Cost per wear? Do you care?

[babysunshine]

On a few threads people have discussed cost per wear - do we look at a how much a bag costs us in terms of how much we wear it vs. just how much we want it.

Early on I used to spend more on my "special" bags and spend far less on my daily work horse bags. My thinking was that the regular use bags would eventually get worn so I didn't want to spend "good" money on them.

Then something clicked in my head and I decided I wanted the bags I use every day to be my best / favorite / highest quality bags so that I get the most happy most often. So I "forced" myself to make my daily use bags my most expensive bags and my special occasion bags my least expensive bags. As an unexpected side effect of this process, I realized that it not only made me happier but also was more cost effective.

So now I spend the most on what I'll wear the most. And I monitor cost per wear although I don't yet have a metric that I measure against. Anything I don't wear often gets sold no matter how much I may love it theoretically. I obviously don't love it in reality because I'm not wearing it.

Do you consider cost per wear? Do you have a set amount per wear your bags have to meet? Do you spend the most on your most used bags, on "special' bags, on something else? What makes your decision on how you spend your bag dollars across your purchases?

Yes I consider cost per wear, and it is a means of justifiying to mostly my family when they ask if it is neccessary to spend so much on a handbag . But then I realize that it is true that generally we get what we pay for, especially since certain brands do have the reputation for good quality, whether the bag is a everyday work tote or a special events clutch. Even if I were to purchase just their small or mini bags for example, it makes me happy that this is a mini bag or clutch I love at first sight. I try to use my most expensive bags as much as I can, and they aren't even my work bags, but on weekends. Normally my bags don't just sit around though, I make sure that all bags are in my rotation.

 

[UpUpnAway]

I don't do the math. But a bag has to fit my lifestyle and be usable. I have a seven bag collection (five premier bags, 2 contemporary bags -Longchamp).

Between the seven, I am utterly satisfied. Two of the bags get heavy use but I have a bag for all occasions between them.

 

[sneedonist]

Yes I consider cost per wear, and it is a means of justifiying to mostly my family when they ask if it is neccessary to spend so much on a handbag .

I agree! Cost per wear helps me justify my purse budget, especially since I have a family. Like Amazona, I buy discounted, used bags whenever possible. I try to think about bags in relation to a $ a day. So a bag that is $500 is a bag that I intend on wearing it everyday for 1.5 years. It's easy to justify spending money on work bags because I do wear my work bag every week day. My fun bags are harder to calculate, which are usually carried on only weekends or weekday grocery runs. Currently, giving my fun purses to family members is what helps me justify getting out of this worry about cost per wear, and answer questions about my bag budget. I've given two purses already.

 

[Annabel Lee]

No, I really don’t consider cost per wear. If I did, I’d never buy any expensive bags, and that would be a shame because there are a lot of reasons I find them worth the price beyond CPW.

I do focus on finding bags I will use. When I get a new bag, I try it on with a few different outfits to make sure I like carrying it and that it adds something to my outfit/provides a use my other bags don’t. If it passes that test, it stays. If not, it goes back.

 

[Sparkletastic]

I'm thinking CPW has to be different for different levels of bags. If I buy a Hermes Birkin, I can't expect to get a CPW that I could achieve for an Ann Klein bag unless it was my only bag and I wore it for yeeeaaars.

That is one factor that has made it difficult for me to set a number for my CPW across my bags. The other is that I don't yet know what is reasonable. If I was renting the bag, would I pay $200 to have a Chanel on my arm for one wear? Probably not. But owning my Chanels, I haven't gotten any of them down to a $200 CPW yet. But I bought my one Coach bag resale for $160. I've worn it 12 times so it's CPW is only $13. I get more happy from my Chanels so CPW is a way of ensuring I wear and rotate my bags but it isn't a benchmark I can yet use to be a gatekeeper for buying.

So, everyone's input is really helping me consider what is reasonable!

 

[Sparkletastic]

Yes I consider cost per wear, and it is a means of justifiying to mostly my family when they ask if it is neccessary to spend so much on a handbag .

I agree! Cost per wear helps me justify my purse budget, especially since I have a family.

Thanks for these comments!! I hadn't thought about the family aspect. Do the two of you discuss the CPW with your SO's from a budgetary standpoint or are you saying other family is commenting?

