One item a month - £100 limit.

[ComeBackPeterComeBackPaul]

That's it really. Want to buy one decent item of clothing every month instead of loads of crap. Where to go, what to buy.........?

Tbh I haven’t been conscious of spending £100 each month, I am just trying to shop in a more “mindful” way. But I know I am frequently seduced by cheaper things - over summer I have bought a few midi skirts (Monki and Topshop) and t-shirts (Oliver Bonas, Whistles sale). I tend to buy more expensive winter clothes because I know I will definitely get lots of wear out of them, whereas I might get a £10 t-shirt from Zara and just wear it a couple of times in summer.

I think I have a kind of mental divide about what to “invest” in:

Jeans - spend - I like Whistles barrel-leg
Knitwear - spend - I know I will wear it often, year on year
Summer dresses - don’t spend
T-shirts - don’t spend
Tops/blouses/shirts - don’t spend
Trousers - spend - I am hippy and cheaper trews tend not to be flattering
Coats - spend
Boots/shoes - spend
Summer jackets - don’t spend - I have been wearing the same Topshop denim jacket for years
Trainers - I can get kids’ sizes - win!
Winter dresses and skirts - in the middle, but I did spend big on a beautiful leather skirt from Jigsaw last year which is already pretty much paying me in terms of cost per wear
Underwear - spend

That has actually been quite useful to write down! I did a 40 day no spend for Lent as part of a challenge on Instagram, which was a bit of a “reset” but once it was over and summer things were in the shops it was easy to slip. I am definitely at my “worst” at a new season. Already excited for the September issues coming out...

Great post Judy - I have screenshot it for future reference! I have a wardrobe full of clothes, most of them never seeing the light of day - I think if a (very misguided, odd) burglar ever broke into my house and stole 2/3 of my wardrobe, I probably wouldn't notice. I am going to start a list of things I really want and start my research now.

My favourite labels for quality, in roughly ascending order:
Cos - Not everyone's cup of tea but I think they're the best quality on the high street by a mile.
People Tree - A lot of it isn't my style but, whenever I've bought the quality's been great.
Celtic and Co - Knitwear.
Toast - Mostly for trousers and T shirts.
Solovair - Dr Marten style boots, brogues and similar. I'm a killer of shoes and this is the only brand I think is worth splashing out on.
Me and Em - Although not bought for several years.
John Smedley - Knitwear
Joseph
Margaret Howell

I've also pencilled in but not tried yet:
Arket - Lots of recommendations.
Community Clothing - Functional basics, made in the UK, very well priced.

Some of these are way over the £100 limit and I can only afford them by buying second hand.

Like Judy I don't spend on every item I buy although my list would be a bit different e.g. apart from Solovair I don't normally spend on shoes.

flo saying I spend on shoes possibly suggests I am swanning about in designer heels. I am not! I have a 30 minute walk each way for work, then am on my feet a lot there, and need sturdy, comfy shoes. I also have small, wide feet, which are difficult to clad. I the last year my shoe purchasing has been flat, black chunky Chelsea boots, DM boots, and new Stan Smiths. I was kind of thinking of a woman I work with who has tons of pretty pump type shoes, all from places like New Look and Primark as a comparison.

comeback I am similar, honest, but I do think there is a marked difference when I switch from summer to winter. The cheap t-shirts and static-y skirts make way for lovely knits, and nicely cut trousers from Cos.

I think in theory spending on shoes ought to make a lot of sense as they have to work hard as well as look the part. I've just never found that price made much difference - at the moment my longest wearing are some ankle boots from H&M. Clarks are normally as high as I'll go (for their brogues).
Trousers on the other hand - I'll pay as much as I can afford.
I don't spend on summer clothes either - some years they only get worn for a couple of weeks.

Sounds obvious but I really look after everything I own too. Never sit around at home or cook in anything decent. As soon as I come home I change into ‘scruffs’. That way items need washing less, don’t get knees in them or stains. I spend a lot on clothes but also watch out for offers and sales particularly on designer sites.

One thing I don’t bother investing a lot of money in, is knitwear. Whether I’ve bought high end or John Lewis, it never looks great for more than a season. M&S sales for me in future.

I'm the same Emily, into lounge wear for around the house and really careful with laundry. I buy them from Next and m&s sales. True about summer clothes too? You wear them so little and lighter colours stain so easily.

flo my feet are so wide (and a size 4) that sadly I just can’t squeeze them into cheaper shoes. Trousers, yes - I have two styles of Cos trousers in every colour-way.

I am another one who is straight into “lounge wear” the second I get in the door. Clothes off, makeup off, contact lenses out. My DP is a very lucky man!

I have to say though, on summer dresses, that I’ve gone the other way... I bought two arket dresses at about £120 each (which is a lot for me for a summer dress) and honestly it was one of the things that opened my eyes to the smaller, nicer wardrobe thing... every time I wear them people exclaim how much they love them. Combined with another whistles dress that had been lost for a year when moving house and one new pleated skirt and a couple of gap sundresses, I am trying to get them all on one day a week and just skip jeans and shorts (that I wore constantly with small kids).

