How much do you spend on clothes a month?

[MrsRobinson79]

To look stylish/polished? And where do you shop? Any tips for not too expensive places appropriate for almost 40 year old.

I haven't got loads of money spare despite us earning ok it all goes on childcare/bills etc but I would like to start trying to budget an amount per month so I look ok! I've got a few nice work dresses and a couple of pairs of jeans but most of my stuff is really old. I end up buying when I'm really desperate ie shoes/coat are falling apart. Need to try and be a bit more proactive.

[outofdepth]

Following your thread MrsRobinson

My work now let us where whatever we want - and as I walk to work I have gleefully embraced skinny jeans, gap tshirts and Nike trainers (I am saving so much money on not having to replace tights!)

However, I look like an aging teenager and would love some tips to look cool and polished yet still embracing jeans

[lisam78]

It depends, usually around 200 per month, and that includes hair/makeup. Some months I spend more (autumn) and some less (summer). I'm 38, and don't slavishly follow fashion, and have been trying to put this money away each month so I can perhaps do 2 or 3 big shops each year, and buy real quality pieces. But, the money burns a hole in my pocket- I really need to learn to be more restrained!

[Tropicana1980]

I've been keeping track of spending on clothes since the start of the year and it's £760 so about £85 per month. That's just clothes not hair and beauty, although I don't spend loads on hair or beauty probably about £20 a month.

I'm mid 30s and work in a professional environment so need to look smart but don't need to look overly formal (no suits needed).

I buy higher end high street so Reiss, Whistles, Hobbs, Baukjen etc. However I only buy in sales or via eBay. I'm also a massive TK Maxx fan.

Examples of things I have picked up this year are:

two Baukjen dresses each for under £30 for work from the sale section of the website

Boden skirt around £10 - from the sale section plus I had a £10 voucher

Brand new but without tags Whistles dress for about £25 off eBay

Gorgeous leather jacket £150 from TKMaxx.

Reiss dress £30 at the very very end of the sale

I've also been a guest at two weddings and got dresses for each from TK Maxx - one was a Chloe dress for £60 the other dress was £30 (can't recall the brand but it received loads of compliments)

So my money stretches quite a long way and I buy quality.

[SpiritedLondon]

I've been a little bit restrained in the clothes shopping department over the last 3 years since I've been forking out a lot for childcare and only working part-time. ( averaging less than £75 per month including hair and make up) I'm now about to start a new job and since my daughter has just started school I have a little money to spend. I have had a bit of a spree on eBay but have focused my attention on brands such as Hobbs, Jaeger etc. I have scored a silk dress by Fenn Right Manson, a tailored jacket and a silk shirt by Jaeger, an Autograph wool overcoat in Navy ( I have a nice black one from last year) and a cashmere cardigan for less than £100. I am also following a number of dresses from good brands and will keep an eye on the prices. ( usually between £20 - £30 for lightly used which I don't mind)Away from eBay I have purchased 2 Jaeger dresses in jersey for around £40 each, one from TK Maxx and one from an outlet store. ( Both Jaeger and Hobbs have good outlet stores online). I like a lot of stuff from Cos ( marmite brand apparently) and will check out the sale which has just started. Also &OtherStories although I'm less keen on their fabrics. I like Kin from John Lewis and they've just launched another brand whose name I can't remember ( might need to wait for the sale on that one). I have very mixed feelings about M&S I do buy from Autograph occasionally. For shoes I love Cos ( in the sale preferably) and desperately wish I'd bought the yellow suede block heels at £125 which sold out. I would like Kurt Geiger but it's often too expensive so I check out Clarks Artisan range as a more affordable option. I like edgy jewellery - particularly unusual necklaces and shop at Cos for those. Handbags are good value at stories although you can score something nice on eBay for a good price ( I have my eye on a lovely leather bag in Oxblood). Too much information? I'm off shopping with my mother "up town" tomorrow so will hopefully add to my haul.

[SpiritedLondon]

Ps This is for my new job.....I dont't wear very fancy stuff at home. I did see a lady recently in my home town who made me stop in my tracks. She had a very nice looking Sports luxe ( I hate to say track suit trousers but they kind of were) in a navy, probably cashmere sweater also in navy, trendy white trainers, cool sunglasses, beautiful expensive looking bag and very swishy hair.... I admired her style very much but it did make me feel like a dogs dinner. I vowed to up my game - hence all the stalking of lady brands on eBay.

[Mirandawest]

Am 41. Not trendy or elegant. Try not to spend too much. Probably an average of about £30 a month. That doesn't include hair which is £30 every 6 to 8 weeks.

Am hoping I don't need to buy any new boots this winter as that would rather cut into the money I have for me, which includes spending on clothes.

[OhTheRoses]

About £100 if I include shoes, bags and tge occasional coat. Occasionally I have to buy a posh frock for something smart and that probably adds up to the equivalent of another £100.

[PikachuBoo]

I put aside a set amount each month for my clothes and buy every now and then. You need to save up for a coat or boots. But don't need those this year - yippee!

