Are you one of the people who buy dresses for £200 +

[listsandbudgets]

Who are these people?

I need a dress for an important occasion and as I had nothing suitable to wear I went hunting through charity shops. After a couple of hours and a lot of shops, I admitted defeat and headed for the proper shops. I budgeted a maximum of £100 which I hoped was generous.. Almost nothing that was suitable, my size and I liked seemed to be less than £125 A lot of them were £200 plus.

I finally fell in love with a £199 dress thankfully reduced to £79. The lovely sales assistant told me that it was the last one of that line and hadn't sold as it was an unusual size (20 ). The rest had gone at the full price.

So are you one of those people and do you really feel the dresses are worth what you paid? Perhaps I'm just tight with money and need to accept taht this is the price of a nice dress now.

I do. In fact i'd rather spend a lot on an item which i wear often than loads on a one off occasion item. I think the way people buy cheap jeans and shoes they will wear day in day out but spend £200 on a dress they may wear twice is completely the wrong way round. So i happily spend £150 on jeans and brogues - my current jeans i have had for 4 years and are still going strong (i used to go thru 3 pairs of next/gap jeans a year before, so it was a total false economy) and have the brogues re-heeled every year.

I have a difficult shape to dress and used to buy dresses which were £50 and look like a bag o' shite. All ill fitting and awkward (i'm tall and broad with long arms and legs). Now i buy most of my dresses from Diane Von Furstenberg. They fit me lovely and are very flattering. I buy ones i can wear in the day dressed down and then dressed up for occasions.

This way i spend less on clothes than i did before. The only exception i make is i have to attend 4 formal army dinners a year and they have a really unflattering dreadful dress code, and i see all the same people at each. So i have bought a few cheaper dresses which adhere to the code and look okay . But i would resent spending £££s on a dress i dislike and doesn't flatter me.

My figure doesn't change much (still got 20 year old dresses) and i stick to a colour palette and styles which suit me. This means i can mix and match things to stop looks getting stale. I also don't buy really expensive high fashion items which means they date less. It's easier to update the look with cheaper high fashion accessories which give a nod to new trends and still use your wardrobe staples.

Of course if you don't have the money you just don't have the money. But i don't spend a lot on hair or gyms or make-up (again i stick to a few expensive products which i use sparingly and not everyday). Out of my 'spends' allocation of £50 a week i probably put aside £25-50 a month for my once a year items, which i rotate usually as jeans one year, coat the next, boots, dress. I now have 4 lovely coats, 3 pairs of boots etc. They key is looking after them (and dry cleaning and re-heeling can cost a bit too).

It's snobby to say I wear items repeatedly?

I don't think its snobby at all to say that you'd rather own a few classic, good quality items than lots of cheaper clothing.

I'm not a clothes person and don't have any sort of budget for clothing (or much else really :() so its cheap items as and when needed here unfortunately but I'd much rather spend more on a few items that I knew would last and then I wouldn't have to keep throwing £15 away every few months for jeans because my old ones are wrecked.

Although ive lost 4 stone in the past 20 months and still have 3 to go so I am going through clothes at a ridiculous rate at the moment but I have put away £2 for every 1lb I lose and intend to splurge on something when I'm at target.

My budget is pennies atm so all my clothes are from charity shops.
My body size is much bigger than I would wish so I wouldn't spend on 'good' new clothes atm even if I had the money.

My children wear Boden though as it is thick soft clothing and doesn't bother their eczema. It is only new if on sale, otherwise ebay/gumtree.

20 Years ago when I had a 'nice' London life (and was a size 10), I bought a Ralph Lauren blazer for about £450 which was silly money then (and now...). I wore it till it was in shreds, basically, and every single time I put it on I felt amazing). Cost per wear was probably 45p!
I was also bought a Ballgown by a beau, which was tartan silk (Westwood). It was about £1K or something silly.
I wore it about 5 times I think, so cost per wear was tres expensive.
It is amazing and I have put it away for my Dd.

