How much do you spend on clothes if you're a professional, and consider yourself well-dressed?

[Elfina]

I guess this follows on from my thread asking how anyone can afford to shop in stores like Boden. Our household income is good (70K, but live in London with a nursery aged child so cost of living high).

I realise that I can't remember the last time I bought something new for myself. I only ever buy from eBay. I don't go to the hairdresser (I do drink wine, so its not like I'm completely deprived). I'm 30, if that's relevant, and I don't like 'throw away' type fashion clothes (though like to look current and well turned out). I'm just curious to hear what well-dressed, professional people do! How much do you spend, and where do you spend it?

Those who spend 200-500 per month, how much wardrobe space do you have? Do you do a charity shop run every month? It's not the money that surprises me, it's the actual volume. I assume that amount of money must equate to at least one if not two things a month as a bare minimum so that's around 20 new items of clothing every year, do you throw away anything more than about two years old?

Hehe! That's so funny, Biggeryellowtaxi! I've literally just finished a job at a national hospital which is quite smart hierarchical and very medically-minded and I am about to start doing outreach work, albeit on a higher grade so I want to find the balance somewhere.

I clear out after a splurge. I've thrown out loads of stuff and given to charity what is still ok.

As an aside well-dressed conjures up an image of neatness.

Anything I've not worn for 6 months or more usually in the charity bin or sold on eBay. Additionally if I've not worn something within a week or so of purchase*, I know myself well enough to know I never will so it gets sent back/returned to store. (In fact, I returned a bag to The Outnet today because every time I've tried to use it, it's not looked right.) Occasionally I'll give something to a friend if I know it's something they want.

Even though my monthly spend is higher than average, I only get a few items. I'm also in the process of replacing cheaper items in my wardrobe with better ones and filling any gaps so as yet, my wardrobe and drawers aren't bulging with stuff - I'm trying to buy less but better.

**Obviously there are exceptions here, namely if I need a new winter coat, I tend to buy that in August/September!

Agree with Marsha about 'well-dressed conjures up an image of neatness'

Museumum, that's a good point. My wardrobe space is dismal, so recently I've really tried to keep my shopping to a minimum. Although ti might spend about £400 a year on clothes that will usually be no more than 8-10 items as I tend to but higher quality, timeless stuff that I will keep wearing for years. Last Christmas sales, I bought 3 items for £160 then didn't but anything till the summer when I found some lovely silk tops in tk maxx and bought three for about £100. So that's probably all te shopping I will do this year. Basically, few items but perhaps a bit more expensive. I never buy topshop, Zara etc. I find lots of high street brands sell lots of viscose, polyester etc and I just can't be bothered. Plus lots of high street stuff dates very quickly. I think if I was buying £400 worth of high street items, I'd run out of space very quickly!

Live in very small London flat so no, I don't have lots of clothes. I buy quality not quantity, and my local Cancer Research shop love me.

Trying to work up the energy to Ebay my more tired pieces (so no longer crisp enough for my work, but would work for my sister in a hospital, say). I donate the money - I've already had my own money's worth IYSWIM - but don't want to give direct as they will sell them for a fraction of what they could get online.

I don't quite know how much I spend per month as it tends to be in dribs and drabs - I've spent about £400 this summer on a new Hobbs suit for work, Boden casual ankle boots, jeans and a few new casual tops/vests. I am a teacher in a posh boarding school and the staff mostly wear nice suits/dresses and jackets. Some of the female staff wear crazy things to work though. I like dressing up for work -and I am sure dressing in a suit every day was a big part of why I got promoted very quickly after arriving - people could see I am serious about my job.

In terms of space I am fortunate that I have a walk in cupboard which equates to 6.5 meters of hanging space with pull out shoe racks and also has an average size chest of drawers in there. I have another large chest of drawers in the main bedroom and my DH has is own separate space.

I don't clear out very often, things fall apart and go in the bin but otherwise I'm a sucker for hanging onto things

Peonies - 'some female staff west crazy things to work'. Do tell? :)

(Just want to make sure I don't fall into this category!)

I have just filled my Amazon basket with £600 worth of clothes

To be fair, that does consist of about 20 items though. Most of my clothes seem to end up around the £30 mark.

