What Are Your Biggest Fashion Money Wasters?
Posted by: Leonora Epstein
Filed in:
style
5:00PM, Wednesday August 12th 2009
I have a closet stuffed with clothes. Yet I have I-have-nothing-to-wear syndrome coupled with the sad realization that I wear only 25 percent of my wardrobe. However, that doesn’t seem to stop me from adding a half-dozen things every few months that usually end up with the other 75 percent of my collection. Apparently, I’m not the only one who wastes money on fashion! The Daily Mail reports that an astonishing 45 percent of swimwear purchased each year by U.K. women goes unworn, wasting the equivalent of about $470 million. It’s clear why swimsuits make for money wasters (stupid ladymag bikini body programs that you vowed to do, but didn’t). What else is going unused in your closet? The answers, after the jump.
- One-off, impulse purchases from H&M-like stores: Quality is a key issue with the cheap wares you may stock up on at fashionable, low-priced chains. After a bunch of washes, they start to look different. They’re also likely to be super trendy, but you don’t realize at the time that you’d ever be off the jersey dress fad.
- Super super-hot high heels. You can’t walk in them comfortably or rock them at work. You likely bought them out of lust, but you don’t have too many opportunities to wear them.
- Clutches: Clutches are cute. They’re kind of annoying, though, and only work in a scenario with many requirements—one where you won’t mind holding something for hours (or look awkward if you do), only need a few things, and probably don’t start off going somewhere straight from work. Similarly, cheap-o handbags are a killer on the wallet. There’s something about fronting for a designer power purse that’s intimidating, so you buy something that ends up looking ratty after a year.
- Too-small sale items: “If I just lose five pounds, this dress will totally fit.” So tempting when something’s a deal, but not quite the right size. That’s always a gamble.
- Vintage buys that look vintage: Buying a fabulous dress that screams ‘50s or ‘60s is fun, but can seem costumey in many circumstances. They are also way more delicate and, therefore, more prone to fabric rips and fastening failures.
What to do with all this crap? Obvi, you should donate clothes to the Goodwill or the Salvation Army a couple times a year. Or, you can throw a “shop my closet” party and trade with your friends. Because, you know, one woman’s scorned clutch is another lady’s ultimate score. (Better to sit in her closet than yours, ha.)
What’s attracting cobwebs at the bottom of your wardrobe?
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Dave The Rave
wrote on August 12 2009 @ 04:38 pm: [report]
I love it when a woman comes into work, BRAGS about the latest shoes she bought, struts them around the office, then comes in the very next day and says she will give them away, as she is (ALREADY) tired of them! Why can’t she just say they don’t fit, she made a mistake, etc., etc. Plus, once you take the clothing and wear them, they are YOURS! Very few stores accept used goods, ESP. shoes!
Plus, as a guy, I have slacks I have worn a few seasons and then I donate them to the local charity if they “don’t fit anymore” or I decide I’ve bought new and want to get rid of them. I cleaned out my closet and gave away PLENTY of shirts and slacks. Most were “gently used”.
So, to any of us who buys the latest style and then complains, deal with it! You are stimulating the economy, as it were! (*wink*)
*sam*
wrote on August 12 2009 @ 04:58 pm: [report]
shoes. tons and tons of flats that,while adorable, go with absolutely nothing that I wear on a daily basis. when it comes down to it, I think I wear 3 pairs of shoes repeatedly, and they’re all brown. yet, I have a ton of other brown shoes that for whatever reason, don’t tickle my fancy as much, or don’t really match anything in my closet save a shirt that I hardly ever wear anymore.. then of course, I have my back up black shoes—just in case I happen to wear that *one* outfit that brown shoes would not match…
*sigh*
TOO_DOPE
wrote on August 12 2009 @ 05:40 pm: [report]
Heels. Oooh, heels. I love you so. I have about 70+ pairs. I have a problem. I know.
MissChaotic
wrote on August 12 2009 @ 06:07 pm: [report]
Purses. I rotate a suede clutch with chain, and a tan Kate Spade satchel. I have a tub full of designer purses that I get as gifts, that I’ve never used. Maybe I should try to start rotating them. I’m trying to force myself into wearing more of my closet.
