To think £100 a month should be enough for clothes?

[SabineUndine]

I don't have to wear formal suits for work, so I'm always in smart casual, with emphasis on the casual. But £100 doesn't seem to go that far. What do you spend (inc shoes)?

Less than that. I buy most of my clothes from TK Maxx and eBay.

I easily spend that and I'm a keen but cheap shopper.

I spend between 400 and 500 a year with most of that being in winter. I don't have a large amount of clothes I put small washes on in the week just to get things back. I have worn the same work clothes for a couple of years with just the odd new shirt from h&m.

If it makes you feel better, OP, I spend at least that. I work really hard and earn a good salary - the bills are all paid, and I enjoy shopping/having and wearing nice clothes. (Also no children so I don't feel guilty about spending on myself.)

Let me add. I love clothes and it's a priority for me in terms of how I spend my spare cash. I don't smoke, but magazines, but music, have an expensive iPhone contract or buy lunch at work. I spend my money on clothes and am lucky to afford to be able to. I've certainly spent a few hundred pounds since the summer and wouldn't even like to list it but it's all high street, I can afford it and I like it.

£100 a month on clothes...for yourself? Wow! I don't spend that on a family of 5! Clothes here are bought for birthdays and Christmas. Why do you need new clothes every month OP?

Interesting. I am a size 20 so a bit limited as to where I can shop. However I can assure anyone who's concerned that I don't have a wardrobe full of unworn clothes and most of my clothes die of old age. Bought this month: nylon quilted jacket to replace one about 10yo (£50), lambswool jumper (£30), pair black flats from Clarks with 20% off, £28. Planned spend for next payday: blouse to replace one I chucked cos it was in holes, £27, long nightshirt £25, long cardy £35 (to replace one I chucked last year that was 7yo).

Why do you have to buy new stuff every month? admittedly I live in tracksuits and tshirts that are faded and holey, I still have a tshirt from 2004 i wear :o so I'm probably not the best to give advice in this area!

Well depends were you shop but seems like your buying new clothes constantly ? I don't buy new clothes every month more likely at the beggining of a season I try get a few new bits as like to stay current with fashion but I wouldn't spend 100 pound a month even if you divided up me going clothes shopping say 4 times a year and working out what that would cost monthly

That is a realistic budget for good quality clothes if you shop carefully. I spend about that and wear suits etc. I shop at Hobbs, Jigsaw, The Limited (here in the US), Nordstrom and Coast. The outlets in the UK are a goldmine. I get dress suits for GBP100-150 no problem.

Just for me? Nothing. On my birthday I'll spend maybe £20 birthday money. Oh how the other half live.

A bit more than that most months, but sometimes less.

This month i reckon I have spent about £250 so far - but some of it was gym gear which is expensive.

As an example, this month I have bought:

&otherstories blouse
Topshop skirt
Socks
Ugg leather biker boots

The boots were an expensive, one-off buy - I'd rather shell out for something which will last - and the socks a boring essential, but the blouse and skirt would be about £100 together.

I work hard and earn a good salary too, just don't feel it's necessary to waste money on fashion. I have a few good solid items that have lasted me years but new shoes or handbags do nothing for me.

I could easily afford to spend hundreds a month on clothes but choose not to. It doesn't float my boat.

mindtrope but surely there are other things you spend on that do float your boat, and that's fine? I have friends who drive flashy cars, because that's their thing, or who go on lots of foreign holidays - I don't see it as a "waste" on their part, it's just a different choice.

judy I'm not really fond of stuff. My car cost me £700 3 years ago, I pay for things my kids need, but stuff doesn't do it for me. I save what money I don;t spend.

Further note of explanation: I don't 'waste money on fashion' and my style is what you'd call classic if you were being kind and staid if you weren't. I don't feel I have to spend money every month, of course not, it's just easier to budget that way and because I'm hard to please, I don't like buying a lot at once.

Fair dos, mindtrope - I think that if something gives you pleasure (maybe saving in your case?) and you can afford it, then it can never be considered a waste.

So what's the AIBU? If you're trying to spend less I'd think about the whole capsule thing from scratch.

I would say £1200 a year is a lot to spend on clothes

I'm pretty light on clothes buying but I still spend more than this on work clothes. Im in them for 12 hours a day 5 or 6 days a week. A couple of work dresses at £80 to £150 a pop. A new suit. Some new shirts. Replace some cardis and some other tips. 3 new pairs of shoes. A coat every few years. More tights. More rights again. Oh some MORE tights. Skirt. Jumper. Etc

I've never been able to spend that much a month on clothes for myself, not because I can't afford it but because I simply can't justify it to myself. I feel guilty (which I know is ridiculous). In my head if I have clothes that fit, don't have holes in etc then they simply don't need replacing. I have been a little better this year and have been buying myself clothes, but from charity shops - you know how some people like to be a bit braggy about expensive things they've bought? I'm the opposite, I'm braggy about my bargains, if someone says 'Oh I like your blazer' my instant response is 'Oh thank you, bloody bargain, £2 from Banardos and still had the label on it'

OP - one of the best things about the UK weather is that you only need one season of clothes. Summer clothes are not really needed as it just doesn't get hot enough to justify having the second wardrobe.

So, for best budgeting, go shopping to the outlets midweek twice a year in mid october and mid March for the best deals. Take a look on sites like amazon, gilt, zuilly and department stores such as HoF and HN's. I normally get 60-75% off and I have no shame in asking for a discount if it isn't perfect. They normally give 10% without a second glance. If it is damaged I ask for a fixed fee to cover the cost of me getting it fixed. This is how I got a really nice worktop from jigsaw for GBP30 (this includes the GBP10 extra discount for it to be fixed) reduced from GBP140.

Oh forgot to answer OP - I would say I spend around £100 a year, that's including shoes, underwear, PJs etc

lorelei the AIBU is in the question at the top of th page.

Much less than that. I see clothes shopping as an awful chore, and I never do it unless I have to. I'm still, twenty years on, wearing clothes from sixth form. £100 per year absolute max.