Anyone brave enough to answer this: where do you get the money for expensive clothes?

[Childoftheseventies]

I work part time and earn a good wage. My husband runs his own (so far, succesful) business. For this I am thankful. However, I still can't afford anything other than basic high street clothes. Zara is pushing it; Gap sale only, Monsoon for special occasions. When I browse in what I consider to be expensive but desirable shops, or look at websites (LK Bennett, Reiss, Great Plains, Hobbs, White Company etc) I always wonder what gives people the income to buy from there. Now I know there are sales and outlets and eBay, but for those of you who buy non-sale stuff in these lovely places as a matter of course, I am fascinated to know where you get the money. Are you a lawyer or doctor or top sales person, or are you a SAHM with a high earning other half, or do you have no mortgage or what!? I promise this is not a snidey post, just a genuine, if very rude and nosey, question.

I don't have the money for basic high street clothes!

I get good quality clothes either if they're given to me, or in charity shops, or on e-bay.

As someone else mentioned, I think it's often just about different priorities.

I do earn a good salary (I'm also self-employed in my "spare time" - no DCs yet - so that's my "fun money"), but we have a 2-bed flat, not a big house with a garden, and we don't have a car. So our fixed outgoings are actually quite limited, meaning that there is more disposable income left at the end of the month.

Oddly enough my mum has never really bought expensive clothes. I think because she has always worked part-time she felt she didn't deserve them, which is quite sad, especially since my dad is generous with himself.

I buy very few clothes. I think most people would be amazed at how few items of clothing, shoes and accessories I have. Therefore, I can spend a fair bit on some items if I want to.

Also, we rent, so have minimal ongoing house expenses in terms of maintenance, and our ideal holiday is camping in Cornwall, so no flights/expensive accommodation/meals out to pay for during holidays.

Oh, and I don't feel the need to buy my kids hundreds of clothes either - I cannot believe how many outfits some friends kids have. My kids each have about 5 days worth of clothes, plus wet/cold/hot weather gear, one pair wellies, one pair sandals and one pair of shoes/boots.

we get handed on an enormous amount of children's clothes and have been literally astonished to get 5 pairs jeans / 20 (boden) tops per season from one child... too much to fit in the cupboards or to ever wear!
reading this makes me think i do spend what is classed as "a lot" on clothes but I earn a decent whack (tho' have to pay the nanny which is a v expensive luxury). I'm in the sort of industry where appearance is quite important so I can't look like a 90s throwback in the office. I don't however spend massive amounts on make up - some of the kids at work buy entire new make up "wardrobes" each season wiht the new varnishes etc etc. I also don't do facials / spa treatments - strictly luxury / birthday presents there (god, maybe if I had better haircuts and manicures / facials, I could get away with teh ancient clothes?!)

I do keep things and yesterday pulled out a fantastic pair of snakeskin loafers that I've had so long they seem miraculously to have come back into fashion... I still have / wear the dress I wore for my 21st birthday (coff coff years ago...) which has again come full circle on the fashion front. jesus i'm old.

I used to buy more expensive stuff when we lived & worked in London (I was a lawyer, earned just into six figures including bonus) - but I didn't go shopping often or buy that much. I've never been into shopping or clothes really, but I did buy things if I liked them in e.g. Reiss, LK Bennett etc. Never anything designer or really £££. I did want a pair of Gina sandals and went into the shop with the intention of buying some for myself, but when I looked at them and touched them they just didn't seem worth it. I felt very lavish when I bought a coat in Coast for £200 which seems ridiculous really given our income (DH earned a little less than me, but we had probably £6k a month of disposable income after rent, bills, food, travel, regular eating out etc etc). I still have it and still wear it occasionally, although it's looking a bit sad these days!

I'm going back to work shortly (not as a lawyer, much lower paid career change job) and will probably start buying fancier stuff again - I've been working for myself for zero money building a business for the last 9 months so haven't really been able to afford much other than Matalan! I do think that on the whole the more expensive stuff lasts longer and holds its shape better.

