Save Big With Cost Per Wear: Mastering the Art of Pocket-friendly Fashion
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Crunching numbers never looked this stylish!
Do you find solace in retail therapy? Are you someone whose shopping spree knows no control? Are you known as a shopaholic person? Is your closet always overflowing with unworn and unused clothes and accessories?
If this sounds like you, then babe, you are definitely at the right place!
We girls really love shopping. However, damaging our environment and bank balance for the sake of this love does not make any sense!
You will be shocked to know that a whopping 28% of the clothes and accessories are collecting dust in an average American’s closet. Yet our shopping spree never seems satiated.
Here’s another alarming situation that you may or may not be aware of! The USA generates a staggering 34 billion pounds of used textiles. It is, therefore, necessary that we start embracing the concept of slow fashion.
And to accomplish this goal, we need to blend Maths with fashion. Wanna know more? Keep scrolling!
What do you mean by Cost Per Wear?
CPW or Cost Per Wear can be a complete game changer for you. Once you get to wrap your head around this concept, you will never throw your money away on whatever you want.
So, basically, you will have to divide the total cost of the item by the total number of times you will wear it.
Lemme give you an example!
So, maybe you want to buy a $500 dress. Say, you will wear it twice every month throughout the summer. And summer lasts for about 100 days in your region. So the cost per wear for this dress will be $5.
5 Perks of Embracing Cost Per Wear Method
If you are wondering why you need a cost-per-wear calculator, then this is what you should see!
1. Improved financial health
Spending unnecessarily on clothes and accessories just because you had a nasty fight with your best friend is a total waste of money. Impulse buying, be it for retail therapy, staying up to date with the latest trends or just because a clearance sale is going on, is a total waste of money.
When you start keeping track of the cost per wear for all your clothes and accessories, it will help you shift to mindful shopping. And you will be in a position to save BIG!
2. Less is more!
Minimalist fashion is appealing and aesthetic. It not only keeps your styling simple and sorted but also brings you peace of mind.
No unnecessary spending, no mindless pomp and show. Only sheer elegance. In fact, mastering the art of minimalist fashion is not easy at all. It comes with practice.
Start tracking cost per wear and step an inch closer to classy and evergreen fashion.
3. Decluttered wardrobe
No one loves an overflowing, packed wardrobe where finding an outfit is as difficult as searching for a needle in a haystack.
CPW keeps your shopping spree under check. And you will be astonished to see how organized and decluttered your closet looks eventually.
4. A clean and green environment
Fast fashion clothes are quite short-lived. We tend to discard them after just a few times of usage. And this results in a humongous accumulation of textile wastage every year.
Choose slow fashion by calculating cost per wear, and you get to experience and leave behind a clean and green planet for future generations.
5. A better work environment for garment workers
Fast fashion is cheap and easily accessible. And the garment workers suffer the most while trying to cater to satiate your need for fast fashion clothes. They get poor wages and operate in unhealthy, dingy and suffocating work environments.
Tracking cost per wear will encourage you to invest in timeless style and slow fashion. This, in turn, will improve the work environment and wages for these garment workers.
How Can You Get Started with Cost Per Wear Strategy?
To get started with cost per wear method, you need to keep in consideration a few things:
1. Is it a one-time trend or a timeless style?
Calculate the cost of the outfit not just on the basis of money but in terms of its style as well. Or is it a classic, timeless piece?
The former will significantly result in a high cost per wear. If you are purchasing something because it is the latest rage in the fashion industry right now, then hold on.
Wait for a couple of months. You will notice the craze dying down.
Start investing in timeless cuts and styles that help you look elegant and reduce your cost per wear.
2. How is the quality – cheap or flimsy?
Settle down for high-quality garments that testify to exceptional craftsmanship. Understand that the money spent on cheap, flimsy clothes is a complete waste of your hard-earned money.
Off-the-rack pieces do not make you look elegant and classy. Rather, they end up gathering dust in your wardrobe. Sooner or later, you dump them.
Calculate cost per wear for high-end garments and opt for mindful purchase.
Pay attention to details such as high stitch density, buttonholes, matching patterns, and high-quality fabric (read cotton, linen, wool).
3. How often will you wear this particular outfit?
If you are investing in seasonal clothes, then ensure that you buy some high-quality, long-lasting and evergreen pieces.
Since you will be wearing them seasonally, it is better to analyze if the style is timeless or not. Also, pay attention to the fabric.
Spending money on pieces that won’t last long and will remain unworn will definitely increase your cost per wear. And we do not want that!
4. What is the lifespan of this item?
Some garments do come with a finite lifespan. For instance, your socks, handkerchief, undergarments, etc.
On the other hand, blazers, jackets, and trousers are something that can last for years to come.
Investing in the latter will definitely reduce your cost per wear, thereby adding to your elegance and saving your hard-earned money. Also, they help you choose sustainable fashion over fast fashion.
What Impact Will Cost Per Wear Have on Your Closet?
Now you may feel that calculating the cost per wear every time you are out shopping will hamper your personal style. And that you may end up facing a style rut.
Fret not! This is not gonna be the case.
Tracking cost per wear helps in making a smart purchase, which in turn declutters your closet and helps you build a capsule wardrobe.
Understanding the cost and having a capsule wardrobe helps you make mindful picks, and yet you can style your limited outfits in different ways.
The key is to invest in classic pieces such as neutral tops, denim jackets, jumpsuits, satin shirts, silk scarves and so on.
Buying clothes consciously so that you can style these outfits whole year round is indeed a great step towards embracing cost per wear.
All you need to do is to calculate the cost per wear and pick staple pieces, and you are sorted!
4 Surefire Tips and Hacks to Track Cost Per Wear Better
1. Wishlist. Research. Calculate CPW. Repeat.
If you like a clothing item and want to add it to your closet, then get ready to do some real research.
Go through reviews and ratings in case you are buying something online. Double-check the quality if you are visiting an offline platform. Check if the color is fade-proof or not. Look for damages.
In short, research as if your life depends on it! Once you are satisfied at all levels, get yourself the outfit.
2. Introspect. A lot!
Ask yourself if you really need the outfit. Analyze how many times you are going to wear it throughout the year.
Is it going to be an occasion wear or a regular wear? Keep it on the wishlist and sleep on it for multiple days at a stretch.
If you still feel the urge to buy it, then calculate the cost per wear for the garment. Go ahead and buy only if the CPW turns out to be low.
3. Save money before buying clothes.
If you are really into a specific outfit and can’t get it out of your head, then babe, you better have money to buy it.
See, the idea is not to disrupt your existing bank balance. Just work a little harder, save the exact amount that you would need to buy the garment and voila!
One trick that my BFF and I use is the amount of money we are thinking of spending on clothes or a trip, we invest that, and whatever return we earn from that after 6 months to 1 year, we spend that guilt-free!!
4. Don’t make a new purchase just to impress the world.
Dress to impress your wallet, not everyone else in the room. You can look professional and chic even when you embrace the cost-per-wear concept and have a capsule wardrobe.
So, plan your finances and take care of other significant needs. Splurging unnecessarily on different outfits without caring about their cost per wear is a total waste of money.
Final Thoughts on Cost per Wear
Instead of spending money recklessly on any and every item your mind takes a fancy for, adopt the cost per wear formula. It does not only benefit you but also makes things better for the garment workers and the environment.
Also, embracing minimalist fashion will keep you sorted. No confusions. No frustration. Complete peace.
We already have so many battles to fight. Why add another one to the list? Go through the article to understand the cost-per-wear formula closely. And implement it in your life.
In case you still have some questions, feel free to drop your comments!
See ya’ll super soon! Toodles, xo
