cost per wear - your best value pieces

sdkitty

sdkitty

O.G.
Jan 16, 2006
39,772
92,267
#1
I never know for certain which clothing I'll wear a lot until after I own it. I think one of the best values I have is a black leather jacket. I got it at a consignment shop for $50 about five years ago. It's a Nordstrom brand jacket and if I never wear it again it will have paid for itself many times over. I'd estimate I've worn it 150 times and at that price the cost per wear is 33 cents.
On the other hand, I have a suede coat that I paid $250 for an I've hardly worn it.
What are your workhorses?
 
#2
I bought an ankle length chocolate brown corduroy skirt (a-line) from Eddie Bower in 2001. I spent 200.00 ish on it, and for the first 5 years I wore it literally 3 days a week. Up until this year I STILL wore it at least once a week, and now im STILL wearing it at least once a month (as the wardrobe grows slowly but surely it gets worn less). So all in all, I MUST have worn it at LEAST 1000 times. And that is a conservative estimate.


Picked up a black A line skirt that goes mid-calf with cut out circles in it and a blue satin lining that shows through, and hangs down an inch below black seem. Picked it up for around 60 shekels (under 20 bucks Canadian) and have worn it at LEAST 100 times since purchase 6 years ago.

Those would probably be the top two workhorses in my closet
 
#3
A pair of black Levi's skinny jeans i bought for $60 when I was a freshman in college. At the time I thought this was so expensive, but I've probably worn them two to three times every week for the past 2.5 years. At this rate, the cost per wear is $0.23!

I upgraded to a pair of Joe's Jeans that I bought for $175 but I definitely expect to abuse them. :smile:
 
#4
of all clothing pieces, i definitely get the most utility out of jackets, especially all my leather ones, which i wear in regular rotation almost year round!

in terms of accessories, definitely jewelry, since it basically doesn't wear down and i sport some pieces daily.
 
#5
my soia and kyo long down jacket!
i live in boston and the winters are killer.
im also short and tiny and finding a long down jacket that im not swimming in is hard.
soia and kyo was the first brand that had down jackets that flatter my petite frame.
i brought it like 2 -3 years ago? full price at macys for close to $300, which was expensive! cz there's always sales for winter coats and you could easily get a great one on sale for $100 for a lot of great brands if u were a bit taller. but alas, none of them fit me so i forked my $$ over for the soia and kyo one. im so glad i did. i wear it everyday in the winter. it's been the one coat that kept me warm and flattered my size.
 
#6
also wanted to add my diamond studs.
im not really big on wearing accessories and jewelry. but having bare ears felt a bit.. too bare? so i splurged, brought some diamond studs. it's classic and elegant. i wear it everyday and i sort of just forget it's there.
 
#7
My Mackage coats. Joes double knit pants, and my riding boots. During the winter at least. In the summer it's my SFAM Nakita Dojo's , TR joey super t's, any well fitting tank tops, and drivng shoes.
 
#8
a white silk Hanii Y skirt i bought at the barney's warehouse sale 3 years ago. i wear it at LEAST once a week (i'm wearing it today actually). i don't know what it is about the skirt- i have other white skirts as well, but this one is simply my go-to.

i also have a few vintage silk camisoles i pick up at vintage or thrift stores that i wear almost daily. i think at most one was $5, and i have had those for many many years.
 
#9
Definitely winter coats ... I buy 1 new coat from Burberry each year and wear it for 75% of Winter days for that year, while rotating in previous years' purchases : ) Living in the northeast, this means tons of wear from October through April!

I bought my most recent coat in late Fall 2009 for about 1k, but I have worn it for over 4 months straight, almost daily.
 
#10
My leather jacket! I wear my SWORD Volterra (chocolate) about 5 times a week from fall through spring. Since I live in SF where the climate is mild year-round, I can wear my leather jacket on most days of the year. This is the reasoning I used when I bought my second leather jacket, a black Rick Owens moto style...which I LOVE but wear much less often because I'm scared I'll ruin it! :rolleyes:
 
#11
KristyDarling said:
My leather jacket! I wear my SWORD Volterra (chocolate) about 5 times a week from fall through spring. Since I live in SF where the climate is mild year-round, I can wear my leather jacket on most days of the year. This is the reasoning I used when I bought my second leather jacket, a black Rick Owens moto style...which I LOVE but wear much less often because I'm scared I'll ruin it! :rolleyes:
Click to expand...

You didn't ask but my advice is wear your Rick Owens jacket...If it's black you shouldn't have to worry much about hurting it and you'll regret it more if you don't wear it. Enjoy!
 
#13
My trench coat - it has a removable cashmere lining, and I wear it basically at all temperatures between 60 degrees down to 40... or whenever it's raining. And I've had it for the last 8 years, and it still looks new

It's CPW is right around 10 cents.

I also have a leather blazer I wear when I want a semi-edgy suit, or when a trench isn't appropriate.

My suits are my basic work wardrobe, but I have several. So they have a CPW of about $2 right now.
 
#15
nyer said:
Absolutely. I think the key to making smart purchases is only buying what you can wear TODAY.
Click to expand...

SDKitty and nyer -- oh, you are both so right! I bought it thinking that I'd wear it all the time because it IS supremely versatile, but I can't help but baby that jacket and handle it with kid gloves...I actually REVERE it! It's painfully obvious how non-luxe I am, isn't it? :rolleyes: I wear it for dressier events or the rare night out with my husband, but being a work-at-home mother of 2, those occasions are few and far between! I need to get over my phobia of "hurting" my RO jacket and actually rock it once in awhile!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top
Back