To ask how often you replace your clothes?

[SuperVeggie]

Might seem like an odd question, but I feel like all of my clothes are worn out and old and horrible. But I don't really enjoy spending money on clothes, and I don't have a massive budget so I only really buy cheap things which then wash horribly and get worn out quickly and then I'm back at square one. Seems to be the case more with undies and bras etc which look new for about 5 mins before going all threadbare. I only wash on cold and try to look after stuff but to no avail.

How often do you buy new clothes out of necessity (rather than for new fashions etc)? And how often do you end up chucking stuff in the recycling cos it's so crap the charity shops wouldn't want it?

Barbara Not a typo, I was talking about evening dresses. I'll repeat day dresses (still don't spend much as they don't get much use), but I don't repeat evening dresses.
If you wear the NewLook dresses a few times then yes they won't wear so bad. But I'm talking about everyday clothes being used for that long.
Erm, I don't share your view about the morals but thats fine, we don't have to agree.

I tend to wear things to the point of wearing out, purely because I hate shopping and will do anything to avoid it, and then if I have to go I will do one big shop and get as much stuff as possible to last me till the next spree ...

Once a t-shirt has got to the point where it's no longer good for wearing out of the house but isn't quite ready for the bin I will usually keep it for just slobbing round the house days or to wear to sleep in. Once it gets to the point where it's not good enough for that any more or I've built up quite a collection of similarly worn stuff, it either goes in the textile recycling or occasionally I'll keep a few bits to use if I'm doing messy stuff (like deep cleaning/getting in the dusty attic/painting/powerhosing the yard etc) that requires clothes that can be binned if necessary.

I try to stick to a "one in, one out" rule otherwise stuff tends to breed in my wardrobe! So even if I'm going on a spree, I will go through my wardrobe first and see what I actually need first and then shop for those items. Even with socks and underwear - I will go through my underwear drawers and pull out any pants that are past it, odd or threadbare socks, worn out bras, vest tops that have got stretched out of shape etc and then go and do a big splurge on new stuff maybe once a year. I usually go to Matalan, mainly because there is one in the same retail park as my work, but also because they always have lots of decent quality underwear/sock multipacks for good prices (even better if there's a sale on) and basic vest tops in multiple colours that I can just bulk buy and know they will see me through for a while.

Having said that I try to stick to one in/one out, if there's something I wear a lot, I will bulk buy in the sales. For example I wear leggings a lot - with long tops, under dresses & skirts, I have even worn them instead of tights when wearing a skirt and boots in winter! - and tend to buy them from high street stores like New Look as the quality isn't bad, but when you're wearing them 7 days a week you can still wear them out quickly. So if there is a sale on I will buy a few pairs just so I can increase the rotation of leggings I have and keep them going for longer (and/or retire a few of the more worn pairs to the "messy job outfit drawer" a little early).

It really varies tbh. I have a dress in my wardrobe I wore for my leaver's day after party when I was 16, so 7 years ago, but that obviously isn't worn often.
Generally, probably a few years?

Depends what it is - underwear rarely lasts long these days so 6-12 months. With other stuff I tend to go to Uniqlo for basics and batch buy - so my t shirts have just been replaced as they are tatty after 5 years. Vest tops I get from M&S when they have an offer on eg 2 for £7 then not much dearer than Primark but last longer. DKNY pjs from TK Maxx.
Annual trip to personal shopping at John Lewis - I hate shopping for clothes but this makes it bearable and is a free service.
The one area I am spendy is knitwear - I'd rather just have a couple of cashmere jumpers and cardigans than a drawer full and the good quality stuff may be eye wateringly expensive investment buying but it really lasts - I'm still wearing a jumper I bought on honeymoon in Scotland 26 years ago next month.

London
I love cashmere too
But find it mixed quality
I've bought Brora
Boden and pure and find Bora far the best
Where do u buy yours ?

Glad to see other people replace underwear after a year - thought it was just me! Everything is just so expensive now. If you buy a good supply of undies/bras at M&S it can easily cost £50-100 which is about 3 months clothes budget for me. Doesn't leave much for coats/shoes/other clothes during the rest of the year. Suppose I should try to increase my budget or get more familiar with the charity shops... (not for undies I must add!).

Basics are replaced yearly - vest tops, Bras , pants and socks. Plain T's yearly as well. Jeans yearly as worn constantly.
I love end of sale shopping for other stuff and go about twice yearly.
Big money is on boots but they last years and years.
Go for light weight shirts and nylon pretty tops as they hold their shape.
Anything T shirt material looks tatty very quickly like long sleeved basic tops etc.

You can buy cheap but quality stuff in the sales. I had a Jasper Conran dressing gown for £3.50 from Debenhams. M&S outlet have some great bargains too.

I have some things that seem to wear out quickly and some things that are everlasting so I replace things if they get worn out. I tend to wear things until they are fit only for gardening or painting.

Oops Soz, sent that before I'd finished. Try doing a capsule wardrobe too.

I find The Tu Sainsbury clothing's hard wearing too, & they have regular 25% off sales.

I've bought plain black knickers from Asda & Tesco for about a fiver a pack, I've had them ages.