I'm lucky in that my broader family doesn't even notice my bags. I come from a truly fashion clueless bunch. Lol! DH is a total enabler so if anything I can't tell him what I want because he'll go behind my back and buy it when I was trying to wait or save for it. He's the spender. I'm the saver. So he's always doing the justifying on his stuff. 😂
When we married we were in such a saving mode that for years I only had one el cheapo purse. Then it grew to a few el cheapo purses. 😖 Now I don't have to consider budget that much (but I do stay in my lane price wise!) but I don't like to feel like I wasted money - hence me trying to see if CPW is a reasonable benchmark.

 

[sneedonist]

i think cost per wear is not only a good barometer for thinking about expensive bags but also cheaper bags. When I first got into purses in 2008,I bought a coach bag for $250, and it lasted me two years to which I carried to work everyday. so I definitely got my ideal cost per wear. But if I had bought, like I prefer now, a luxury brand, the bag would probably still be in my closet. Because of cost per wear, I have lower expectations for bags that are under $500 and feel lucky if those bags can be carried for 1.5 years. Right now I carry a Ted baker bag that I bought for $250 to work everyday. since I bought it last September, I am happy that it has lasted this long. (I didn't want to waste my money on this lower end bag, but it was just too cute to pass up.)

I fully expect an LV bag to last at least three or more years depending on how much it was. I don't think that is an unreasonable expectation.

 

[sneedonist]

Thanks for these comments!! I hadn't thought about the family aspect. Do the two of you discuss the CPW with your SO's from a budgetary standpoint or are you saying other family is commenting?

I'm lucky in that my broader family doesn't even notice my bags. I come from a truly fashion clueless bunch. Lol! DH is a total enabler so if anything I can't tell him what I want because he'll go behind my back and buy it when I was trying to wait or save for it. He's the spender. I'm the saver. So he's always doing the justifying on his stuff. 😂
When we married we were in such a saving mode that for years I only had one el cheapo purse. Then it grew to a few el cheapo purses. 😖 Now I don't have to consider budget that much (but I do stay in my lane price wise!) but I don't like to feel like I wasted money - hence me trying to see if CPW is a reasonable benchmark.

My husband is usually the one who I have to negotiate with and he is a reluctant enabler. It depends if he has some guilt about not buying me anything for a holiday around the corner .

I'm so into purses right now, that I am trying to justify a birkin on a cost per wear argument. If I wear it for the next forty years of my life (I'm 34 and in great health), I'm definitely getting at a $1 a day! LOL! I tell him "but only if you buy it for me now! The clock is ticking!"

 

[Sparkletastic]

my husband is usually the one who i have to negotiate with and he is a reluctant enabler. It depends if he has some guilt about not buying me anything for a holiday around the corner .

I'm so into purses right now, that i am trying to justify a birkin on a cost per wear argument. If i wear it for the next forty years of my life (i'm 34 and in great health), i'm definitely getting at a $1 a day! Lol! I tell him "but only if you buy it for me now! The clock is ticking!"

love it! 😄

 

[Sparkletastic]

I fully expect an LV bag to last at least three or more years depending on how much it was. I don't think that is an unreasonable expectation.

3 years is VERY reasonable. I'm counting on 10 years from some of mine. It's the only way I personally can justify them. Since I stopped buying crappy bags, I've never had a bag wear out so I'm expecting bags to last until I get sick of them.

 

[ladysarah]

On a few threads people have discussed cost per wear - do we look at a how much a bag costs us in terms of how much we wear it vs. just how much we want it.

Early on I used to spend more on my "special" bags and spend far less on my daily work horse bags. My thinking was that the regular use bags would eventually get worn so I didn't want to spend "good" money on them.

Then something clicked in my head and I decided I wanted the bags I use every day to be my best / favorite / highest quality bags so that I get the most happy most often. So I "forced" myself to make my daily use bags my most expensive bags and my special occasion bags my least expensive bags. As an unexpected side effect of this process, I realized that it not only made me happier but also was more cost effective.

So now I spend the most on what I'll wear the most. And I monitor cost per wear although I don't yet have a metric that I measure against. Anything I don't wear often gets sold no matter how much I may love it theoretically. I obviously don't love it in reality because I'm not wearing it.

Do you consider cost per wear? Do you have a set amount per wear your bags have to meet? Do you spend the most on your most used bags, on "special' bags, on something else? What makes your decision on how you spend your bag dollars across your purchases?

I do take cpw very seriously, but not seriously enough to actually create a spreadsheet and monitor the results. In general I will spend lavishly on things I wear or use every day as I think they are important. When it comes to special occasion bags, I often use vintage and although I don't have enough special occasions to justify high costs, I just don't buy very much, as I still like to keep the quality high.

