I don’t have to buy clothes very often. Between getting clothes for my birthday and Christmas, getting free t-shirts from events such as 5ks or FINCON, and occasionally receiving other people’s castoffs I have almost all the clothes I need. Since I’ve had an established wardrobe at my current size the only clothes I need in a typical year are new socks and underwear.
I’ve found that my pants and shirts take a long time to wear out. This is despite not spending much on them. My cheap clothes last a long time. I have a couple of pairs of shorts that I bought at a thrift store for $1.15 each that I’ve had for years and they get a lot of wear. I have a pair of jeans that I bought for $5 new that has also lasted for years. I don’t have a bunch of shorts and pants (due to my expanding waist line) so they get worn a lot and they still hold up. I probably have a lifetime supply of shirts. I have donated or thrown away a bunch of my old shirts to reduce my supply of shirts, but I keep getting more free shirts.
Clothes aren’t important to me so I don’t want to spend a lot of money on them. I do try to dress professionally for work. Other than that as long as I don’t look like a vagrant (or at least look like an upscale vagrant) and I’m comfortable then I’m not worried about my clothes. If I could reduce my clothing to one set of clothes for each day of the week I’d be perfectly content with that.
I’m the same way. We also buy a lot of my stuff at a couple of stores that happen to have outlet locations near us, and we also know what times of year they have ‘extra’ percentage off available. This makes for my clothing budget to go a very long way. Plus, being a guy helps, as I only have two pair of work shoes (one black and own brown) and one reversible belt!
Being a guy definitely helps, we aren’t expected to have as much variety in our wardrobe. I have one reversible belt myself and one pair of work shoes myself. But I do also have tennis shoes, hiking boots, and crocs.
I like that- upscale vagrant. That’s probably close to what I’d consider my style of apparel. Just like you, I have the decent business clothes I need from time to time, but my every day outfits will never be confused with high fashion.
If I’m not working I don’t feel the need to impress anybody. Upscale vagrant is good enough.
I tend to be the same way. I might get some clothes as gifts, but that makes up 99% of the clothes I have. As my Dad always says…if people don’t like how you look then they can turn their head.
Ha… I like your Dad’s saying. I’m going to use that.
I’ve noticed over the years that I just don’t buy clothes either. I like seeing new stuff and there are things that would be nice to have, but at the end of the day it just doesn’t matter to me. I own 1 pair of jeans, 3 khaki shorts, about 10 t-shirts, and 4 collared shirts. Outside of that I do have suits/ties that I wear for work, but my personal wardrobe is pretty scarce. I like keeping stuff for 5-10 years. š
Wow. You really have your personal wardrobe down to a minimum. I’m not sure if I’ll ever get mine down that far. Most of my stuff does last 5-10 years and I seem to get free clothes at a faster rate than I can wear them out.
I have the opposite problem. I love love love clothes. I have, however, learned to buy things that are of value, quality rather than just the fad of the season.
I figure if my clothes were never in style than they can’t go out of style.
I do spend a lot of money on clothes because I’ve found that my wardrobe needs some updating. In my work, I wear through clothes, so I need to keep on it.
Luckily, I don’t wear through clothes very fast.
Clothing is important to me in the sense that I know I need to present an appropriate appearance at work, and that my leisure clothes need to be seasonally appropriate, modest, neat, and in good repair. I take very particular care of my clothing, and make repairs to it too. My garments literally last for decades. I usually spend very little but this year I returned to office work and needed to purchase a quantity of suitable clothes, including some new garments. It was the most money I’ve spent on clothing all at once in more than 30 years; a shock to the system!
If your garments are lasting for decades then you are doing pretty well with your clothing budget.
” If I could reduce my clothing to one set of clothes for each day of the week Iād be perfectly content with that. “-You do realize that Einstein had 7 of the same outfits. He didn’t want to spend time thinking about clothes. You made me think of that! Have a great weekend!
I wouldn’t compare myself to Einstein. Hope you have a great weekend too.
When I was younger I spent a heck of money on sneakers. However now I really don’t spend much money on clothing. I would say I wear my clothing until well my wife says I need to make a change. I don’t think it really worth it. With so much other things I can spend and save money on I rather it not be clothing.
Hubby and I are the same way, we juet don’t shop. When I do, I always check the thrift stores first. Having said this, it has caught up with us, we both REALLY need some clothes. Having just had a baby and being in between maternity and regular clothes + the change of season I need a few items, my 2 pairs of pants and 3 shirts aren’t cutting it haha.