I love finding the kind of items that high street shops just don't sell. Finally...a shop that does classy-looking, non-fussy workwear in colours different to black and that cater for a waist

I will cull my basket and report back.

awesome it's a mixture ... one colleague wears wellies/riding boots, green/navy/maroon jeans and barbour jacket/quilted jackets or in the summer floaty sun dresses and sandals which objectively speaking always looks lovely (she's gorgeous!) but is not exactly the equivalent of the sharp suits worn by 100% of the men.

There's a group of older ladies who wear mohair twinsets and knitted ankle length skirts with sherpa boots/crazy beads/basket bags - this group also often wear coats made out of patchwork of brightly coloured fabric all sewn roughly together with the seams showing (like fair trade sort of vibe). Also cowboy boots with metallic bits on.

It's strange because the men literally ALL wear suits and ties ALL the time. It's a very formal school, and yet many of the female staff don't seem to realise this.

oh dear I sound like a total bitch now

I did get a lovely pair of shoes reduced from £99 to £29 in Shoon today for work and a gorgeous houndstooth pattern skirt from Boden in grey and black.

I do a similar job to the OP's. I still do casework, so home, school and nursery visits and also attend 'important' meetings, where people will be wearing suits.

The balance that works for me is a washable dress (normally a Boden washable dress) with low heeled shoes or flat boots. If it's a plain dress I add interesting tights. I sometimes go for skinny trousers with a blouse and ballet flats, just to shake things up a bit.

I buy most of my dresses in the sale or with a discount and spend about £400 per year on my work wardrobe, maybe another £100 on shoes. I only work 3 days a week and that does really make a difference to the volume of stuff I need (and I dress in my weekend clothes when I'm just in the office doing reports and admin).

DH who leads a department at a large City law firm insists on rotating 3 pairs of M and S Chinos and 5 John Lewis shirts. He renews them every 2 years, under duress from me and his PA.

I spend 100 per month, supplemented by ebay sales of stuff I no longer want/need and birthday presents, so probably 1500 a year. I have to have good shoes because my feet hurt if I don't. I buy some things on ebay - with makes like Toast and Brora I wait for what I want to come along. I have some Boden skirts and knitwear, otherwise Cos, Jigsaw and French Connection, very occasionaly new from Toast. I run a department of a charity and meet lots of well heeledpeople in my work, so I have to look quite smart but also approachable, no suits or very officey clothes.
I've amassed a collection of vintage good quality cashmere from ebay over the last 5 years and I think that will see me out!

I work in as an Accounting Technician. Black skirt suit and trouser suit with a variety of tops. Dresses and Jackets. Mostly ffrom M&S Autograph (won't buy any other range) with some Phase Eight (I am PHase Eight Age) lots bought in the sale. Maybe £100 a month

Another senior lawyer and people comment on my clothes frequently.

I actually don't buy clothes for work very often but when I do I tend to buy dresses. I still wear stuff I've had for three years though. My work clothes probably go on a fortnightly cycle.

I've become a bit obsessed with cashmere over the past year and wouldn't compromise now with knitwear. Otherwise though I probably spend between £50 and £100 on a work dress every couple of months. I buy lots of sale stuff. I'm a bit gobsmacked by the trainee solicitor who has just spent £400 on a work dress. Trainees are obviously paid a bit better than they were a few years ago.

Another solicitor here, but high street and mainly stressed, elderly clients. I have very little money to spend on clothes, but tend to wear either dresses or trousers, cami and cardigan over top. Often buy in sales, like White Company etc, but won't spend more than £50 on a dress!

I do spend on a decent haircut, though.

I love this thread! I'm a journalist and tend to buy high street for work then splash out on my weekend clothes. So, for work it's mostly tops, trousers and cardigans from Banana Republic, the odd thing from Gap, Oasis, French Connection and M&S. For weekend clothes I buy from White Company (I love their jersey dresses and cotton/wool cardigans though the prices keep going up!), Tommy Hilfiger, Lucky Brand jeans, Mint Velvet and the odd thing from Coast.
My last winter coat was from Hobbs and has lasted really well so would buy another, though I have my eye on one in Reiss. Shoes and boots are often from Dune, Jones or Gabor.
I've also started picking up bits from Boden though I swore I never would!
I spend a lot, around £300 a month. I am terrible at clearing out old stuff but force myself to do it. Luckily, I have two double wardrobes to myself and a very big chest of drawers.
My DH earns three times as much as I do in a corporate job and I have to force him to buy clothes as he's just not interested!

