Cost Per Wear
The Budget Fashionista Basics: Top Ten Tips, Cost Per Wear, Closet Essentials
In case you missed it: make the absolute most out of your spending money by reviewing the very basics of The Budget Fashionista’s shopping tips.
Its easy to get caught up by hot new trends, amazing sales, and glittery collections… but remember to practice the art of looking great, while spending reasonably!
The Top Ten Budget Shopping Tips: refresh yourself on what to focus on when you cultivate your closet, remember the 70/30 rule, and more.
Keep in mind the absolutely critical cost-per-wear ratio.
Know what you need: make sure you have the top ten things that should be in every woman’s closet, to make the most out of everything else you own.
Know how to shop online, and how to shop a sample sale.
Save Up to 50% Off at Piperlime’s Tag Sale
The Deal: Enjoy up to 50% off on shoes and handbags at Piperlime
The Lowdown: We don’t know about you, but the winter doldrums are already starting to set in here at TBF, and assuming it’s in our budget (we’re balancing our checkbooks as we speak) the perfect cure might just be a fab pair of shoes. Or a handbag. We’re not picky. But they must be on sale—and free shipping and free returns on all orders, now offered by Piperlime, doesn’t hurt either.
Being practical and all, we want to get the most use for our money (remember Kathryn’s cost per wear formula) so if we’re spending more than $20 (which will get us all the trend we need at Tarjay, thanks) we’ll go for a neutral everyday bag like this Chinese Laundry Ring Tote for $49.99, or a shoe we’ll want to live in, like this Kenneth Cole Reaction Spice N Easy flat, $39.99, or these Unlisted by Kenneth Cole Ready to Spike ankle boots
, also $39.99.
Shop: Piperlime.com
Tips for Recession Proofing Your Closet
Late last week I got a call from the Oprah Winfrey show (yes, THAT Oprah), asking if I would be interested in sharing some of my budget shopping and clothing tips with the rest of the world (of course the answer is a BIG yes, when Oprah calls, you show up). I wanted to give you guys a sneak preview of what I may be saying on the show.
Here’s just some of the tips I shared with Oprah:
1. Develop a Signature Piece. This is the piece you’re going to be known for—sort of like your calling card. It could be fabulous shoes, earrings, blazer, dresses, etc. Focus your shopping dollars on these pieces. My signature piece is crazy necklaces, which I find at thrift stores and stores like Forever 21.
2. Use the Cost per Wear When Shopping. Frequent TBF readers know this is something I’ve been preaching for years. Value is the key when building a great closet and The Budget Fashionista’s cost per wear formula can help you get the most bang for your buck. The cost per wear is the price of an item/divided by the number of times you think you’ll wear it. So if an item costs $100, and you wear it ten times, the cost per wear is $10. The more you wear an item, the cheaper it becomes. This tip is especially important as it forces you to focus on the utility of an item, ie the usefulness of an item to you, rather than just the price. Paying $5 for something you never where is $5 wasted.
3. Limit Trips to the Dry Cleaners. This is a real money zapper, even for yours truly, until I learned, and this may come as a shock, that you’re only suppose to dry clean your suits two to three times per year and even less for items like coats. So how do you keep it fresh in the meantime? Spritz it with a bit of fabric freshener like Febreze.
4. Learn to Sew. Okay, I don’t mean learn how to create amazing pieces ala ‘Project Runway’, but learning how to hem your own pants, fix slight holes, and other minor alterations will not only save you money, but also save your garments.
5. Follow the 70/30 Rule. 70 percent of your closet should be classic pieces that never go out of style, a great white shirt from Old Navy or even a nice black suit that you can wear over and over again. The other 30 percent should be fun trendy items like a plaid skirt, funky bomber jacket, or a cool fedora.
6. Create a Shoppers Savings Account. I have a special, interest bearing savings account, that I put my shopping dollars in. I ONLY purchase items with the money in this account and it can go all the way to zero, which is fine, cause it is not connected to my REAL checking account (the one I pay bills from)
7. Swap Parties. My Friends and I have swap parties where we bring our used, but still stylish items and swap them for “new” items (which are our friends old slightly used items). It’s a great way to have fun AND get new items in your closet for free.
8. Use Giftcards. I use this tip especially during the holiday season. I put my entire Christmas budget on a visa giftcard from my bank and once the money is gone, I’m finished shopping. Also works well for back to school.
P.S. The segment isn’t confirmed, but once it is, I will let you all know when it will air.
P.S.S Please note these tips are copyrighted (we’ve noticed a lot of folks who never cared about budget shopping before all of a sudden trying to be “frugal” experts and using my tips. Not cool.)
Flying off the Shelves at Bluefly: Daily Deal
Deal: This Kooba tote is 40% off—originally $545, now $327.
The Lowdown: The leather on this tote is rich and luxurious looking and comes in both cognac and black. This will make a good everyday, do-everything bag. You can take it grocery shopping, but it’s also appropriate for a night out to dinner. The dark color might remind you of autumn, but don’t be afraid to wear it in the summer, too. This purse has many hidden pockets where you can stash your cell and other items you need accessible at all times. The versatility of this bag ups the amount of times you can carry it, which lowers your cost per wear. Check out www.bluefly.com for other great deals.
Fashion Advice: The Cost Per Wear Ratio
Not all bargains are created equal—some are really spending traps in disguise. Calculating the cost per wear of an item before purchasing the piece will easily uncover the true value of an item. The cost per wear formula:
Total cost of the item/ estimated number of days you’ll wear it = the cost per wear
For example, if you spend $500 on a great winter coat, wear it for about 100-150 per year over the next five years, it’ll cost you about $.67 to a $1.00 every time you wear the coat. The more you wear the coat, the lower the cost per wear. On the other hand, the trendy top you bought for $20 at your local Old Navy, that you wear only three times before throwing it out, costs you around $6.50 everytime you wear it, making it almost SIX times as expensive as the coat.
So what’s the moral of this shopping trick? Value, not low prices should be your focus when budget shopping. Remember a bargain is only a bargain if you actually wear it.
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