I bought some M&S cashmere basic jumpers and lovely cowboy ankle boots last year, plus all the millions of things I already own. Going to focus this year on 1) really caring for clothes in terms of pressing well, hanging up, careful cleaning and laundering. 2) keeping up with pilates and adding a 10-25 min YouTube vid or self practice of yoga or pilates most days 3) doing fast 800 after the hols to lose last bit of baby weight around waist and 4) saving up for something like a mulberry lily in black, although I’d take a nice well made cross body bag from another label in anyone cares to recommend!

My point I guess is that I want to aim to look as good as I can in the clothes that I have, then add real treat items occasionally that I love.

Ahhh @Judystilldreamsofhorses that is an excellent list! Re the whistles barrel leg jeans - you say you have hips, does this mean the whistles jeans accommodate them? (I can NEVER find looser fitting jeans that sit nicely on my mum hips 🙄)

Doh! It had never really occurred to me to change out of nice clothes when I get home. Will definitely start doing that

I find it really difficult to find summer dresses that I like. I have an ancient one from Toast that comes out every year, it’s a classic sundress and this year bought another in their sale. It was still expensive but I’ll wear it for around eight years if the last one was anything to go by

FlousMe Try Arket too. I live Cos. It’s my go to and half my wardrobe is from there. Lately I’m just a bit bored of Cos. Arket is more interesting. They are smaller fitting though. I think they are a bit ‘younger looking’ too esp their shoes.

This thread is really interesting. I've little to add, other than to suggest that maybe a couple of times a year the "One item for £100" might actually be, "Two bloody good basics" instead - eg two great black t-shirts that keep their shape around the neck and wash well would be a great investment for me, because I wear black t-shirts at least three times a week and often more.

I splurged on Parka London coat a couple of years ago, and on a beautiful wool Cos coat last winter, but will need to save up to get a gorgeous new biker jacket soon, maybe AllSaints.

Yes exactly - I don’t stick slavishly to a monthly sum. But it will even out over time. I pay a lot (well, a lot for me) for a good tee shirt. But they last. I pay a lot for shoes and bags, but that’s because I love both so I can justify a bigger spend. In the future I might not spend for 2 or 3 or more months in a row, but then I might come across a bag that I must have, or maybe two pairs of very good trousers, or a coat or whatever, and the whole sum I’ve saved will be spent in one.

I just want my spends to be worth it and to do their best work for me.

I agree with pp on summer dresses - I would rather have four or five really gorgeous, well made dresses (expensive) than a wardrobe full of inferior specimens. I will probably add 1 or 2 every year. Of course I have some cheaper things (generally for work) or bargains where price doesn’t mean lower quality (one of my favourite skirts this year was from F&F at Tesco a couple of years ago and cost me £10, I also bought 3 cotton Bardot tops at Matalan last year in the sale - £9 each, not super great quality but they’re great for day-to-day wear and will last at least a couple more summers, if not longer.

kaytees I am a 10 top, often 12 bottom, and the Whistles jeans are perfect. Mine are 27 waist. I have them in navy, blue, and black, I love them so much.

Re summer clothes/dresses, I totally get wanting to have the nicest things, but I live in NE Scotland - I was still in opaque tights all of June!

I lived in Scotland for a while and we had one summer where there literally wasn’t a single sunny day in the whole of the summer...

I don’t have a huge summer wardrobe, it was only because of the very hot summer last year the I expanded it a bit.

Blithering heights my hankering for a mulberry Lilly was semi satisfied by a ted baker bag - really nice leather and a good, heavy chain that wasn't too bright or garish. Cost about £100 in a sale.

SlipperOrchid a few people have said that to me about Arket. Definitely going to try it but I'd like to get to the real store first, even if it's only once, just to get a feel of fabrics and sizing.

Floisme The fabrics are heavier I think. They still use a lot of material but the clothes are more fitted so they drape nicely. I buy online as I don’t have an Arket anywhere near me.

I was in one of their shops and seeing all the clothes together they didn’t have kerb appeal 😀

I am trying to do this as well. I had a real look at my wardrobe at the weekend and got rid of loads of things that I was just holding onto for the sake of it or because I'd paid a bit more for them (Ted Baker/Mint Velvet). I have realised that my shape has changed, and these things just didn't suit any more.

I am guilty of buying just because it's in the sale (especially having a H&M hit as we've got a really nice branch across the road to us at work) but I am trying to really concentrate on better fabrics and cut, especially for winter wear.

I want to do this too - midway through a clear out and want to replace with quality clothes that I love. It's my older Reiss, Jaeger, Boden stuff that has lasted and newer H&M and Primark items that are in the charity shop bag which shows this approach should work for me!

Re Cos and Arket , they look shapeless to me online. Are they different when you try them on? I'm afraid of clothes just hanging from the bust and making me look like I'm wearing a tent!

anois I think you need to try Cos on. The dresses aren’t for me - I am a 10, with small bust and waist, but bigger arse, and I need something with more shape. However, their trousers are great for me, and I also really like their crew-neck t-shirts and long-sleeved tops. (A typical work outfit for me is wide-leg cropped Cos trousers, with striped Cos crew-neck tee or top, and Stan Smiths.) I find sizing consistent, so once I had cracked the trouser size I need - which I did try in a shop - I could then buy online.

I have a beautiful Arket cardi, lovely alpaca wool, but nothing eked from there.