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How much is too much? Dress, top, pants, jeans etc

25 replies

CoolToned · 14/08/2016 06:23

How much is the maximum price you will pay for an article of clothing?

Dress - not wedding dress or formal gown, but something you can wear in many occasion or even go to the mall in.

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TronaldDump · 14/08/2016 06:26

Surely it totally depends on your budget? I don't tend to spend much on dresses as I don't live in them. Probably £40-50 for a silk dress (usually Banana Republic sale) or £20-30 for a cotton one. More for work dresses and suits. But I spend £100+ on jeans and cashmere as I get so much wear out of it.

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BikeRunSki · 14/08/2016 06:29

Obviously depends on quality and style. I am getting on a but now (45) and am not as slim as I once was, and find I prefer well made basics that suit me, s d which I will wear a lot,rather than flimsy fast fashion. May £100 for a dress or trousers, for well made quality items? More than that for a cashmere jumper (planning on treating myself at Bora for my birthday in the Autumn). But I shop a lot in sales and second hand.

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CoolToned · 14/08/2016 06:35

I'm lusting after this dress but I find it too expensive.

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ChaChaChaCh4nges · 14/08/2016 06:39

So around £175. I think that's quite a lot - it needs to be perfect, wear once a week for years!

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TronaldDump · 14/08/2016 06:41

It's a sweet dress but doesn't look £175 from the pictures. Have you tried it on? It's cotton and polyester so not luxury fabrics. Are you in Oz or the UK? Maybe there's something similar but less budget-busting out there!

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CoolToned · 14/08/2016 06:42

I'm in Oz. Yeah, it's too much for what it's made of. But I like the style, color, and print!

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puglife15 · 14/08/2016 06:59

That dress is nice but looks like something that cost £50 from those photos.

However - if you can think of at least three occasions you'd wear it to, it fits great and you really really love it, and of course you can afford it, then why not?

The most I've spent on a dress was about £250 but it was a designer silk jersey cocktail dress and I've worn it to death at parties and weddings. Cost per wear is better than dresses I've bought for £25. It's been an absolute saviour. It's 6 years old now and starting to look a little tired, so I'll need to replace it soon and I'm dreading it.

Most every day dresses I've not spent more than £50 on. The only exception I can think of was from All Saints and cost around £90.

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puglife15 · 14/08/2016 07:02

I've just realised that dress you linked to converts into a top and skirt!!

So I'd be willing to pay a bit more if it worked well as all three items.

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CoolToned · 14/08/2016 07:03

I think I will wait until it's heavily discounted. I feel bad about getting it for that price when I got my BLK DNM jacket on sale for less than 300 gbp!

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CoolToned · 14/08/2016 07:04

puglife15 - yup, it's removable so it's a crop top, skirt, and dress.

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puglife15 · 14/08/2016 07:10

Have you tried it on? I can't imagine it fitting well as all three items. Live the idea of it being convertible though, I've got a dress I'd love as a top and skirt.

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SanityClause · 14/08/2016 07:26

TBH, I don't really like it, but I can see that it is quite versatile, so you might well wear each of the pieces quite a lot.

I wouldn't usually spend more than £80 on a dress, unless it was for a special occasion. I would normally spend less, even, than that - maybe £40 to £60. I usually buy dresses for work, though. So, although I wear them a lot, I begrudge spending too much on work!

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CointreauVersial · 14/08/2016 08:01

Personally, I'd think twice before spending any more than £40-45 on an everyday dress.

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bookishandblondish · 14/08/2016 08:20

Ok - I try to buy in sales, but generally I will expect to spend money on dresses (£3-400 non sale) - but I am still wearing dresses bought ten years ago. For me, I tend to find cheaper dresses don't work for my shape - i need tailoring.

Having said, that the last three dresses I bought were £15 from M&S - but very casual hot day maxi dress for hanging out at home but would go shopping in them.

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dinodiva · 14/08/2016 09:02

I tend to just try and stick with shops that are in my price range. Currently I'm on mat leave so I'm more about H&M and sainsburys atm rather than Banana Republic and Anthropologie, although I do try to stick to sales with the latter.

I will invest in the odd really good bra (£50 mark) and get really well measured in Rigby and Pellar. I don't skimp on my scaffolding.

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BuggersMuddle · 14/08/2016 17:14

I probably spend more than most on dresses - generally don't expect change from £150 and have a few at £300+. I don't tend to buy disposable fashion and don't buy often.

Tops would usually be £30 - £60, but I have a few outliers.

Jeans around the £100 mark is standard but I do have a couple of pairs that cost quite a bit more.

I am difficult to dress, so there's definitely an element of 'if it's good quality, fits and flatters, just buy it' when I shop, assuming I can afford it.

I also trawl the sales so have quite a few work staples that were £££ but which I bought at e.g. 70% off. I find the high end high street stores e.g. Harvey Nichols will discount more deeply more quickly so there are often good savings to be had, albeit the clothes would still not be considered cheap.

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Cellardoor23 · 14/08/2016 17:39

I would quite happily pay more on tops than I would on trousers. I think it's because most trousers look the same and you can get away with cheaper brands. I've paid £100 on a cashmere top and I've paid £40 on one (in the sale from monsoon) and the quality appears to be the same.

I would invest your money in a good coat, bag and shoes as that's what you wear the most.

I agree about a good fitting bra. If you haven't got the right undergarment no amount of money will make a top look good.

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Dozer · 17/08/2016 08:09

The dress is nice enough but doesn't look "worth" that amount of money compared to other similar ones, and if you have the figure to look good in it will have lots of cheaper options!

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BabooshkaKate · 17/08/2016 08:18

If you're loving it that much then buy it, regardless of what people think. I personally don't get why people spend £300 on Michael Kors bags but I'm not about to tell them they can get perfectly decent bags from Primark.

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KoalaDownUnder · 17/08/2016 08:21

If you like it, get it.

I love Marcs, it's a bit different and the quality is good.

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Bumshkawahwah · 18/08/2016 23:13

I think it's lovely! Honestly, if you'll wear it a lot, get it. Better yo buy one expensive thing you really like than 10 things you quite like. I'm pretty sure I have way more than ten things on my wardrobe I've not worn, or not worn much and got them because they were a bags in, or in a sale etc.

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RunningLulu · 02/09/2016 10:54

Not worth the money in my opinion. You can get similar dresses for under a 100 surely. It looks so cheap!

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P1nkP0ppy · 02/09/2016 11:02

The most I paid for a dress was an L K Bennett wrap dress for a wedding, I felt like a million dollars in it and it's been worn at least 6 times since.
Otherwise because I'm newly retired and pretty poor my spending is being severely curtailed. In itself that isn't a bad thing because I have too many quite a lot of clothes. I've got rid of the corporate image work clothes (hooray!) so need to be more inventive with what I have 😊

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FeliciaJollygoodfellow · 02/09/2016 11:07

At the moment I would pay up to about £100 for something I know I will wear to death, but once I reach my goal weight and can start my proper capsule wardrobe I will spend more. I hanker for a nice cashmere jumper, really well fitting jeans and an expensive coat!

I like the dress you've linked to, but wouldn't pay more than about £50 for something as trendy as that, but then I have no idea of the quality. I agree, buy one thing you love rather than ten you kind of like.

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