Coral
wrote on August 12 2009 @ 07:48 pm: [report]
I would say that I wear almost everything in my closet. I used to have a rule that once I put something in my laundry hamper, I could not wear it again or do laundry (of course I would wash some things) until basically everything was worn. But that was to get me into the habit of wearing all my clothes, and I really do wear them all. I am guilty of buying clothes from H&M and the likes that are not the most quality made. I try to buy designer stuff most of the time (only the quality designer stuff—just because it is designer it does not mean it’s quality), but of course I don’t have the money to shop like that all the time. But I feel like if I buy quality pieces, I am actually spending less money in the long run because I will be able to keep them for much longer.
writergirl
wrote on August 13 2009 @ 05:51 am: [report]
I probably have every type of item you named above. Though, I do admit I wer probably 75% of my wardrobe and the other 25% is the “mistakes” as I like to call them.
java82
wrote on August 13 2009 @ 06:19 am: [report]
Dresses. I don’t even wear them all that often, but I melt when I see a gorgeous one in the store. I am making progress, though: I bought an expensive BCBG dress last year and only wore it once to a wedding. I am actually wearing it today at the office, since the summer weather has finally cooperated. Glad to be getting my money’s worth.
Katrina
wrote on August 13 2009 @ 06:38 am: [report]
@Coral - That sounds like a great idea, only problem is that I don’t have a pair of undies for every outfit that I have, so there would definitely have to be more than a few commando days. Plus, being a college student, sometimes you have to do laundry while you can (I’m sharing 2 machines with over 50 people.) But I’m definitely going to try your idea!
Chebs
wrote on August 13 2009 @ 06:46 am: [report]
I have a ton of cute tank tops that I hardly ever wear. They’re the strappy kind, and I’m not comfortable going braless. Depending on where I’m going, I can wear my hair down and cover my bra straps, but for the most part, they stay in my closet.
Coral
wrote on August 13 2009 @ 09:35 am: [report]
@Katrina: Yeah, I would wash my underwear and bras much more frequently. And I would wash some of my jeans and other basic things And for everything else, I did laundry about once every 2 months, which really showed me how many clothes I own and that I should be wearing them more often—cause I must have bought them for a reason.
But yeah I stopped because it can be annoying when you have to do laundry cause then there is a lot to do, especially when you share it with other people.
LunaLena
wrote on August 13 2009 @ 09:51 am: [report]
I have a few ultra feminine frilly and lacey tops that I’ve never really worn. I tend to buy them when they’re on clearance (actually, I buy most of my clothes when they’re on clearance, heh), thinking that I’ll wear them on those days that I want to be girly and pretty and flirty. When those days actually come, I find that I can look just as nice in a cute top and shorts or a skirt, and that the fancy tops are much more impractical to wear, so I end up not wearing them after all.
Lynn
wrote on August 13 2009 @ 09:57 am: [report]
High heels are it for me, too. So many pretty pairs but my lifestyle isn’t a fancy-heels-all-the-time lifestyle, quite sadly. I’m always afraid of looking too high-maintenance, too, so even when heels *would* be OK I sometimes still shy away!
I also bought a custom dress last summer. I hoped it would be done in time for a wedding, but it wasn’t. No big deal, right? Except I spent $100 on it and haven’t had a place to wear it since. And since it was made of cotton, when I washed it (it had deodorant marks on it from the umpteenth time that I tried it on and decided against it), it shrunk and since it was made to fit my exact measurements, now it doesn’t fit.
What a waste. And it’s so pretty, too.
@Chebs- what about a strapless bra?
CaleeKay
wrote on August 13 2009 @ 06:12 pm: [report]
All of you who said you have bought things you shouldnt have and they sit in your closet, google a local place that you can get money for them. Most places may not give you what its worth, but i have a place near me called Platos closet that does it. Or you can always set up an Ebay account and sell them online, which is just as easy!
Of course, if they werent pricey items in the first place, go donate them to a charity/bargain shop/ etc. Or give them to a girl in your neighborhood that could use them more than you! Make that jump and clean out your clothes you dont wear! You will feel oh so much better :]