Growing up, my mom would only buy us clothes when it was on sale. We never argued about it too much, we just took her word for it when she said an item wasn’t worth the money on the price tag. The result is that even today I don’t (or very rarely) buy clothes or shoes at regular price.
What I’d like to do with this post is find out what others consider to be a “reasonable” price for things, and what you consider too much. (So please comment with some feedback!!)
For example, I’ve always thought stores like J. Crew and Banana Republic were way overpriced. I love their clothes, but I just can’t see myself paying $130 (or more) for a knit dress, or $90 for a pair of jeans, $75 for a blouse, or $40 for what looks like a glorified t-shirt. Is this generally considered “affordable”?
When it comes to shoes, most of the pairs I see in stores don’t go for under $60. The average prices I keep seeing at Nine West and Macy’s is usually $89. Personally, the most I’ve ever spent on a pair of shoes is $60 from what I recall (and I felt like I paid too much for them), with my average being around $35. Again, even though this is what most stores charge for shoes ($80+), it still feels like too much….am I just out of touch with reality?
As far as purses go, I’m not into designer brands and don’t believe in spending a lot on purses. Most of my purses were bought on sale around $40 (or much less), with my most expensive one being $60 (and it was actually a gift, and somewhat of a “novelty” item). When it comes to purses and shoes I buy more for the individuality of the piece rather than the brand. In fact, if I know anyone that has one like it I probably won’t buy it! (Geez, I sound like a snob!) So, $200 Coach bags are out of the question for me!! (Much less, Prada, Gucci, etc…)
Now its your turn! What’s reasonable for you? Do you think I’m out of touch? Or are the clothing stores the ones that are overpricing their clothes?
April 16, 2008 at 2:00 pm
Banana Republic is my favorite clothing store. For the classic type items that they carry (black pants, button down dress shirts) I think that they are pretty affordable. The quality is high, so I’d rather get a pair of pants I can wear 5 years down the line than a pair that only lasts 1 or 2.
I generally try not to buy anything that’s “stylish” or “in” or a “trend” unless it’s on sale. Like really really on sale. Same goes for shoes. I don’t mine paying ~$100 for a quality pair that I’ll get plenty of wear out of.
I have 2 semi-expensive purses, a black one was a Christmas gift (~$75) and a brown one ($150-200) but this is all that I’ll need for a few years. Last spring I picked up a $20 canvas purse at Target and used it through the early fall- I’m doing the same with it this season.
April 16, 2008 at 2:13 pm
I’m on the fence. I can tell the difference between a shirt from BR or Target, and the BR one will last longer and fit better. Not a lie. But full price at BR is ridiculous. Sales make things more manageable, but I also still wonder where they get off charging so much. So I paid $40 for jeans on sale at JCrew a couple months ago, and felt like that was reasonable.
I also do not buy expensive shoes/purses, but no one cares much about fashion in my workplace.
April 16, 2008 at 2:18 pm
I buy clothes/shoes/accessories on sale probably about 90% of the time. I do like stores like BR and JCrew, but only when on sale of course. Actually I don’t really like JCrew that much since I find the stuff doesn’t fit me well and the sales are not that good. My favorite store is Ann Taylor.
Now for prices:
- I typically spend about $50/pair of shoes
- I typically spend quite a bit on purses, but then I don’t buy that many when I spend more on them. The last purse I bought was $180. Actually I just bought it last month.
I’m becoming a believer of cost per wear. I didn’t purchase new jeans for about 6 or 7 years, then I bought a pair that cost $100. I wore those everyday so the cost/wear was really low.
The bad thing about that is my tastes are becoming more expensive. I recently bought 2 more pairs of jeans for $150/total. Now I’m not planning on buying jeans for 6 or 7 years again (unless I need maternity jeans in the future)!
April 16, 2008 at 2:36 pm
I’m also a big fan of sales on quality items! My parents always bought our clothes at Wal-Mart, but they would wear out before the year was through.
On average, I spent about $30 for shoes ($50 retail) and $25-30 for jeans ($45 retail). My favorite place to shop is JCPenney, because their end-of-season sales are great.