I don't spend much as much I did due to hefty train cost (commute into London) and 2 in nursery....
Last year, I think I shopped mainly in Jigsaw and Boden, odd thing from french connection/whistles.
I would spend £250 is on a coat up to £200 on boots and £100-150 on dresses. I have to think very carefully about spending more, I do like a nice bag though...

I'm a loss adjuster and you're all making me feel like the poor relation I'm in NI and we're only just getting stores like LK Bennett, Reiss and Hobbs on our high streets, and on my trainee wage they're out of my price range. Also I'm short. Literally nothing going for me here.

My 'good' work stuff (well fitting and reasonable quality) is mostly from Banana Republic, Mango, Topshop petite and Zara. Tescos have provided me with a decent stretchy red dress within the last week that fits really well. Most of my stuff is block colour which I rotate with crew neck cardigans because suits make me feel like I'm wearing my mum's clothes. The woman has more pantsuits than Hilary Clinton. In order to counter the bore-factor I've just ordered these to wear with otherwise totally plain outfits.

I was pretty hung up on only buying 'quality' items for a while, but I've realised that it doesn't matter so long as it fits well and makes you feel good. No point in having a dress from Reiss if the boob darts are sitting 'round your waist.

I work in the City but on the IT side of it, and I do two rounds of shopping (autumn/winter and spring/summer) a year, spending around £500 each. One year I used the Selfridges personal shopping service and walked out of there £1200 lighter for spring/summer...very dangerous!

Apart from that, bags and shoes as and if they take my fancy (probably around £600 on the years that I don't buy an "investment bag").

I'm a PA to a hedgefund manager, I've been doing it for the past 11 years. When I was first employed I was fresh out of university, 5'10 and a size 12 with E cup tits and now I'm a single mum to two DDs and a size 14 with saggy G cups. I haven't let myself go, honest .
Its important to look well presented in my job as I never know who I'm going to meet or where I'll be sent! I have a mulberry handbag which I bought myself a couple of years ago in the Selfridges sale. That's my day to day work bag. I have a classic chanel which my parents bought me for my 21st birthday (11 years and still going strong!) which I use for entertaining clients in the evening or if I'm assisting my boss at an evening event. For shoes, despite my username, I don't wear Louboutins . I've been wearing Nude LK Bennett courts during the spring and summer and a pair of black strappy heels from river island.
For my winter work shoes I usually buy my 'best' pair from LK Bennett (nice, high patent black courts) which I wear for entertaining clients in the evening or assisting my boss at an evening event and a pair of knee high boots from M&S or next. 2 pairs of work shoes for Autumn/Winter and two pairs of work shoes for Spring/Summer, bought annually. I wear a classic cream mac from Boden during the spring and a simple M&S black wool coat in the winter. My actual clothes are usually from Zara, Topshop or M&S. I usually wear silk blouses, wrap dresses, pencil skirts and cigarette pants.
I find accessories are more important than clothes. I have my hair coloured once every 6 weeks (just a shade of brown 2 shades darker than my natural) and cut every 12 weeks. I wear make-up everyday; moisturiser, foundation, concealer, mascara, blusher and lipstick. I have my eyebrows threaded once every 3 weeks (tis a bargain at just £4!!).

So I probably spend around £90-120 per month on 'looking professional', more in the shoe buying months.

I forgot about bags! I do have three Mulberrys and a black modalu. And a few Longchamps for the days when I've to trake a pile of files around.

Although I'm a 'professional' (I think) my work place is super casual so don't really buy for work specifically.

I adore clothes and generally people where I work look great and I love that people make such an effort. I spend £300 -400 per year. I buy things that last so a pair of jeans will last until they fall apart! I could easily spend way more than that!

Bags are very important to an outfit. IMO a chanel/mulberry bag with a primark dress is better than a chanel dress with a primark bag. For make-up always focus on radiant skin. You can't look polished and exhausted with acne (I say this as a sleep deprived single parent with adult acne). Learn to apply make-up so any blemishes/dullness can be covered.