Jeans are replaced when they no longer fit or when they wear through between the thighs. This can be any length of wear from around 9 to 18 months.
Knickers are all black from cheap shops and stay til they fade or get holey. Same with socks.
Everything else I donate as and when I no longer wear it. I don't "replace" things really as I usually have more than one of an item.

Tops can last me up to about 5 years and jumpers longer but I'm likely to want to move them on before then.

Just occasionally, I don't have the budget to buy clothes really, I bought a new top from Asda last year because I thought it was pretty, but it only cost £6 so I didn't feel too guilty about it, I haven't bought anything else for ages!

I did buy new work trousers from Matalan about six months ago but that was only because I really needed them as my other pair were ripped

I don't go out or socialise though, so no need to buy a lot of clothes, I work part time in my local shop and when I'm not there I live in my nightdress and dressing gown

Well, right now, I'm wearing a Primark top I bought in 2006/7, which is one of my two oldest things, so mostly, I get between 3 and ten years wear out of my clothes.

Spice22

Why don't you wear evening dresses more than once?

I am a bit of a dress glutton and love my collection of dresses, but I'll happily wear a favourite over and over. A really nice, well fitting dress is fabulous to wear and I prize them!

OP - I'm like others, underwear, t-shirts, vests, etc, get chucked when they start to look grotty or sweat stained - a year or more. Other clothes I've had for a decade +. Buy things you love over things you think you need - you'll always enjoy wearing them.

Yeah, I don't understand why you would only wear a dress once. Meryl streep wears her dresses twice. Looks good in it as well.

(For context, I hate clothes shopping...)

When my jeans wear through in the crotch (possibly after 1 day's wear of emergency "oh god I have to go to work, this is the only clean pair and I've just noticed this hole!" stitching up 😳)
When my weight changes to the point that things are unwearable... I put in the loft, because I'm definitely going to get back to my wedding weight one day, no, really 😕
Otherwise, socks and undies every year, bras a little less often (also weight dependent)

2 tips that spring to mind:

• If you're TTC, I can only speak as someone whose body type means weight gain gives me the pregnant look, but tops and dresses that gather directly under the bust are v forgiving as you balloon!
• For proper winter coats, I've found that spending the extra 50% to get something made from wool has made the difference between "falls apart after one winter" and "only slightly bobbly after 4 years" - so if you can, it's worth it on a per-wear basis.

Ok I have been inspired to do a mini-overhaul of my wardrobe. I'll get rid of all the stuff that is old and crap, as I seem to be chucking stuff out almost every week so might as well get rid of it in one big go. I'll try to buy a few key things that are nicer quality. I'll also get some basics to tide me over for the next few months (I have to finish some medication I'm on before we can start TTC) but for anything more expensive I will maybe try to get stuff that will work pre- and post-preggers. Like instead of buying jumpers I could get some thick cardigans which can be worn open once I'm bigger? Although this obviously won't work with trousers etc...

I won't have a big budget but can try looking for second hand stuff and also sale bargains. Ooh I'm excited now!

I buy at m and s outlet in the clearance section, buy from eBay. Anything not just right gets sold on eBay. Recently bought m and s knickers on eBay, 5 pairs per packet for £3 + £2 postage. I bought 4 packets. Obviously brand new and sealed.
Also TKMax, got a fab Jaegar wool coat reduced to £50 from £350.
In m and s outlet clearance got a coat and a jacket from their Special Collection, both around originally £250 each, bought for about £40 each.
Buy when I see a bargain and it's something I don't have or is quirky.

I probably spend £200 a year on new clothes I mainly live in t shirts and jeans with a jumper sling on top and they last about 3-4yrs i do try donate something as i buy something new to keep my drawers clean whereas before i was a hoarder

If you buy reasonably classic decent quality pregnancy clothes you ought to be able to resell them at sensible prices on ebay. I sold mine in 2 bundles one workwear and one casual wear and got about £150 for the work wear and £80 for the casual stuff. (And some of that wasn't new when I got it)

£50-100 a month is a decent clothes budget. I think part of a longer-wear wardrobe is accepting that clothes will cost more but will look better for longer. So not think that the cost of all items should be around £30, but instead varying £80 skirts from jigsaw with £16 tops from Gap.

I wear all my clothes far too long because I'm not good at parting with things because they look shabby but will still be warm. But for my work clothes I try to only wear decent stuff so nothing over 2-3yrs.

I replace when worn out as I'm not into clothing and don't have much of it. So I have a few tops that I wear, all will get worn and washed/tumbled in a week so they will get holes after some time. Every year I will end up buying a couple more and chucking a couple or using them as decorating/gardening/other dirty task clothes.

I am in awe of the posters who still fit into clothes that are a few years old. I've had to update my whole wardrobe because I am getting the perimenopause spread. Annually I tend to have a big buy up on the high street, usually in the Christmas/New Year sales and replace underwear, vest tops, long sleeved tees, socks, shirts etc..

When I see things throughout the year I will buy on a whim if they are especially nice or good value.

Imogen I just think once you wear a nice dress out (and take photos) , you can't really then repeat it as everyone knows you've worn it. Maybe silly but that's my (and 99% of the people I know) way of thinking. Hence why I spend the least on a single dress than other articles of clothing. I know some who spend ~£100 and never repeat them.

I am 55. I have a posh size 10 slim fitting dress that I bought when I was 23 and still fits perfectly.