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Cost of an item connected to longevity

Transcona Shannon

Veteran

I recently posted about the possibility of purchasing the Eileen Fisher silk slouchy trousers that Parsley bought http://youlookfab.com/welookfa.....ost-872784 and lyn made an interesting comment that at this price, you'd have to have these forever.

This has really got me thinking. Just because an item is pricey, does that mean you need to wear it for a really long time? Can you get your dollar's worth of satisfaction in an item in a shorter amount of time? For example, say I do buy these trousers. At $300+ they are (for me) expensive. If I wear them frequently for a few months and really enjoy and love them and they up my style quotient for that time, isn't that $300 just as worth it as if I wore them for 5 years?

Would love to hear your thoughts on this ladies.

Shopping

46 replies

Latest reply was from lyn*

Tina

Veteran

Shannon, I have thought about this subject a lot in regards to my own wardrobe. I agree with your assessment of the amount of enjoyment plus the actual use of the item even during a short period of time. Perhaps it's best to explain it from the reverse, you buy something pricey and then discover you just don't love it and subsequently don't wear it at all or hardly ever and when you do you do it out of guilt. This, to me, is where it becomes costly in a wasteful way especially if you wanted that item to fill a certain hole and you end up purchasing something else to fill it because the first one didn't work out.

Anonymous

Not really. CPW should be a consideration but there are times when you need to go to a higher price point to get uniqueness. I think these pants fall in that category, the lower price substitute did not work for you.

Personally, I want these pants only if I am comfortable with them at work. I have plenty of weekend/ casual alternatives.

Transcona Shannon

Veteran

Just for clarification, my question relates to all pricey items and is not relegated to these trousers in particular. I'm just using them as an example.

Eliza

Veteran

I love this question. I just splurged on these pants and have yet to receive them. I could only find black and had preferred to try the gray. At this price point, I will have to love them on and have many ways to wear them before I commit. For me, I need more than a few happy months out of them, given how few things aside from bags, shoes and coats I go this high on. I usually do spend more on items that I think will have have wardrobe or lifestyle longevity, once in awhile including things that may be a current trend, but one that I think I would embrace over time. The other component of my cost decision calculation is cost per wear. I rarely wear dresses, so I am particularly cautious about not investing in my imaginary life there. Team trousers, so willing to spend more there. Sometimes, this all is a moving target for me. It is getting better thanks to YLF shopping points providing clarity.

I think though, that there are times when we all need a bit of a treat and a "me moment". If that is within your budget overall and this is where you want to put it, have at it and see where it takes you. I am currently needing to thin out my wardrobe and am hoping to move more towards fewer quality items and less "maybe I could do something with this" items. I think those items have proven to be the biggest budget busters over time, even if they are not the biggest initial outlay.

Thanks for posing the question. It is something I am giving a lot of thought to lately.

Vildy

Veteran

I thought you were going in another direction: if I paid that much for it, from a good maker, shouldn't I expect it to be up to lengthy wear.

As it is, though, aren't you just asking, Can't I spend my money any way I want to?
Because if you spend hundreds of dollars and don't wear it all that much, isn't CPW
an irrelevant concept to you? Also, I would wonder why, if you delighted in it each of
the few times you wore it, wouldn't you want to wear it more than that? Does it losing
the freshness of brand new style direction take the bloom off it for you?

ETA: I am insanely frugal and yet I don't think these Eileen Fisher pants are all that expensive, compared to what you have to pay for everything these days. I would love
to wear something like them but for me, I just couldn't. (did not dream we would have
25 year old still living at home. )

Thistle

Veteran

I would prefer pricey items to be workhorses. If I love the item and will wear it a lot, it is worth a higher price point to me. But to me, if it costs significantly more, it needs ot have something to make it worth it. Maybe a bit more for style, or fabrication, but I am not sure I am willing to pay 3 times more.

I am frugal by nature, so if I spend $300 for something, I am going to hold it to the same CPW standard of a $100 item. You have to decide what your CPW threshold is and how much you are willing to vary from it for a special or unique item.

My casual life is very casual and cannot sustain a $300 pair of silk trousers no matter how cool.yours may be different. Even for work, these trousers push the envelope of what I am willing to spend, especially as they are so cutting edge fashion wise and my workplace is anything but cutting edge.