[crazymissdaisy]

probably 150 -200 a month, I put work clothes on my own credit card so I don't feel guilty about them (I realise that's ridiculous but my reasoning is that that's my choice, whereas current account is family living). Bloody tights are the bane of my life, I'm a short hourglass (size 14) and trousers make me look like a cello so I always wear skirts around knee length and five pounds a fortnight on tights. Shops to look polished? (early 40s): phase 8, boden, Hobbs, Jigsaw, LK Bennett and Jaeger in sale....Mint Velvet. John Lewis website has a lot of labels under one roof.

[BackforGood]

I can go for months without buying any clothes, tbh.

[RonaldMcDonald]

I spend on average £3k per year on clothes
This can be
1 pair of trousers
2 pairs of shoes
A coat/jacket
Decent knitted something
1 dress

Or sometimes loads of tripe that I like ( usually when bored ) mostly this shopping is dead to me
As I get older I buy fewer things. They are more likely to be perfect or not at all
I then mix them with tops from Zara/H&M/All Saints/TopShop

[PedantPending]

I have spent about €1k this month on end of summer sales and work clothes for the autumn/winter. Shopped online, so some of the items may be going back.
I have a capsule colour selection of navy and grey, augmented by splashes of colour to alleviate the monotony. I do expect purchases to last some years, though and veer towards classic pieces.

[PNGirl]

Maybe 50 to 100 a month? I wouldn't say I look "polished" as I work in an office with no dress code but I try to buy clothes that aren't immediately identifiable by brand so you can't tell my t shirt is Primark. Most of my stuff is ASOS, Levis, Gap, with the odd bit of other more expensive brands like a J Crew jumper, Jack Wills long cable cardi, Banana Republix coat. Jackets and footwear tend to be more expensive from AllSaints, Diesel, Aquascutum, Ted&Muffy, but I don't buy these often.

I barely spend in the summer as I hate the clothes.

If I needed to dress up a bit for work I'd probably still buy Gap basics and throw in some Whistles, Cos, Weekday, Zara, &OtherStories.

[Hopefully]

About £250 a month on hair, skincare, make up and clothes/accessories. I spend in fits and starts though, so will spend

[Hopefully]

Oh, and I shop in a mixture of H&M/New Look/ASOS type places and Net a Porter/Matches/Selfridges for the odd high end bit, plus very occasional mid range stuff like All Saints/J Crew.

[WellTidy]

I've spent about £1000 this month, but I probably won't spend anything now until January or so. I've bought stuff for Autumn and inter including

White stuff - two skirts, two cardigans, a jumper and a scarf
Phase eight - zip through denim dress, two bat wing jumpers, scarf
M and s - jacket, four pairs of jeggings, pleated skirt, cotton jumper, cable knit jumper, undies
Asos - sequin top
Boden - dress

I probably spend about £2000 a year on clothes for myself. All high street.

[maggiethemagpie]

I'm 39, I have recently tried to reign my spending in a little and reckon I spend about £50 /month on clothes - used to be £100-£150.

This month I have bought a dressing gown from Next for £20 with £10 off voucher (so £10), slipper boots £10, pyjamas £15 and a dress from Sainsbo's for £10. So all discounted/cheap stuff.

I tend not to buy clothes at full price if I can help it, I would rather wait til the sales to buy the more quality things. I'm coming to the conclusion that there's not much difference between, eg peacocks/sainsbos and next/ m and s except the latter are trading on their name so charging more for similar quality.

[MrsRobinson79]

Thanks for everyone's responses I'm inspired! I reckon at the moment I could budget £50 a month just for clothes.

Tropicana1980 & spiritedlondon you sound like you make your money go a really long way - this is what I need to do. Thanks for all the suggestions of brands/where to buy.

crazymissdaisy £5 a fortnight on tights!!! I'm obviously a scruff as I wear mine to death

[OhTheRoses]

Hair. The older you get, the more you spend. £100pcm . The older you get you have the money to spend on clothes but become limited because you end up having to opt for sensible shoes so everything looks meh, so it isn't worth spending - except on flat boots

[Oly5]

About £350 per month, it's where all my personal spending money goes

[Ragwort]

I buy all my clothes from charity shops, I shop carefully, know where to look, make friends with the people who work in charity shops and only wear 'designer' or 'good' makes.

I hardly spend anything on my hair - but being grey doesn't bother me - I go to 'model nights' for cheap or free haircuts.

[chanie44]

I spend about £50 a month plus birthday and Xmas money.

I do take advantage of offers and sales, so I do get value for money. I'll ship all over the place and recent purchases have been Uniqlo, gap, sainsburys, French connection.

I seem to gravitate towards comfortable, unfussy clothes. I'm going to focus on more expensive accessories like handbags, shoes, sunglasses for a more polished look.

[Vintagegirl1]

Too much! Probably about £200 a month. Not all clothes,I also like makeup,perfume and lingerie. It's a bad habit.