Also we don't have cc so d

Blinking iPhone. Don't splurge on a cc.

i think it is a matter of priorities. i earn well over the HRT threshold and i spend very, very little money on clothes - probably £100-200 a year. my latest two pairs of "work" trousers were £5 a pair from Primark. all my clothes are years old (work trousers will last 18months and then i buy another £5 pair) and if i do buy clothes, i buy at primark / matalan / TK maxx (if I'm feeling posh!).
clothes do not interest me at all. I also do not wear any cosmetics or makeup - again, these do not interest me. I have one bottle of shower gel / shampoo on the go at a time, supermarket own brand and that is all. nothing else.
however, i do have some very expensive hobbies, play an expensive sport and for these, i will spend top end to get the latest and best equipment. a latest bit of kit for one of my hobbies cost me £1600. DH and I are also slowly renovating our house.

i think it is a matter of what people are interested in and how they prioritise their spending.

I did once buy a fiercely expensive pair of Jimmy Choo boots in the sale. £450 at half price...
Wore them once on the carpet at home and returned them, safe in the knowledge I'd never be able to wear them without worrying about the heels / scratching the leather.... Not economising on bags / shoes is all very well but I would feel a twit having to list my handbags on the household insurance and panic about them getting knocked about.

In contrast to thepower, I always have high-end cosmetics - even when I was a student I only had Estee Lauder, Clinique and Dior in my make up bag, and I have worn perfume every day since I was 16 - I went without other things to afford them. Probably because I've always had bad skin and liked nice make-up as a mask. So yes, it's a question of priorities and having lots of money doesn't necessarily lead to an interest in shopping and fashion.

My dad has clothes and shoes he bought in the 60s that are still going strong. My nana had lovely clothes and i recently saw her friend who told me she still wears my nanas stuff my mum gave her, nana has been dead 20 years!
I doubt my mum has anything more than three years old cos she buys cheap and then has to buy twice.

I've had some of my work clothes since I was 17 (am 34 now)!

I don't tend to spend loads, the most I ever paid was £120 for a Ghost dress about five years ago, but if something seems poor quality I don't get it and I shop a lot in sales and tk maxx. Hobbs sale is warehouse prices for example so you can get nice work stuff. I spend about £100 a month so 10% of my wages (!) but I only get one or two things - because my stuff lasts I only buy to bring me up to date a bit.

I am ruthless about only buying stuff if I love it, that way you wear it till it falls to bits. When things start to feel dated I pop them in a suitcase for a year or three, unless you buy really faddy stuff it usually comes round again!

Well I'm a stripper and spend my tips on Louboutins and plastic surgery. [This many not be strictly true]

We budget £100 per month as a family (Me, DH and 2YO DD) on clothes and shoes, and usually come in under budget. I think the most I've ever spent on clothes was £400 on my wedding dress, and I still feel bad about how much it cost.

But I fully admit to being a rather odd case. I loathe going clothes or shoe shopping and aside from special occasions I'm either in jeans and a t-shirt or my office clothes - which consist of a collection of dark trousers and plain tops.

I also subscribe to make do and mend. I still have and regularly wear jeans I bought 15 years ago! I'm probably a walking disaster area, but fashion never interested me and DH doesn't care/notice what I wear, so we're both happy.

I don't tend to buy from those shops full price, but I'm starting to come round to this way of thinking after discovering how much better quality the things I've bought in their sales are - I only work part time and after bills are paid etc I have about £500 a month just for me - I'm currently trying to save for my 'oh fuck' fund, and putting away about £250 a month - but once I've hit my savings target, I've decided rather than just going back to buying lots of cheap things, I'm going to start saving and then every quarter having a splurge on something big and lasting. (However, not due to hit 'oh fuck' saving target to this time next year.)

I had a uni friend who had a 'cost per wear of £20' rule - anything bought must be at maximum £20 per wear/use - if you can get something down to £5 per wear, it's definately worth it, boots, coats and handbags (if a classic style) can easily meet this target if you buy expensive but lasting.

Growing wiser and wealthier has changed how I shop for clothes.

I'm a journalist and we have a mortgage. In my twenties and thirties, I earned a reasonable - though certainly not huge - salary, but would regularly spend £250 on that season's Miu Miu shoes, and I'd buy Prada bags or new season items from high-end high street shops at full price. I probably looked ridiculous.

