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.

Oooh DonaAna I like that: you are buying into an abstraction
Thanks for the book reccs too -they're both in my basket on amazon

I must say that I can't get my head around a monthly account or set sum for clothes. I don't buy that way.

Both DH and I just buy what we want, when we want, as long as the money is in the account- we don't buy anything that we can't cover with cash in bank.

I have absolutely no idea how much I spend on clothes in a year but doubt it's over £1K and that includes everything such as underwear.

I only buy things I need . e.g I have 2 nice wool winter coats and won't be buying another this year as I'd hardly wear it.

I put a lot of time and energy into buying a few items that ( hopefully) suit me, and once I've replenished the wardrobe, that's it- I don't buy all year round by any means.

the Hermes birkin has lost all status. Our part time office junior person has a pink one her parents bought her. Since every reality tv / beckham worshipper has bought one, they've lost all sheen of desirability. I see people on teh school run with them, and it just makes them look like fools. Who needs £8k on their arm for the school run? The people who really are "considerably richer than yow" are rarely so flash with it. However judging from a trip round Westfield, given that every 3rd twentysomething is carrying a Vuitton bag, it's just moved on from subtler markings (used to be a Cartier tank watch, or a cartier russian wedding ring) to very obvious signifiers. I know that a few of the school gate types with Birkins are mortgaged to the hilt, driving leased cars and have their parents paying the fees but goodness, look at the handbag...

We have a monthly amount for clothing/fun money in the same way we have a annual budget for eating out, going out, holidays, mortgage, saving, food etc - all the budgets are generous but they ensure that we achieve a balance in our lives, we love holidays, eating and drinking but we still want to save for pensions, dcs, house projects etc...sitting down at the start of the year and making spending projections is IMO a very rational thing to do. Even though dh's salary is vey generous, I expect we wouldnt have to try to hard to spend all of it - we are very fond of the nice things in life.

bobbi I completely agree. Obviously branded leather goods are not classy.

Thinking about this has surprised me, I didn't realise until I did a mental inventory how much of my wardrobe was "high end high street" (Hobbs, Ghost, Damsel In a Dress, Whistles, Monsoon, Armani diffusion, Anglomania and more Jigsaw than any one wardrobe can reasonably accommodate, plus two tailor made suits). The other realisation is that I've bought damn all at full price - one Whistles top for an emergency wedding outfit and the suits I had made everything else was in the sale.

That's a collection built up over twenty years. I'm reaching an age where it's much more of a struggle to stay the same weight, and am Shredding, motivated largely by the knowledge of how much it would hurt (and cost) to have to replace my entire wardrobe.

And on top of that I have a load of Gap (30% off), H&M (the only shop where I'll routinely pay full price) and charity shop stuff for everyday non work wear.

How do I afford it? Bought a house in zone 2 in 1995. Sorry.

Amelia I need to set a budget otherwise there would be no limit to what I could spend!

We don't have a "budget" for anything- not a formal budget.

I suppose I instinctively know what works with day to day expenses and how much we have left at the end of each month with our normal monthly outgoings.

I know that if I blew £xxx on something then I might have to dig into a savings account, but I buy so few clothes that it's not an issue.

Instinctively I could not apply the loss of £2k we incurred this year due to tax and pension changes, dh and I had to plan on which dudget to trim, otherwise we'd we cutting into savings, which we'd see as pretty reckless.

Maybe we just have more slack in our money each month.
I tend to be pretty frugal in all areas if life- drive an 11 yr old car when I could go out and buy several Porsche with cash , just not into luxury brands etc .
Not a reflection on you- just saying.

Jesus - this thread is one big boast! op - how the jiggins do you think people afford to buy them?!!

I have been buying from the Hobbs sale -their NW3 range suits me and it is half price at the moment. I got a lovely black knitted dress reduced from £99 to under £50 the other day.

Gad - no Porsche buying here - that a middle age crisis car!

There are quite a few copies of the original "More Dash Than Cash" book on ebay - just ordered one for less than £2.50 :D

Really interesting thread. DH and I both work in Public Sector with household income of over 65k. 2 DC and a mortgage. As others have said, I guess it all depends on how you prioritise your disposable income.
We only run 1 car, have Samsung not I phones, take camping holidays in Europe, no expensive hobbies or gym memberships, I don't smoke or drink etc...
I spend around £100 - £200 per month on myself at the moment. This includes hair cuts and colours. I shop in places like Gap, Monsoon, Boden, Next, Clarks, Topshop. I use birthday and xmas money from family for extra special things like a Mulberry bag or a brora jumper.
Next year we have decided to spend some money on the house so I guess I will then reduce what I spend on me.

Dh earns silly money, I earn not a jot. We have a lot of disposable income. Some of this is because we have a modest house relative to our income - preferring to spend on travel (both), cars (dh) and clothes (me)

Thanks for all the responses. Seems there are two camps who buy from the smart shops: those who have reasonable incomes, but are canny in their buying, and those with really high household incomes who can buy as they wish. For the former, it is largely a case of priorities. As for me, having yesterday signed a contract for what feels like a million pounds for new windows, I guess I know where my priorities lie at the moment. That, Scalextric and tap shoes, anyway... Hobbs will have to wait...

I just buy a mixture of what I need / want. I do enjoy fashion. I've never needed all designer clothes & like to mix it up with anything from Primark to NewLook to Topshop to ted baker to d&g etc.

I do have a small collection of designer dresses & shoes that I have bought of the last few years to attend events etc for DH job. Karen Millen is my fave!

In terms of money - u nosey cow I work part time & DH full time, combined salary is £120k a year. I spend on average about £120 a month. Sometimes its more - if we have an event to go to I will usually buy shoes & a dress but keep it under £350-£400. Ironically i never seem to have any clothes & currently feel the need for a wardrobe overhaul!

Really interesting thread. Like both the "rules" - cost per wear and the matching three items. We have a good, probably better than good, joint salary, manageable mortgage and no other major expenses. For me the issue is buying the right clothes - I have been too guilty of buying loads of endless crap which I then don't wear. I now feel quite weighed down by it (pun intended) and want to reduce the amount of clothes I have. I still don't think I know my own style yet (and I'm 45!) and wish I could stop making bad choices. I also know that I need to start by losing 10kg so that it is not my size that dictates my choices. (which actually means going from a 14 to a 12 - so not totally catastrophic).

I'm going to mark my place because I'm interested in this!

I wear Old Navy sweatpants and jeans with completely plain Tshirts every day, though, so it's just a curiosity, not a fact finding mission :o

I think we should have a how many item do you own thread, my bf has about ten times what i do!! A whole wardrobe for tops, one for trousers etc. i was slack jawed the last time i looked. A lot is cheap stuff and she complains that she has nothing to wear!

I think it's really interesting that some people have the mindset that "Oooh Hobbs is way out of my price range". Yesterday on fb they were advertising a dress for 29 quid. So you get a Hobbs dress for just a tenner more than some piece of shit from Primarni - a no-brainer surely?

I'm surprised to see that I fall in to the "high-end high st" category (plus a few designer bits) - but I never, ever, ever pay full price. Cashmere jumper for 50 quid reduced from 250? Ta very much!

Oh where was the bargain cashmere from? < clearly not someone who buys high-end stuff - aspire to quality though >
I need another cropped cardi like the one I bought in the Pure sale last year - sold out in my size now apart from the longer shapeless ones.

A Hobbs dress for £29 is a bit of an anomaly though isn't it? If you want to buy Hobbs and actually choose what to wear the first page of "City Dresses", "Smart dresses" and "Casual dresses" are all over £100. Even in the "Outlet" bit the average is about £80.