Raisin

Veteran

It depends on the person. If a $300 pair of pants is affordable to you to be worn for only 1 season then yes, by all means it's fine. For others though, that's too much money to spend on one item to be replaced next year. I often have trouble with this too Shannon. I could technically replace all my expensive items each year, but I feel wasteful and guilty if I purchase something pricey and don't get a ton of wear from it, like Lyn suggested. So I guess there are moral issues there too. However, if you want them and can afford them then I don't think you should let the fact that you may not wear them for the next 5 years stop you. It's all personal. YOUR dollars worth of satisfaction is different from someone's else's, and also different with each item in your wardrobe. I think the answer to your question is yes, you *can* derive the satisfaction from a pricey item in say just one season, but that threshold is different for each person. So the question is, do those pants fit the "bill" for you?

annagybe

(website)

Veteran

One thing I discovered when I lust after a particular item that is expensive, I have a habit of shopping around it. Often times I end up spending more money than the original item. Not a good habit.

Anonymous

Ah, ok, for me, it really depends on how hard I fall in love. Hard to give you a blanket opinion.

AJ

Veteran

Well I'm having a similar issue with my Leith pants. I do think it's fun and looks good on me, but it's not the style norm with my crowd. I wonder how many times I'll actually wear them before they go out of style?

Do I return and use the money for something that I'm sure to wear each week or do I feel special the few times I do wear it and just enjoy it without guilt?

Hmmm...I used to have a pair of harem type pants in the late 80's that had front overlapping openings so that there were peeks of my legs as I walked. I wore them just a few times, but my happiness factor was high each time I did.

Well Shannon, thank you! I've just decided to keep the Leith pants. It's good to spend on wardrobe items that are classics and will span many seasons, but it's also nice to spluge on a couple of quality, fun things that make you feel current and happy each time you wear it.

So I guess your first task is to find out if you like the way these fit? Then assess how happy you feel in them. (I would expect that silk would feel awfully good.) : )

lyn*

(website)

Veteran

I don't think it's true, the longest living items in my closet have been my moderate priced pieces ... I don't think a $300 pair of pants will live three times as long as $100 pairs of pants (however, they may live 10x as long as $30 pants). Does that make sense? As long as you cross a threshold of quality.

Ariadne

Veteran

Do you have a CPW goal for your purchases? That's something I've been thinking about a lot recently. I have a striped shirt I was trying to decide whether or not to keep. It's $50. My CPW goal is $1. The shirt is a fall/spring item. That means I'd have to wear it once per week for two years, or once every two weeks for four years, to reach my CPW goal. Now that I've figured that out, I ask myself if I envision loving the shirt enough to wear that frequently. Then I make my decision. (In this case, I decided to return).

So, for me, cost is connected to longevity. I'd have to really love a $300 item and foresee loving it for a LONG itme, because I'd have to wear it very frequently for several years to reach my CPW goal.

Caro in Oz

Veteran

My answer is - it depends. It's clear from the answers here we are all different & have different priorities.

I wouldn't have a problem with it if I really loved the item. I would tend to wear it at every opportunity though. Sometimes something like these trousers makes everything else we wear seem modern & a little different & I think that's a good thing.

AJ

Veteran

For those that are emphasizing CPW and/or long shelf life because of quality, those are both true, but Shannon also has the big consideration here that this style of pants is trendy. Trendy declines faster regardless of cost or quality.

In this case, I think she is asking, "Is it worth it to spend money on a quality, trendy item that has a high happiness factor?"

cinnamon fern

Veteran

This is a hard question. I do think more expensive things should have a relatively long physical life - so I have sworn off Vince knit tops, which seem to disintegrate within weeks if worn often. But I don't think CPW is the be-all and end-all of shopping strategy. Even a cheap party dress is never going to have the same low CPW as a pair of jeans you wear say twice a week.

Shannon, I know you're asking this as a general question, but why do you think you'd only wear these pants for a few months? I don't think they'll look dated that fast, and they're a pretty seasonless fabric.

AJ

Veteran

Oops! Just read above that Shannon was referring to all expensive items and not just to these pants.

I do still think that you need to classify whether the expensive item is classic or trendy. Of course if it's a classic, the expense would be worth it to have a great workhorse. It 's with the quality trendy items that will be short-lived that I would stop and ask myself if the happiness factor is worth it.

Gaylene

Veteran

Doesn't it depend on why you bought the item in the first place? If you are OK with buying something at a particular price point because you want/need the item for a particular purpose--a wardrobe refresh, your wedding day, a Oscar nomination party, a pick-me-up because you're feeling blue, or whatever--then why would it matter how often you wore it as long as the item satisfied your purpose for buying it?

It seems to me that CPW here is just an attempt to quantify and rationalize an intangible desire. I think AJ's rephrasing the question as "Is it worth it to spend money on a quality, trendy item that has a high happiness factor?" nails the real issue. And there is no single, "right" answer to that question.

