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)?

Depends on what the things are, BetieBotts I do wear leggings and pyjamas around the house until they fall apart. Some work dresses are comfy enough to be demoted to weekend dress when a bit stretched and washed out. But threadbare suits or laddered tights are useless for work and leisure. I hate knickers with dead elastic, so treat myself to a couple of multipacks from M&S a year and chuck them frequently.

I genuinely can't afford 100 a month on anything except essentials. I work full time (in an office) and keep clothes going for as long as I can - obviously I don't wait for my work clothes to fall apart (i'm less bothered about non-work clothes) but my boots have to fall apart before I cba to buy new ones. I have been wearing the same clothes for years. I don't have a winter/summer wardrobe - i run very warm so winter means coat on, summer means coat off. I don't wear jumpers or cardigans.

There's nothing wrong with spending a fortune on clothes, it's just not my thing.

However, today and in the UK £100 per month is not an amount that should make people go 'OMG how do you even manage to spend soooo much! I can't imagine!'

Seriously? I don't know anyone in RL who would think that an average amount to spend. That to many people is indulgent - and that's fine but to express faux surprise that anyone thinks that is a lot to spend on clothes? Really?

I don't usually clothes until they fall apart either but I always donate them. The few items I keep until they're not wearable anymore get recycled.

You might not spend £100 but no, I really don't believe someone cannot even imagine how it's possible.

That's an insane amount of money!

Perfect example right there.

I grew up properly poor, single parent on benefits for my entire life who both smoked and drank so there wasn't much left for me. I've been poor as an adult too - but even when I was I could easily imagine how you could spend 100 a month even when I couldn't do it myself.

No I don't wear clothes until they fall apart. I wear them until they stop looking nice- which happens far earlier than falling apart- or until I just don't enjoy them anymore. Some things wash and wear really well and last years but lots doesn't. I have quite a lot of bras but even then the ones which I wear very regularly, maybe weekly, don't last more than a year and often only 6 months before they stop being supportive and while I do look in sales there are only a handful of brands which fit me. 20 for a bra is a bargain for me, and yes I shop around.

I reckon we spend £100 a month on lattes

Very interesting thread. Back to the Swedish Consumer Agency. Their budget for women of about £50 per month for clothes has to cover clothes and shoes necessary for a year for all seasons, including more festive occassions. The sum includes shoe repairs (like new heels whatever you call it) and the dry cleaning of one garment (oh Sweden, land of machine washing norm!). Also wallets, bags, watches (!), umbrellas (!) and reflectors for the winter (Sweden!). I have to say it's perfectly possible and attainable as a budget goal but as soon as your needs are even slightly more advanced (such as a more representative type of job where you are expected to wear a certain type of clothes) it very easily goes out the window.

Its totally relative isn't it?

I could easily spend 100 per month on clothes. I LOVE clothes. I have been over buying them since my first payday when I was 16. I bought a biker jacket from Camden Market.
I haven't stopped since.
BUT I do adjust my budget accordingly. When I have been on a very low income I didnt buy anything new and rationed myself. Charity shops were out of my range so I would go to jumble sales and then car boots.
If my income went up, my spending would too.

If my life is particularly difficult I will buy more than when its settled.

If I had 100 per month guaranteed for clothes I would go for better quality stuff and chose carefully.

BUT, YABU to think that £100 doesn't go far. Of course it does and the majority do not have that amount to spend on clothes.

I don't begrudge those who do, its just silly to pretend its common to have that amount.

I earn a good salary and have prob spent £500 on maternity / nursing stuff over the past couple of months alone. Don't buy many clothes but like them to be good quality when I do (for jeans, work wear etc). I work in the city so spending £300 on a suit, £50 on a blouse; £100 on office shoes (not work on commute for comfort and so they don't get worn out quickly), doesn't seem unreasonable. I know people who spend a lot more eg one woman who wore Isabella Oliver all pregnancy, then brand new post mat leave wordrobe when she came back after 3months, with a huge collection of designer shoes under her desk, but she was one of the v.few, v.senior women in my office and earns more than £200k so why shouldn't she enjoy it.

IMO it's only a problem if you can't afford it and have to make sacrifices elsewhere / get into debt!

Katharina I totally agree. You can dress well for gBP100 but it takes work to do it. Those saying their spend less are either spending way more than they realize or they don't have a job that requires them to dress smart. I am wearing shoes (GBP 60), trousers (GBP25), top (GBP35), cardigan (GBP20), underwear (GBP 85), socks (GBP5), coat (GBP150) and bag (GBP100). That is GBP480 worth of clothing that I am wearing.

I definitely do not spend more that around £100 ever 4 months or so and i have to look smart for work.

I am wearing today:
Trousers £9 in Tesco and are 8 months old and look new
Crew Jumper, bought new on Ebay but for £14
Shoes, £10 New Look (last me about 6 months - no less than my last pair of leather Clarks flat shoes that i was gifted for around £40, i am heavy on shoes!)
Short sleeve tshirt - £3 Primark
Underwear - Primark
Neck Scarf - £5 ebay

You can be a stingy with clothes spending and still look smart and tidy! Thankfully, or many of us would be stuffed.

DP had a bonus a couple of weeks ago and bought me a new pair of Toms as mine were looking old (although not breaking anywhere!) and i feel so guilty that he spent so much on footwear for me, even though they were 'only' £35.

I don't think of money spent on underwear and tights as money spent on clothing- they are the same as basic groceries.

I think sometimes I live on another planet. I could not turn up to work in Tescos trousers. I'm not even senior management or city centre based but blimey the on point eyebrows that would be raised !

Pisssed but how would they know they are Tescos trousers??

Jenny I wondered that too....

Do you have your labels inspected regularly?

I love spending money on clothes, and since I have to look smart-ish for my job and spend a lot of time there I feel I might as well indulge myself.

As my grandmother used to say 'Only thing worse than being poor, is looking poor'. I used to buy from charity shops, but they are so expensive round my way. And now I have put on weight and have a disability it's even more important for me that I look nice.

Some of this thread is funny, not the posts about how much people can afford but the ones from people who have far more important things to think about.

Shallow as I am, I can understand that not everyone is interested in clothes. What I can't understand is why some people with no interest in clothes spend so much time talking about why they're not interested.

I allocate approx. that amount (€120 per month) for clothes/shoes but a few times a year I dip into my savings and go on a spree. I've gotten some lovely things this year but good quality stuff that will last me years. Kept a running total from the beginning of the year and have spent around €3,000 this year but I definitely wouldn't do this every year and probably won't shop again for several months. For background I'm one of those MN oddities who have no children, just me and DH and we both work full-time.

I never keep bobbly or out of shape clothes. I would feel depressed wearing them.

I think £100/month is a lot to spend on clothes. Most people dont need new clothes or shoes every month. I tend to buy the odd thing here or there to replace stuff that's worn out but I don't invest in a new £1200 wardrobe every year.

I'm genuinely not trying to be rude, but you can see the difference between supermarket clothes and not.

fwiw I'm senior management and always look well turned out even on my small budget.

It depends on the supermarket. The £9 trousers are probably obviously supermarket ones I'm imagining the slightly shiny acrylic ones though . There are a Lot of nice skirts and dresses in supermarkets under the £30 mark that you'd have trouble separating from the more expensive clothes though.

I think it takes experience of good quality fabrics, cut and finish to identify the excellent George, Tesco, Primark stuff. Quality isn't necessarily related to price but you need to know what represents good quality (for example fabric cut on the bias which wll translate to garment that hangs,well and feels good) to identify it. Equally I've tried on Basler, Jigsaw pieces that I wouldn't pay a fiver for in Primark.