Sometime, back in the days of my youth (sigh) I was told by a very savvy fashionista that one should always use the CPW ratio. That is Cost Per Wear Ratio. You buy a dress for $250 wear it twice, it cost you $125 per wear. You buy an expensive dress for $500 and wear it 100 times it costs $5 per wear. That's your value judgement right there.
This is an excellent little calculation you can do in your head. I wished I did it more often, because there is no doubt that the things I have paid a little bit more for (okay, A LOT MORE for) I generally love more, cherish more and yes, wear more.
I have a Bally handbag that I bought - on sale I hasten to add - for $550. It was reduced from $1250. I cannot for the life of me explain what possessed me to buy it because it put a serious dent on my budget and a burden on my credit card.
It is plain, cream and beautifully lined. I have had it for nearly 9 years and it looks brand new. It is a clever piece of work, because although it's cream I use it summer and winter. It never fails to get at least one compliment every time I take it out (which sadly, is more than can be said for me).
So as far as CPW calculations go, that bag must have cost me ....um, let's see: Initial outlay $550, divided by 9 (years) = 61. That's $61 a year. Divided by 12 months a year = $5 a month.
$5 a month or less that $2 a week! Can't be happier than that now can we?
Any suggestions about investment dressing, or observations about Cost Per Wear?
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3 comments:
I have just learned this lately and still trying to be more sensible about investment dressing. we all seemed to go mad with the really chepa clothes - 3 buck tshirts and jeans for 8 bucks and then throw them away - a real wasteful approach.
My grandmother always told me "buy the best you can afford". I think it is absolutely true. I buy the best I can afford and sometimes spend more than I can afford but I don't spend money on cheap throwaway rubbish. I have a few clothes but I wear them a lot.
I think you can generally invest in just about everything for long term wear except for pants. Their shape changes season to season (waist height and width) and can really look bad if not "of the now".....
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