Jules

Veteran

It really depends. I'm very cheap: I shop at Old Navy, Joe and H&M and think the Gap is too expensive for the quality (I've had bad experiences!). Cleo is my high end I haven't found that pricier items necessarily get worn more or last better, so I don't personally use CPW to justify paying more. But, if I really fall in love with something, I will pay several times my usual threshold, and I don't really care about CPW in these cases. My indulgences are rare and I don't justify them. They're not usually super trendy, but I don't necessarily wear them that often either because they tend to be "special" in some way and might not play that well with my every day style, or be statement items that I just don't want to wear that often, but I love them when I do.

Mary Beth (formerly LBD)

(website)

Veteran

This is a very good question - and one I cannot answer. Or rather, I have two answers. The artistic heart of me says that if you love the item, then a few months of wear, versus years of wear, is immaterial. Rather like a splurge at a fantastic restaurant, or a night at the theatre, seeing a show you've always wanted to see. Or a knockout dress for a landmark occasion, like a wedding or gala event.

The practical side of me says that if you or I looks at a price tag and says 'that is expensive for me', that your timeline for usage should be 'years', not 'months'.

When I cannot decide on something, I sometimes pause to think, "do I want this badly enough to spend this money, more than saving that money towards <dream item X>? (In my case, a Herve Leger bandage dress, a planned eventual shopping trip at the Wolford outlet in Orlando, and a pair of nude Louboutin pumps)

I think that, regardless of whether you think with your heart, or your practical nature, if guilt enters into the equation at all, you should forego the pants for something that REALLY speaks to you.

Deborah

Veteran

Shannon this is Avery good question and I guess the answer is different for all of us depending on a number of factors. If I pay a lot of money for something, I do expect longevity. This is primarily due to my budget being modest. Spending, for example, $300 on an item is not the norm for me so I would view this as an investment, I would have to love it, see fitting my style goals AND I would view it as being part of my closet for some time. The fact that I err on the side of classic factors as well, suggesting that I am more likely to pay $$$ for a more classic as opposed to a trendy item which would have a shorter life span in my closet. FYI I am passionately in love with a garment from Rick Owens and his peices are pricey. I am currently processing the value (to me) of said garment. I cannot find a similar (copy) garment any where and I think I would easily become a staple piece in my wardrobe...so I would definitely consider a large outlay for a piece of clothing but would have to be 99% of the value it would add to my wardrobe

unfrumped

Veteran

I think about this a lot a n alluded to it regarding dresses and dressy capsule where the CPW is likely to always be high unless I find something for a steal.. once in awhile over years I've come across something but never consistently enough to feel secure in having something to wear. I've waffled on whether to " make do" for dressy occasions or just keep a capsule of items I love and feel well dressed in, and hang the CPW.
OTOH , I could pay a fair amount for work trousers which I might wear 40x a year for 3 years.
The track pants are interesting to me because I won't wear them to work, but I think I'll get my $$ worth in 2 ways. One is that they were a high fun-factor purchase. The second is that they are fairly practical and not fussy. I wore them on the plane, to a casual dinner, and on plane home. They are so easy to wear and seem relatively versatile for my types of non- work activities, and the slight sportiness is what make me feel comfortable " stylin'" amongst some of my friends who aren't in to that. And they're machine washable!

I.may try the EF silk pants.. but they will give me fits if I like them, because they will also not be work pants. They could be in a dressy pant capsule but if they're " out" in a year then I won't get to wear them much. Whereas if I had some classic silk trousers that last for 5 years and built a dressy capsule around that,that would.be smarter.

Parsley

Veteran

Excellent question, Shannon!
I've never really gotten into the whole cost per wear thing, because it's so variable depending on the type of item. I mean, a special occasion dress will never approach the CPW of a pair of jeans, for example.

But I know I have fallen into the trap of buying 4 jackets that are inexpensive and that I don't really love instead of buying the one that's more expensive that makes me feel fabulous when I'm wearing it. Those inexpensive items don't turn out to be a bargain after all.
So right now I've started an initiative to only buy fabulous pieces. I'm not allowing myself to buy anything that's just OK. I'm hoping that this will mean buying fewer things but enjoying them more- we'll see!

Of course I would love to find some fabulous pieces that are inexpensive, but the reality is that I may pay more for most of my items than I had before. I hope that by having fewer things and wearing them more the cost per wear won't be too high. And even if I don't wear something for more than a few seasons but I feel great in it I think it's worth it (within reason!).

