Buzz
You spend endless hours trying on clothes, invest hundreds (perhaps even more!) in them, only to open your closet and find there's nothing appealing to wear. It’s a frustrating issue and a costly one at that.
Here are some common shopping mistakes and tips to make your money stretch further.
Prioritize quality
Fast fashion may be tempting, but low-cost clothes often come with lower quality in terms of materials and craftsmanship.
At Quartz, writer Kaila Tyner draws a parallel between our approach to fashion and our approach to food:
Much of the inexpensive clothing we buy in excess is akin to our fast food habits—high in quantity (calories) but poor in quality (nutrition). We live in a culture that consumes a lot of junk. Take a moment to think about your own closet—how many pieces do you own and how often do you actually wear them? My guess is that most of us wear around 20% of our wardrobe 80% of the time. That’s a significant amount of wasted space and wasted money.
These low-cost items also deteriorate quickly. So, when you open your closet, you bypass them because they’re faded, damaged, or simply out of style.
To fight against this trend, take a closer look at your spending. Calculate how much you spend on clothing annually, then figure out how much of that is spent on fast fashion, and redirect that budget towards fewer, higher quality pieces.
Tyner advises:
The average American household earns a median annual income of around $50,000. If they allocate 3% of that towards clothing, they’ll have $1,500 annually, or $125 each month to spend. Rather than purchasing five low-quality fast-fashion pieces for $25 each, they could opt for one or two higher-quality items, priced at $125 or $63 each.
There are a few important considerations here.
First, high-quality items can be pricey, and not everyone is comfortable with spending $200 on a pair of pants, even if they last ten times longer than a $20 pair. However, quality doesn’t always equate to high cost. You can find quality secondhand pieces at consignment stores or on eBay. It may require a little more searching, but given how much time we often spend hunting for fast fashion, you could save time and money by purchasing fewer, better items that you’ll actually wear.
Second, don’t use “I buy quality!” as an excuse to buy things you don’t truly need, as tempting as that might be. One of the attractions of fast fashion is how it satisfies our shopping urges cheaply. If you consistently give into these urges and buy quality, your clothing expenses will accumulate quickly.
Understand Your Fit
One of the main reasons I struggle to find something to wear in my closet is because nothing seems to fit properly. Sure, I can get those pants on, but once they're on, they just look sloppy. As personal stylist Lauren Messiah says, “just because you can get it on doesn’t mean it fits.”
Take the time to learn how different clothing items are supposed to fit. Here are a few resources to help you get started:
A Video Guide to Help You Find the Perfect Fitting Dress Shirt Every Time
How to Get the Right Fit on Trousers/Pants
How Jeans Should Fit
You can also work with a tailor. A good tailor will show you how your clothes should fit and then adjust them accordingly. In fact, consider taking your current wardrobe to a tailor before you go shopping for new clothes. If you’re always struggling to find something to wear, your clothes may just need alterations to make them more wearable. A helpful tip for finding a good tailor: start by having them alter an affordable piece, then check if the seams align and if the fit is just right.
Buy for the reality you live in
It took me a long time to admit that I'm just not the type of person who wears heels. At 5'2", I always felt like I should be that person, but in reality, I'd rather stay short and comfortable. Did that stop me from buying countless pairs of heels over the years? Of course not. I love the idea of being the girl who wears stilettos to dinner, but until I become that girl, I need to buy for the reality of who I am.
As former Get Rich Slowly contributor April Dykman pointed out, if most of your wardrobe supports the life you dream about rather than the life you actually lead, you'll likely end up with a closet full of clothes but nothing to wear. This isn't to say I should never own a pair of heels, but they shouldn't dominate my entire shoe collection.
When making a purchase, ask yourself: how do you spend your daily life? How many similar items do you already own? And what’s the climate like where you live? (For example, if you're in Arizona, you probably don’t need a ton of coats, no matter how tempting they might look on you.)
Take care of your belongings
Finally, maybe the reason you feel like you have nothing to wear is because all the clothes you love have been ruined. Perhaps moth holes are popping up in your favorite sweaters, or maybe you've accidentally shrunk your tops, or you're simply too lazy to iron that shirt you want to wear.
Understanding the basics of clothing care can help, which seems straightforward—just toss your clothes in the washer and press the button, right? But there's actually a bit more to it than that.
For one, your clothing items come with detailed symbols that explain exactly how they should be washed. Learn how to read these symbols (this handy chart can help).
If you can, try to avoid using the dryer. One study presented to the American Chemical Society found that repeatedly drying cotton clothes caused them to crack. This results in pilling and weakens the fabric by 25% or more. At the very least, be sure to keep delicates, like bras, out of the dryer.
The issue of having “a closet full of clothes and nothing to wear” is a common one, and the solution often boils down to a bit more awareness. Most of us don’t give much thought to our wardrobes.
We often shop simply because we feel like spending money. If something catches our eye, we buy it, then toss it into our closet along with a bunch of other forgettable items. However, if you find yourself spending too much on things you never actually use, it might be time to rethink your purchases and give them more consideration.
