Another thought occurred to me: I'm not sure if it's worth it to me to spend more on the things I wear most. Better quality can mean greater loveliness as opposed to greater durability. Also, there's a certain level of wear that, well, levels the playing field - where a high quality item won't last any longer than a lower quality one.

When I went to the giganto mall, I found a very lovely, soft, finely draped, tissue thin white tee. $80 bucks. I carried it around with me for awhile and then put it back. I live in tissue tees. That tee was not gonna last any longer than my Target ones I know from experience. $80 v $12 at the same rate of replacements, well there's a lot that can be done with that other $68.

I am obsessed with CPW. Tracking CPW and budgeting allows me to buy clothes guilt-free. I can buy a few $$$ clothes or a lot of $ clothes and I can have some special items with high CPW but I know exactly what is and isn't earning its place in my wardrobe.

My CPW stats have changed as I've bought new things but here's a writeup I did nearly a year ago.

http://youlookfab.com/welookfa.....dobe-stats

Dry clean tencel? I've been laundering my tencel tunic just fine. If it had needed dry cleaning, I wouldn't have bought it. I just purposely washed a new linen tunic that said dry cleaning only because if it couldn't be washed I would get rid of it, new or not. The nearest dry cleaner is 60 miles from here. I can send it to the big city with DH if I have to, but that's a week to 10 days turnaround by the time he makes 2 trips and comes back to the ranch. I want to wear this tunic around here. Dry cleaning is only for something special and that gets multiple wearings between cleanings, like my black velvet blouse. I feel guilty about the environmental consequences too, so I really try to minimize it up front with my purchases.

Huh? Wearing the same clothes within a two week period is frowned on in American culture? Could be true for certain circles of friends, but it is not true of American culture as a whole. If anything, my New England upbringing and frugality encourages a small, efficient wardrobe. I suspect most of my wardrobe gets a very low cpw, but honestly fashion math is not my thing. I do want workhorses, but I don't want to know what their upkeep is.

Deborah, I would never have the discipline to do this with all the items in my wardrobe, either. I tried with my black dresses, but that's it. What I learned, though is applicable on other pieces, too. I'm not really worried about the exact CPW, as long as I don't have actual orphans, like you mention.

Rachy, I couldn't agree more. A jersey tee would never hold up to the amount of wear that could bring the CPW down enough, and a cheaper version is just as good (or even better, giving you more value) in this case.

Sylvie, that is so interesting! I'll pop over and have a look. Do you really count all the wears of everything? Impressive.

Rambling Ann, I don't like it, either. It was a mistake buying that dress, and I'm more conscious of the label now, both of economical, practical and environmental reasons. Normally tencel is washable, but this dress has a surface treatment which will get ruined in water. Maybe I'll just try it anyway, or else I should donate it. It doesn't get much wear since it is so expensive to have it cleaned, and then it is a real waste sitting in my closet.

Mamapicklejuice, I don't advocate doing this for everything, as this would be far too much work for most people. But I've learned what the real value of a purchase is, and how much I'm willing to spend on certain pieces. I'm after the workhorses, too.

It's been interesting to read all the comments. I haven't done any actual math, but I have an idea of a couple of items that have low cpw. The main one I can think of is my black leather boots and probably my tan ankle boots which I think must now be in pennies cpw, funny that they are both footwear. Other items are skirts and jeans.
In relation to my post about a piece of clothing (lbd maybe) that could be versatile for day or evening wear; your suggestion of trying a cheaper version first is excellent. I guess other main workhorses for me are jeans and I have decided to try some higher priced brands in order to find a better fit; I'm guessing the cpw would soon plummet. I make a lot of clothes myself and it may be an idea to try a cheaper fabric for some items first if the style is new to me; that way I get to test drive it first. For things like everyday skirts I don't mind buying very good quality wools as I know they too will be worn a lot, especially if it's a classic style. Thanks for making us all think more deeply about this subject Ingunn.

CPW is (and always has been, way before YLF) important for me, although I never calculate it as such. I have to admit that I am enjoying wearing clothes (and getting compliments on them) from last century, and from when I worked in the city (9 years ago) now I am working again and thinking how their CPW is lowering. I did wear them in the interim, but they are getting more wear now.

I related to many of the points made above, but one of my strategies hasn't really been mentioned. That is, reducing how much you buy in the first place! Really helps with CPW! For instance I restrict myself to one casual sweater a year. I may wear it up to 3 times a week the first year, and a bit less frequently the year after that. Then I'll demote it to loungewear.

Items that just won't get much wear I only buy little of and try to buy cheaper. For instance I restrict how many "blouses that need camis". They are too hot in my summer and too cold in my winter so are only worn in autumn and spring.