What is your clothes budget?

[crosstraineraddict]

Mine isn't very big; I'd say maybe £50 per month, most of which is spent in Primark, or very occasionally TopShop.

So many people seem to have such big clothing budgets and it makes me wonder how they can afford it. I follow several style and clothing blogs each week and all the writers seem to have vast amounts of money to spend on clothes.

How much do you spend per month?

[DorsetKnob]

I have seen a lovely pair of boots that i would like but they are going to have to wait until next month as I have bought a dress for a wedding this month (if it ever turns up) My shopping opportunities are very limited unless prepared to drive so I guess that helps a lot.

[Lancelottie]

Umm...
Can't think of anything I've bought this month apart from socks.
-- except a wetsuit. Does that count?

[AmberNectarine]

Dorset in all honesty I have quite a large wardrobe full of expensive clothes

However, I do love clothes and we're not in debt for it so what the hell. You can't take it with you!

[justasecond]

I'm too scared to work out my per month spend. I love clothes and shopping really is a hobby of mine. I always spend more this time of year as the clothes are so much better for me in A/W. I am muslim and prefer to dress modestly so summer fashions are generally not for me. I like Zara, Cos, Massimo Dutti and occaisonally Whistles. I spend zero on beauty treatments, hairdressers etc so have a bit more disposable cash. I agree with Amber, you can't take it with you!

[alemci]

mine varies from month to month but i have spent about £100 this month. will probably wait for the sales now as i don't really need anything.

bought some knitwear and a top.

[UnnamedFemaleProtagonist]

I spent about £100 in sept/October but that was all birthday money. Hardly anything in the summer and probably nothing now until I get some Christmas money. The £100 was spent in Primark over 3 occasions. I got shit loads

[ceeveebee]

It varies. I rarely buy anything at full price but splurge in the sales. I spent nothing in August, but spent about £500 in September (I was returning to work and bought three new dresses, two pairs of shoes and a couple of tops - mainly House of Fraser and Banana Republic). I also spent about £50 on a couple of new bras and several pairs of tights as I always feel better dressed if in new undies and new tights! Also spent £35 on spanx. .

[awaywego1]

Between 50 and 100 but I buy most of my clothes from charity shops or eBay so have a ridiculous amount of crap am going to try to just buy one decent thing a month.

[harrassedswlondonmum]

Less than £180 a month on average for a family of 6, including school uniforms, kids shoes, but not including teenage daughter who buys her own clothes out of an allowance and babysitting earnings. I know this with confidence because I record everything we spend! We spend far more on food.

[MissBoPeep]

Am I naive? If you spend £100s each month when on earth do you wear it- or are you buying designer stuff?

I don't buy regularly- I tend to buy a reasonable amount twice a year.

I don't buy a lot and as I work from home mainly only need a couple of what I'd call "office wear" outfits.

I do buy reasonable quality- White Company, Jigsaw now and then, Boden, etc. But I never have more than 4-5 dresses for summer or winter, half a dozen pairs of trousers which includes jeans and more formal wear, quite a few cardis, Ts and jumpers, and a few pairs of boots.

I might go out and spend £250 on a winter coat and £90 each for 3 dresses, add in a pair of boots for £150, but then that can do me for the whole season except for perhaps another jumper of cardi to replace things that are worn out.

I've still clothes sitting there that don't get worn- so what do you do if you buy loads?

[ThickCut]

money is very tight for us and has been for a long time. My budget is £100 A YEAR!

[Dinglebert]

Hardly anything. I like nice coats and bags, but I don't really care what's underneath.

[azazello]

Miss bopeep, I probably get very much the same as you, but I buy in in bits over a few months rather than 1 big shop. I also work 4 days in an office so need more smart clothes which are more expensive.

[Alibabaandthe40nappies]

Dorset I'm a mixture. Each year for the last 4, I have been either pregnant or BFing and I have gone up and down 3 dress sizes - so I have had a huge turnover of items and spent a phenomenal amount of money on bras as my boobs have changed size.
I am hardly wearing anything now that I wore two years ago, but I've just dug 2 lovely pairs of trousers out of a crate that I last wore when I was about 8 weeks pregnant with my first baby!

I have bought lots of cheap things over these 4 years, but I am cutting right back on that now and spending more per item. My spending this year has been skewed by the number of family weddings we've had, so my budget has gone on posh frocks, a smart coat (worn twice), a new pair of heels, different bras to go under said frocks. In a normal year I wouldn't need to buy half of that!