 

[Metope]

Thanks for these comments!! I hadn't thought about the family aspect. Do the two of you discuss the CPW with your SO's from a budgetary standpoint or are you saying other family is commenting?



I'm lucky in that my broader family doesn't even notice my bags. I come from a truly fashion clueless bunch. Lol! DH is a total enabler so if anything I can't tell him what I want because he'll go behind my back and buy it when I was trying to wait or save for it. He's the spender. I'm the saver. So he's always doing the justifying on his stuff. [emoji23]

When we married we were in such a saving mode that for years I only had one el cheapo purse. Then it grew to a few el cheapo purses. [emoji37] Now I don't have to consider budget that much (but I do stay in my lane price wise!) but I don't like to feel like I wasted money - hence me trying to see if CPW is a reasonable benchmark.

I'm the same way as you, my family has no clue! If I told my mom how much some of my bags cost she'd probably have a heart attack!

My husband was shocked and said "that's more than an x-box" once when he went shopping with me, but when I pointed out to him that he has more video game consoles than I have high end bags, and I use my bags more than he uses his consoles, he got it. Cost per wear is a great way of thinking when spending money, in the end my Givenchy will have been a more economical purchase than his x-box [emoji23]

 

[sneedonist]

Do you have a set amount per wear your bags have to meet? Do you spend the most on your most used bags, on "special' bags, on something else? What makes your decision on how you spend your bag dollars across your purchases?

A $ a day is my low benchmark, but I am totally comfortable with more. For special occasion bags, I am ok with $100-200 a wear. I measure this against my very first special occasion purchase which was for my high school prom. That bag was $50, worn once, bought only because it was an identical colour to my dress, and now no longer in my closet. That was such a waste of money, which is why cost per wear is useful measure for purse budgets for me. If only I had money then to buy a Chanel...

When Kate spade came out with that Asian line of clutches and handbags, I really wanted the Chinese take out bag (now sold on eBay for a whopping $700). But I simply can not see myself wearing it more than once or twice for a special occasion. Or sometimes I see a purse that is cute when traveling and buying souvenirs, even that $30 bag seems too much if I am not going to wear it more than once. That $700 Kate spade bag now seems expensive next to those double c's.

A $ a day is my low benchmark because if I have reached that for cost per wear, then I feel more comfortable buying a new one. The old bags have reached "retirement" so to speak; it can go into the closet, be sold at a reduced price, or given to a family member. But I also am very conservative in that I like to run my bags into the ground and wear them out, before I buy a new one. But I will make a bag go into "early retirement" if I think I can get a good resale price for it (like buyout for early retirement) or if it's more convenient to give the bag away to a family member than to spend the day looking for a present for them.

 

[BleuSaphir]

I don't account Cost per wear/cost per use with any purchase. I justify because I want it.

 

[Marisaa]

A $ a day is my low benchmark, but I am totally comfortable with more. For special occasion bags, I am ok with $100-200 a wear. I measure this against my very first special occasion purchase which was for my high school prom. That bag was $50, worn once, bought only because it was an identical colour to my dress, and now no longer in my closet. That was such a waste of money, which is why cost per wear is useful measure for purse budgets for me. If only I had money then to buy a Chanel...

When Kate spade came out with that Asian line of clutches and handbags, I really wanted the Chinese take out bag (now sold on eBay for a whopping $700). But I simply can not see myself wearing it more than once or twice for a special occasion. Or sometimes I see a purse that is cute when traveling and buying souvenirs, even that $30 bag seems too much if I am not going to wear it more than once. That $700 Kate spade bag now seems expensive next to those double c's.

A $ a day is my low benchmark because if I have reached that for cost per wear, then I feel more comfortable buying a new one. The old bags have reached "retirement" so to speak; it can go into the closet, be sold at a reduced price, or given to a family member. But I also am very conservative in that I like to run my bags into the ground and wear them out, before I buy a new one. But I will make a bag go into "early retirement" if I think I can get a good resale price for it (like buyout for early retirement) or if it's more convenient to give the bag away to a family member than to spend the day looking for a present for them.

Nice post! Practically my thoughts.
I expect bag to last a year, then it is done. It may stay as a retired but used, may go as a gift. Usually I buy bags from $100-$200 price range, couple bags in one year, so I spend about $300 which brings me to around $1 per day.
But my going out purse will probably be at $20 per use , and that is fine. It suppose to add more shine to my look which might be pretty simple without a bag.