And of course one's individual budget needs to be taken into consideration. If one item blows your whole budget for the season it's probably not worth it.

kkards

Veteran

I usually expect that if I spend more Money on something, it should be something that will work over multiple seasons/years.
That being said, I always ask myself the same question, do I love it $xxx worth? It's a highly subjective and totally personal question. But it helps me to make a decision. If I hesitate then I know it's a not worth it to me.

unfrumped

Veteran

I was also going to add, it is all relative and fits in to, is it any " better"to buy lots of smaller items? And getting some great bargains here or there give budget room for occasional trendy splurges. So I am constantly reminded that if it's in the budget, only the individual can decide the value. You can't build a wardrobe if too much is put to short term items ,but at some point, if you accept a smaller core wardrobe, there is more $$ for experimentation.
So what I have been learning is to focus on the 2ends of the spectrum.for.me-- adequate but not too many very good classic pieces, and more experimentation. Instead I was buying lots of middle of the road items.
On.my trip to CA I dropped in to Neiman' s and a few boutiques, and it was clear to me that no $1200 blouses or .jackets would ever make.my comfort zone! Love has a price point.

Suz

(website)

Veteran

Team Parsley here!

CPW isn't really relevant to me. My CPW on some of my thrifted and gifted items is negative. So (using girl math) for me, that balances out the higher CPW on some items in my "appearances" capsule.

Quite seriously -- some of my clothes are worn so often it's amazing I get through a season in them, and they are not always the super expensive items, either. Right now I am wearing my LLBean striped French sailor's sweater (inexpensive), my Bleulab skinnies (bought on sale, CPW probably about $1 by now), a BR scarf (also bought on sale) and my Sam Edelman booties (ALSO bought on sale). This sounds like a brief for sale items - but it's not. It's just to say that I do make some purchases that bring down the overall wardrobe cost. So I figure if there is something I have a strong hankering for and I feel as the happiness factor will be high - well - why not go for it?

unfrumped

Veteran

I think it also helps.to tell.lust from love. Sometimes that is hard. Easy ordering makes lust easier. Easy returns and using your own mirror help identify true love.
Forme to experiment more, and find those occasional pieces that may really make a fun and useful difference, I have to go beyond the available B&M stores here but have to be careful about keeping whims.

Day Vies

Veteran

Interesting post Shannon. I think it depends on how you personally value the happiness of being on trend and super stylish for a short period of time. Style in and of itself is an investment. Not all investments have to be long term. Also if the silhouette is flattering on you, you could continue wearing the piece after the trend has moved on simply because it works so well for you. I think that's what gives each one of us our personal style. Elements of everyone's style seems to be "on trend" every few months these days. I don't know if I have really answered your question as much as I have provided an approach.

Sheila

Veteran

Great discussion here! Just mulling this over myself...thinking that the most expensive item most of us buy is a wedding dress, yet the CPW is ordinarily not a factor in this purchase. So somewhere between that purchase and the clothing we obtain for low cost (or maybe even for free, say as a gift or hand-me-down), I believe there is a personal value that each one of us places on what is reasonable and acceptable to spend on that item.

We all normally have a budget of some sort -- (I would bet even Melinda Gates thinks about how much she is spending on her wardrobe) -- and it varies so much from person to person that all I can truly offer is to be true to yourself and your own values. If you can afford it and justify it within the constraints of your own financial circumstances, then go for it and enjoy!

Transcona Shannon

Veteran

Wow - so, so many thought provoking responses and comments here. Thank you for your replies.

AJ has really hit the nail on head with her question "Is it worth it to spend money on a quality, trendy item that has a high happiness factor?" It's almost a question of WHAT COUNTS FOR MORE IN A PURCHASE - LONGEVITY OR HAPPINESS? Of course, most of the time, we'd like both.

I also am struck by Caro's comment "Sometimes something like these trousers makes everything else we wear seem modern & a little different & I think that's a good thing." Maybe the cost of a pricey item is justified by the way it makes you wear your current closet items. The quantity of items you purchase decreases BECAUSE of the one pricey item you bought and so overall, your budget remains intact but your wardrobe has been refreshed.

Anna has also made an extremely poignant comment "One thing I discovered when I lust after a particular item that is expensive, I have a habit of shopping around it. Often times I end up spending more money than the original item." I've done that and you end up broker and still unhappy because you don't have the item you fell in love with.

I am not one who has ever tracked CPW, other than loosely in my head from time to time. I know this works very well for many YLFers and I'm always in awe of those who actually calculate it. But as everyone knows and Angie has pointed out, I shop and dress with emotion and from the heart so I suspect CPW wouldn't work for me at all.

I'm not sure I'm going to get the pants, although I'm going to go to the local boutique that I found in my home town that carries Eileen Fisher and see if they have them to try on. I have the feeling my shopping habits are changing significantly - I thrift much less than I used to and even there, have become much more discriminating about what comes home with me. I'm not going to go crazy and pay exorbitant prices for things that I can get for less with equal quality. But at the same time I'm realizing there are things I am willing to pay more for if it is the right item.

Going back to read your replies again and do some more thinking...

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