I have to say both were beautifully made and very flattering and felt as though I was wearing nothing at all they were so light, fluid and comfortable. I can absolutely see why people enjoy wearing expensively made clothing.

Each to their own. I could afford the odd 200 dress, however it would need to be special before I'd fork out that kind of dosh. I don't need "corporate wear", I have a choice of whether to wear a "corporate" uniform, which I do, as my employment takes me to houses that aren't the best, so save my own clothes.
Personally, I managed to get 4 days in a nice hotel in Berlin including flights for 200 (last minute), so I'd rather spend the cash on that.

It's worth it if you look after your clothes and keep them a long time. I buy expensive clothes for work (in the sale if possible) and I keep them years. It works out cheaper to have a £200 dress worn for 10-15 years than to have bought 6 £50 dresses worn for 1-3 years in that time. You do have to dry-clean frequently, and invest time to keep things brushed and mended as well.

It does mean I'm not usually in the most fashionable thing, more slightly staid classics. I never buy 'It' bags or shoes, more middle market stuff. I keep shoes for years too. Some of my colleagues buy cheaper shoes then never clean or re-heel them. I don't understand that.

Although, you can only shop like this if you're prepared to spend time finding the right thing and looking for bargains, and if you can get together a chunk of money to spend. If your cashflow doesn't allow that, it's hard.

Today I am wearing a designer pure wool dress found in a discount shop for £34.

I also like going to posh fabric shops and rummaging for really nice pieces of silk in the remnant bin, then making scarves out of them.

Yes I am, but only if it's worth it. It's usually the better quality simpler styles I spend on. My wardrobe is a mix of more expensive high street, normal,high street and charity shop or swishing event things. I only shop a very few times a year though for clothes, so if I buy its to last.

It doesn't work out cheaper if you take into account the cost of the dry cleaning though, does it?

I have nothing against expensive clothes but I am always a bit sceptical of the argument that it works out cheaper in the long run, not least because the cheap=doesn't last/expensive=lasts correlation isn't as neat as all that IME - I do have some expensive things that have lasted decades but also some cheap things, and expensive things that have either not worn well or gone out of fashion.

No
I have about 4 nice dresses that I alternate for weddings / special occasions, a Hobbs dress which was £30 on EBay, a Reiss dress, also from EBay and two Alice Temperley dresses from TK Maxx which cost about £40/50 each.

I don't see the point in spending ££££ when I can always pick stuff up in the sales, TK Maxx, EBay etc.

For work I tend to buy brand new, but only spend about £40 per dress. I stock up in the sales

Not me. Even if I was loaded I've always always said I wouldn't waste my pennies on overpriced materialistic rubbish, designer clothes are included in that. I don't believe in buying cheap clothes because it's false economy, they don't last and need replacing after not very long so you may as well have bought the more expensive item in the first place iykwim. But I equally don't believe in spending £150+ on ONE item of clothing. Simply ludicrous. The only thing I would spend that sort of money on is work wear because you wear it every day so it pays for itself after not very long. But not just a going out dress you may wear once or twice but will spend the rest of its life in the wardrobe, no. Total waste. Same for shoes. If you're going to wear them to death then I could justify spending a lot but definitely not for a one off occasion.

I'm the sort of person that doesn't mind spending money as long as it's worthwhile. I hate wasting money. And yes I consider designer clothing at full price to be wasting money.

I tend to occassion shop at a designer outlet near me. That way I get something at a discounted price.

Never spent over £200 on a dress. My wedding dress was a Debenhams debut dress and cost less than £100. My underwear cost nearly as much!

I did spend over £100 on a Planet suit for mums funeral and would have spent more if needed. I did get it at a discount though.

I would spend that for either something which was going to get a lot of wear and so would become quite good value on a 'price per wear' (for example dresses from Hobbs or LK Bennett which I'll wear weekly for work so get tons and tons of wear from and which will last well) OR for a really special occasion like a good friend's wedding.