[Shodan]

I don't know how much I spend on a monthly basis- I buy things as and when I need them. I'm trying to build up an idea of what suits me and from where and also to buy better quality items which will last.

In the last month I have bought a cardigan from Debenhams, 3 Genie bras, several tops from Uniqlo and one top from Tesco's- so about £100. I need boots and am trying to move away from always wearing jeansandatop so have asked DH if I can have a shopping trip for my birthday next month.

[TellMeLater]

My budget is £200 per month. I've lost weight this year and I've had to replace most of my wardrobe and there wasn't much in it previously as we had a couple of lean years saving for a house deposit.
Getting slim (have gone from size14 to a 10) has meant that I can buy more from the lower end of high street for the first time ever, the cut was never floating enough before. I always buy good quality footwear, coats and handbags, rarely designer, mostly high end High street. My budget includes make up, sports gear etc. Currently in need of underwear, nightwear and dresses - I don't have one winter dress - just can't find anything warm and casual, that suits - I don't work, so most of my clothing is casual.

[MrsRobertDuvallHasRosacea]

dorsetknob I have fewer items, rather than an overflowing wardrobe.
I don't posess designer items and "going out" clothes such as dresses.

My main expenditure is shoes as I said earlier, as I have long narrow feet and buy from Crispins, which is not cheap but the shoes and boots are beautiful and last for years. I expect my boots to last for at least 5 years.

I shop wherever I can find clothes to fit my 6 feet frame!
Mint velvet, Esprit, Next for trousers...i do have some J Brand and Citizens for Humanity jeans, which were about £200 each, but are fab...am still wearing them 2 years on.

I pay about £60 for a bra, but £5 for Debenhams no vpl pants.

I declutter every 3-6 months, and usually ebay...have just made £300 doing that this month.

[BrandyAlexander]

dorsetknob, I tend to mostly buy quality classics for Autumn/Winter and low end of high street for Summer. Over the last 4 years I have either been pregnant or breastfeeding so my purchases have more tended to be clothes for that which haven't been exciting. Weekends have been Primark tops with say, Gap jeans (no point having an expensive top for baby to be sick all over!). I am finally out of that phase so while I didn't buy anything for last few months, last month, I bought a Jaegar belted coat for going out (£300), a John Lewis everyday coat (£180), Phase Eight lace dress (£100), Kaliko lace top (£60), M&S knitted dress (£40) and slim fit trousers (£100). I also got 2 Russell & Bromley ballet pumps (£200), LK Bennett t-bar shoes (err £200?) and Merrells boots (£145). I will prob spend a similar amount this month and then nothing for a while.

[Chubfuddler]

I've stopped buying cheap clothes. They are false economy. I do but more expensive brands in the sales though (my idea of expensive is probably many mners idea of cheap though - boden, Great Plains, whistles, jigsaw, me & em etc).

[MissBoPeep]

MrsDuvall- we are similar.

I don't have a clothes " budget". Maybe I am lucky- I could spend £500 a month if I wanted to, but TBH when would I wear it all? I don't really get this budgeting idea, but maybe I am out of touch. My DCs are adults now so I only buy for me. I buy what I need rather than what I'd like so am quite frugal on the whole. I don't do statement brands, or designer , ebay everything I don't wear after a couple of years, or a mistake purchase, and never buy anything unless there's a gap in my wardrobe and I know that something I buy will really be worn a lot. I can go for months without buying anything.

[OneLittleToddlingTerror]

I'm amazed too people spend £100 or more a month. More like £50 a month for me too, OP.

[TellMeLater]

MissBoPeep just because you have an allocated clothing budget doesn't mean you have to spend it! - we budget for all expenditures, so we spend our money in a balanced way - ie not spending all our money on clothes and having no money left to pay the bills, go out, have holidays etc. It's perfectly sensible.

[AmberNectarine]

I budget because I am a magpie, and if I didn't I would just buy everything I fancied! At least setting a limit (irrespective of how much that limit is, ahem, stretched) keeps me relatively in check.

[TheBirdsTheBirds]

This thread has inspired me to write down everything I spend on clothes/hair/beauty. I don't have an allocated budget, just spend as and when I feel like it (depending on freelance income). I guessed upthread it would average out at around £100 a month, but I bet it's more. If so I'm going to aim to get it under £100. I don't spend in Primark, but don't do designer either, just higher end high street.