Now in my 40s, I earn much more and am married to someone who earns more than me, but years of unsatisfactory shopping and disappointment over quality means I now question the value of clothes - even though I can afford more, I so many of the things I would once has coveted as simply seem overpriced.

So despite the bigger budget, I'll happily scour eBay and rarely buy anything without a discount. I'd rather overpay the mortgage and invest the rest.

Like Mousy I buy far less. Ironically, I'm probably much better dressed these days (though I've kept all the Miu Miu shoes).

Spirael, if it makes you feel any better, my wedding dress cost £1,800 by the time I had it altered as I am a shortarse paid for it with a bonus, I just told DH that I was paying for it separately from my bonus and not from the wedding budget, he never asked about the size of bonus or the cost of dess... Was tricky the following year to pretend to be really excited and not disappointed to get a £1,500 bonus.

Sometimes I go for ages without buying anything. I don't go near the shops because I'd rather be walking/mountain biking/skiing in my free time.
I dress very casual for work - jeans, t shirts etc.
Then every no and again I will hit the city and buy what ever I feel like and have a massive blow out. The money is in the bank so I don't go in debt.

Most of my free money is spent on gigs, children and travelling so when I do by a few designer dresses that are expensive i.e. anything over £175.00 it's not a big deal.

I work full time, in a well paid (sales) job. I buy a few good quality pieces, although I do buy my fair share of Zara etc too but no-where near as much as my friends (helps that I'm fatter so need to be more 'selective') I also look after things so resole/heel shoes etc, I bought 2 pairs of lk bennett courts for work 1 nude, 1 black and I've worn them most days for the last 2 years. I have a pair of prada nude patent peep toes that go with pretty much everything for going out. I try my very best to have a 'capsule' wardrobe but I do love shopping so it's a challenge. I probably spend 7% of my take home pay on clothes/shoes/bags.

also, it might help that I've been roughly the same dress size for the last 7 or so years, so I can see that things will last me a long time as I am still able to wear them, I have friends who have dramatically gone up or down on clothes sizes so the 'buy expensive and it last you years' doesn't work for them. If you need everything then few people can go out and buy everything expensively in one go, if you already have basics and are only adding a few things/replacing a few things worn out, then it is easier to shop like this.

dontmindifido 20 quid per wear? That's the equivalent of buying a 200 quid coat and wearing it just a week and a half! Are you sure? Even 5 quid a wear is steep if for example you spend 75 quid on a work shirt - are you really only going to wear it 15 times?

Also buy less, when i had a high paid job i bought selectively. Reiss suits last and look really good, so you don't get bored of wearing them. I had a karen millen trench, three suits a dress and a handful of expensive shirts. Its easy to get dressed and you always look good.

Now i'm a housewive and i have some fab basics, three jackets and a handfull of shirts and tops. I do buy good bits and bobs in the charity shops but i have lots of time to seek out bargain quality stuff. (I got three gap shirts for £3 each, lk bennet jumper and a some amazing jeans in the last few weeks.) this allows me to buy epensive basics. I'm splurging on boots this season Not a great deal more. Perhaps some good tights :-)

£20 per wear is rubbish! I do try to do a cost per wear sum on most thing I buy. Favourite older items are down to pennies per wear (i'm looking at you, 12 yea old Zara leather jacket), but I worked out that even the insanely expensive leather trousers I want would be down to only £13 per wear if I wore them twice a week for six months. And if they are, as I intend them to be, 5 year+ trousers, they would be down to a fiver a wear even if I only wore them once a week. My average garment (bearing in mind I have a very capsule wardrobe) is below £1 per wear.

Going by don'tmindifido's formula I have clothes that must owe me!!

I have a Nicole Fahri top I bought 3 years ago for £150 and I have worn it on nearly every night out with DH + with mates + to gigs + on work do's and there is several more years of life let in it. It's not fashionable but there again it is not unfashionable. It's a top that I love to bits and wear with a black pencil skirt, black Levi's, skinny jeans, red skinnies and with smart black trousers. In fact thinking about it I have about 3 Nicole Fahri tops like this and they are wonderful!