Also, I'm a size 14 and often cheap clothes really do nothing to flatter me because the fabric is less forgiving and the cut isn't as nice. I'd rather pay £200 for one dress than £50 for dresses which will all make me look like a bag of spuds.

The most I have ever spent on a dress, wedding aside, is £45 and it pained me to do so!

But I don't know how I would feel if I had more money, to buy a £200 I'd had to save all my disposable income for about 4 months, so for me it isn't worth it. If I had that much spare in a month then maybe I would.

I think up to £200 for a dress is quite reasonable and would definately spend that. I do like to get use out of my clothes though (which is why I loathe spending money on maternity wear at the moment).

You can get some nice quality, long lasting, classic cut dresses. So I think it's worth it for that.

I did once order an evening dress for a black tie event which was about £800 but I actually didn't like the fit (being tall) so sent it back. So in that case I would say there's no point wasting money but if you are selective and pick good quality items and can afford it then why not.

I do regularly. But then I enjoy the whole experience of planning, purchasing and wearing. A lovely outfit enhances an event for me. I will pay full price, but I look out for discount codes too.

And don't forget, the charity shop bargains had to be bought originally by someone who was happy to pay the ticket price.

I do sometimes spend that much on a dress, particularly eveningwear, generally because it fits really well and I'm going to get the use of it. I also spend around that on shoes and handbags again because they will last and get a lot of use. Nothing I buy will date badly as high fashion doesn't suit my shape so it all tends to be classic designs.

For me its not about the cost but the cut, fabric and design.

I can't afford that kind of money and would probably wobble about it even if I could. For "one off" special occasion outfits, ebay is definitely your friend :-)

I haven't spent £200 but when I was a student and went to numerous black tie events per year I bought a £100 dress, given how long ago that was and how little money I had at the time it's probably equivalent to a £3-400 dress for me now!
The difference was I had lots of occasions to wear it.

I work for arts organisations, if I had a bit more to do with funders than I currently do then I would spend £200 on a dress if it was well cut and effortless to wear. When you are dressing up for an event in the work toilets really you want to just be able to throw on a good quality dress and shoes and look instantly ok.

I wear dresses most days and many of them are that price.
If I can find cheaper ones I buy them but I tend to find what I want more often at a higher price. High street dresses are often frustrating as hell because they will be too short and have no hem so I can't let them down.

I do very occasionally on work dresses (and more often than not can wear the sprauncier ones to events with the right accessories). I regard it as fairly essential for the clientfacing part of my job. However I am a demon for outlet shopping so I have a wardrobe of Hobbs, LK, etc mostly for £80-90 ish and I do spend on dry cleaning, covers, etc and can make things last for years. Also if I find something particularly flattering I will buy in several colours. My bestest bargain was a beautiful evening dress from Hobbs reduced from £460 to £55!

I gave up on Ebay when I realised that LK Bennett dresses were selling for more than the original RRP. Frankly if I'm paying that much I'll walk into a shop and buy it new.

TSSsparkler

Im very grateful for all you full price shoppers who donate to charity

Yes. I generally buy designer because I find the quality of cut and material is so good that they last years. It means I only have to clothes shop infrequently and guess that I probably spend less in the long term. But I like Gap and French Connection too for jeans and more casual lounge-about wear.

I'm afraid I do sometimes. I just love well cut clothes in a good fabric. I also make my own and I don't buy lots only shop occasionally and am still wearing some bits and pieces I have had for 15 years, also as the DH only ever buys clothes if more than 50% reduced in the January sales I figure we balance one another out!

I wish I was one of the ladies who had top quality dresses for work. I have BHS for work as anything else would be a waste!

Yes, I've spent that and more on a dress but here's why:
I'm over 40, size 12 and 5'6.5", a strange, top-heavy, manly shape and I'm very fussy about fabrics next to my skin.

Therefore, standard high-street fare isn't going to cut it as it once did when I was skinny in my teens and twenties. It just takes a little more effort to look good when you're older and bigger than a size 8.