As for purses, I’ve got my eyes open for a good deal. My last purse is about 7 years old and I have no idea how much I paid for it. Maybe $30? It’s still “reasonably” fashionable, so I don’t see any reason to get rid of it right now.
April 16, 2008 at 2:46 pm
My mom used to say the same exact thing! And I still rarely buy things that are not on sale.
For me, it really depends on the discount amount. I don’t find 20% off a $49 bag to be a really good deal (It’s still about $40!). But I recently bought a purse originally priced at $130 for $40. I’m betting that this bag will last longer than a bag originally priced at $49, so the value in my mind (and hopefully in reality) is greater.
I only buy super trendy items at big, huge discounts…in fact, they’re usually discounted so much because they’re not quite trendy anymore. But I still try to only buy clothes on sale–stores have sales so often that I really see no point in paying full price for anything. Also, they bring the new seasons out so early that by the time I’m ready to purchase clothes for that season, they’re usually already marked down.
I love finding great novelty shoes for $5 at discount stores, but for true all day comfort, I find I have to pay at least $50.
For specifics, I think $90 is not unreasonable for a pair of jeans, provided they’re RIGHT in all the important ways. I think $130 for a dress, $75 for a blouse or $40 for a glorified t-shirt is ridiculous. $15/T or $30/blouse sounds about right to me. Dresses could go up to $40 or so. It takes $40 or $50 for pants before I start balking at the price.
I like the idea of shopping for sales so that I get more bang for my buck with my limited shopping budget. I just have to watch out that I don’t come home with quantity vs. quality.
April 16, 2008 at 7:36 pm
I will usually pay more for pants (I’m petite and it’s a pain trying to find stuff that fits and looks good) and shoes. But I realized that the prices for stuff that I really like and wear goes all over the place… just because something is more expensive doesn’t mean I’ll use it more.
Some of my best buys:
yellow coat: $40
black BR pants: $98
Tahari heels: $60
forever 21 dress: $10
dress from Loehmanns: $30
dress from Nordstrom Rack: $16
suede purse from a street fair: $15
herringbone coat: $12
forever 21 jacket: $32
So now when I buy things I try to decided if I will REALLY like it before I do. I passed on a $30 BCBG dress marked down from $195 because it wasn’t just right.
April 17, 2008 at 8:12 am
I am like you, and don’t buy much that isn’t on sale. I do see a difference with quality in some of the stores, but even that increase isn’t enough to justify buying it for me.
I usually ask for things as gifts, and my aunts who only buy designer things, will get me nice items.
Buying for myself though… $60 was the most I spent on shoes, and that was for a pair of decent sneakers/running shoes that were a necessity. Otherwise I go for under $40 or only on sale shoes. Shirts: anything above $30 is too much, and even that is sometimes too high. Pants: I really like Express jeans/pants but they are pricy so I wait for sales. Otherwise, it’s $30 again from another store. I don’t use purses, so anything is too much there. Dresses I will spend a little more, becuase I usually wear them for special occasions. I think there $50-75 would be my range. And I don’t really enjoy shopping, so I only go when I need to. (i.e. jeans just got a hole in the knee, so time for a replacement)
It might be extreme, but I can’t really see myself paying full price for anything, a lot of times it’s just so crazy expensive. I don’t really care about being trendy, so as long as I don’t look like a total dufus I am ok getting things from last season or on sale.
April 17, 2008 at 8:34 am
Thanks for all the comments!! Looks like most of you feel more of less the same way I do!
I agree that quality is important. If you’re going to be wearing something frequently you don’t want it fading or falling apart!
April 27, 2008 at 4:26 pm
I have had this post saved in my reader for weeks, wanting to come back to it. now I’m kind of glad I waited–these comments were so interesting!
I don’t have a particularly set pattern with my clothes spending, though I do have a $100/month budget at present. But, to be honest, I move money around when I want to, so that’s not a great barometer either.
I’m trying really hard, like everyone else wrote, to buy things I *really like* versus ones that are cheap or kind of cute or whatever.
What I’ve found is it helps me buy less.