Things to Ask Before You Buy a Piece of Clothing, Part 1: Economic

A note from Amanda Lee: This is the first installment in a two-part series. Visit tomorrow for Part 2: Aesthetic. In addition, special thanks to Katherine, who helped contribute to both today’s installment and tomorrow’s.

In undergrad, I majored in economics. (Political science, too, but that’s kind of irrelevant here.) I’ve never actually used my major in any type of professional situation, save for some freelance copy-editing gigs where my documents were peppered with finance vocabulary words. Still, the practice of evaluating my decisions in a quantitative sense as often as I can is something I haven’t abandoned. In fact, my interest in balancing stylish and beautiful possessions with a lifestyle that’s efficient and clutter-free might be the most natural outgrowth of my economics background.

I got the idea for this article by examining my thought process that I’m habitually engaged in while I’m shopping. I don’t want to write out a prescriptive list of “eight pieces you absolutely must own” or “you should never buy this”—I merely want to give a bit of stimulus for looking closely at the clothing that you purchase. Thinking about these issues while you shop will help you optimize your wardrobe, buy what you need, and avoid wardrobe clutter.

• Do I need it? It’s helpful to constantly evaluate your wardrobe needs. What do you do that requires specific or out-of-the-ordinary clothing? Case in point: At my primary job, I’m allowed to dress however I want. In my second job, however, I’m often required to go into law, finance, and advertising firms to edit their written work, and as a result I’m required to look professional enough to pass for a full-time employee. I get by with a handful of business-ish pieces that I like and wear often, but if I worked in this job more often, I’d probably have to break down and buy more business-type attire, including a couple of suits. But until then, I cant justify the expense. Likewise, if you only visit the beach or the pool three times a year, your bathing suit needs are going to be a lot different than the needs of someone who swims every day for exercise. Use common sense about what you need and what you’ll actually use.
• Do I already have something similar? True story: I’ve had to talk myself out of buying a purple plaid frock because I already have one. I have no need in my wardrobe for more than one orange tee, grey hoodie, or red pair of jeans. My mum taught me that if I find a piece of clothing I really like, I should go back to the store and buy duplicates. This is a good habit to get into for a few things—jeans, tees, wrap dresses, little black dresses—but if you follow this for every piece you really like, you’ll end up with an overly full closet. If you do it with a lot of especially trendy pieces, you’ll end up with three pairs of red jeans, six black vests, and a handful of shirred-sleeve blouses—and an overly full closet that you’ll have to empty in a year, because everything in it is über-trendy now and will be out of style in six months.

  It’s important to note, though, that owning something similar shouldn’t preclude you from buying a piece. If you own something similar that you find yourself wearing all the time, buying another might be a good way to avoid doing laundry quite as frequently. I own three black tank tops and at least two brown ones, three slightly different white blouses, three black skirts in different cuts, and two pairs of baggy slouchy jeans. . . because if I owned one of each, I’d have to do a whole lot more laundry (which we all know I love). Plus, if somtehing gets messed up beyond what I can fix—a coffee collision at the bodega, or a run-in with a scratch-happy kitten—I’d hate to have to go into my office and have my only black skirt in shreds or my only office-worthy dress covered in coffee.

• Does it fit? Will it still fit if my body fluctuates in a normal way? This should be a no-brainer, but it’s not. If you buy clothing that you doesn’t fit you properly, you’ll never feel good in it, because it won’t look right. Funny how that works, yeah? I know it’s really fun to buy that amazing piece (on sale, sometimes!) thinking you’ll wear it on “your skinny days,” or with the intention of putting it away as an “incentive outfit” for “after the weight comes off.” Don’t fall into the trap. You know why? Your skinny days are never as skinny as you want them to be; and when you are feeling particularly slim and decide to slip aspirationally into that two-sizes-too-small dress for a date, you won’t be able to eat a thing—and then you’ll be dizzy from lack of calories, and hence, miserable. And when you do drop that weight you’re trying to lose, you won’t want to wear a single thing in your closet—you’ll be too busy buying new clothes! So save the rewards for after you actually complete your goals.
• Is it in good repair? If not, can it be fixed? Don’t pass on buying something you need if it’s in need of minor repair. Torn seams, hems that have come out, missing buttons, and broken zippers can all be fixed easily—and if you don’t sew, bake a sartorially-minded friend a dinner in exchange for him doing your mending for you, or make friends with your tailor and tip well afterward. However, be aware of the limits of repairs. Some flaws, including moth holes, disintegrating fabric, and stains, can’t be fixed, no matter what. So if you find a really great but noticeably flawed piece at a deep discount, you have to ask yourself whether you’ll actually wear something that’s so obviously in bad repair. Some people are totally okay with it, but if you pride yourself on looking completely fastidious or your work dress code would frown on anything less, you’re going to feel increasingly uncomfortable in the garment, trying to cover it up and likely failing, and then angrily pitching it into the Goodwill bin and cursing yourself for spending the money on it in the first place.
• Is it decent quality? Will it last? Look at what each item of clothing is made of. Tees and socks made of thin, transparent cotton will snag and grow bare quickly. Frocks whose pieces are cut against the grain will stretch, twist, and lose their shape faster than a dress that’s cut accurately. I’m all about shops like Forever 21, where you can buy surprisingly pretty wardrobe pieces for a mere pittance, but I wouldn’t recommend anyone buy solely from these shops, because the quality is a lot lower than you can get if you spend just a little more.
• How many times will I wear it? What’s the cost per wear? One thing I do to determine whether a piece is worth its cost is figure up the cost per wear—the price of the item divided by the number of times you anticipate wearing it. If you buy a tee for nine dollars, wear it once, and promptly have it shrink in the wash, the cost per wear of that tee was nine dollars. If you buy a hundred-dollar dress and wear it over a hundred times, the cost per wear of the dress is under a dollar. True story: Last week I bought a kelly-green sweater at H&M for fifteen bucks. It was an impulse purchased solely because I was irresponsible and didn’t check the weather on the night I’d planned to go for a late-night walk with a friend. But since then, I’ve worn it over four times, which makes the cost per wear under four bucks. . . and I anticipate wearing it a lot more in the future, so that will decrease steeply. (It’s cute. Pictures will be forthcoming.) In the same way, I own this dress from Prairie Underground; I bought it in January 2007 for half price when I worked in a SoHo boutique, meaning I paid $130 for it. It was steep, but you know what? This is my go-to for whenever I need to look immediately put together and fashion-forward, or when I need to summon up a ton of confidence about my appearance. I’ve worn it well over seventy times, which means the cost per wear is well under two bucks; and likewise, I expect to wear it a bunch more (read: until it’s too torn to shreds to actually stay on my body). The purchase of the Prairie Underground dress, especially, was one that I hesitated over because of the cost. However, given that I wear it so much, I think I’m definitely getting my money’s worth. Different consumers have different cost-per-wear thresholds, but you can figure yours out. After you do, stick to it.

Come back tomorrow for the second part in this series. I can’t wait to share it with you guys!

Related posts:

1. Things To Ask Before You Buy A Piece Of Clothing, Part 2: Aesthetic
2. The Cost Per Wear: How Much is Your Clothing Worth to You? [Or: Are You Getting Your Money's Worth?]
3. Clothing to Get Rid Of Right Now
4. How to Do More With the Clothes You Have [Instead of Buying More]
5. Tutorial Roundup: 6 Great Ways to Repurpose Your Clothing