I can expect to have to replace all of my everyday shoes within 2-3 years, I need to have the money to do that, and to preferably do it over time so I don't have to buy all new shoes all at once.

And for clothes, I can expect knit tops to last 1-2 years, sweaters maybe a bit longer. Jeans can really depend - if I wear them a ton maybe just a year, but possibly several years. Woven shirts I rarely wear out before they are out of style. Summer knit dresses make it a summer or two. Each season seems to have its own factors - boots might last several years while sandals won't, but they also tend to cost more money.