Anyone who buys more expensive clothes?

[jeppyjop]

Do you do this because you are quite well off or do you think it's more statement and worthwhile.

I love some Self Portrait pieces but I'm struggling to justify the price. Would happily be up for some convincing...

thanks

Hi there. I do I suppose. It's for the quality and often better design. That being said, if you have a good eye then you can find that cheaper at times. I never buy Supermarket but taking a shortcut to the veg aisle in Tesco recently I spotted a black tweed skirt that looked Chanel, so bought that! Was so chuffed, £16! 😊

I'd say if you really love something expensive it's money better spent (if you can afford it) than something you only 'like' at half the price

Ps I love Self Portrait and their style is quite unique, you'd likely struggle to get that cheaper..

I buy what I like, whether its £ or £££.

What do you mean by expensive? What sort of price range? I'll work more for quality and something that I know I'll wear a lot e.g. a waterproof coat. But less on say a top for going out

*pay more

I buy whatever I like.
I'm lucky enough I don't have to check the price first.

Nor do I but I don’t like paying silly money for cloth.

Majority of my wardrobe is Toast clothing
Love the style and quality
They’re perfect for me

However, I only ever buy in the sale

I buy things that look well made, fit well and are flattering. I've been caught before though mistaking cost for value with a particular Ralph Lauren dress (the hem completely unravelled after a few wears). Maybe I was just unlucky but Oasis was probably better quality than that dress! If I truly love something, I normally end up getting it (unless it's Dior or something, I'm talking hundreds opposed to thousands) 😂

If you love it and can afford it, get it!

Really struggling to find the words to answer your question.

I've always spent a fair amount on individual items of clothes, regardless of my (somewhat fluctuating) income level. Beautiful tailor-made clothes are part of my family heritage; something we care about. And I've gradually developed an understanding of my own preferred style, so get more and more pleasure in discovering perfect things.

Of course, this year I've had to find out what I want to wear to lounge on the sofa watching streamed TV. That doesn't seem to cost much money - so I conclude that I'm not driven by 'status' - just loveliness.

I’m middle of the road financially - I spent a lot on things I will get a lot of wear out of - a coat for example or if it’s for a special occasion such as a wedding of someone close to me. Would love to take the plunge and upgrade my whole wardrobe but I chicken out!

I used to spend a lot pre-kids... well, what I considered a lot!! I never spent thousands on bags or shoes but I would spend eg £500-700 on a winter coat (not every year by any means); £150 on jeans; £200 on a scarf if I really loved it. Sometimes pricey bags but not the crazy It ones. I usually bought in sales (so eg I would buy a bag costing £1000 for £500).

Apart from the expensive jeans (which I no longer wear simply because I barely wear jeans) all those lovely things are still in my wardrobe and I still wear and love them now, 10-15 years after they were bought. I have Missoni scarves bought in Italy; a gorgeous leather coat; actually three or four other amazing coats; some lovely Brora cashmere etc. All stuff that makes me so happy every time I wear it.

I can’t afford anything like those items now so I wear them with the cheap stuff I buy these days and it gives it all a bit of a lift.

I’m SO GLAD I bought that stuff while I could. Clothes are a real love of mine, I love gorgeous textures and prints. I never spent more than I could afford but back then I could afford far more; also I never spent really on expensive holidays, nights out etc so I could always justify it as it was my one major luxury.

I still spend on a winter coat (though not in the £500 range!) as I think it’s sometimes a false economy otherwise (that said I am obv happy to spend less if I find something I really like!) I also still have an eye for a nice bag but I ‘save up’ my birthday/Xmas presents from DH so I can afford a pricier one if I’ve fallen in love with it.

I’m well off and happy to spend more on sth that’s great quality and design and I’ll get plenty of wear out of like a coat, great pair of shoes of a handbag. As I’m a SAHM and my lifestyle and wardrobe are casual, I’ve only got a small number of dresses which are either premium high street or cheaper designer. They fit well and I’ve gone for fairly timeless designs so I can wear them a few times rather than just once.

Having said that, I do buy high street stuff too, eg M&S jeans fit me well + I do catch myself being a bit precious over a cashmere jumper or a Max Mara coat around my snotty toddler.

I buy fairly expensive clothes but high street expensive not designer.

I wait for sales though.

I need nice clothes for work

I can afford expensive clothes but usually buy from supermarkets or Primark because I have a good eye and work in women's fashion I can pick things out and dress them well. I'm always being told I look lovely so I guess it works . I change my mind fat too often to but expensive clothes but I do spend money on bags .. sometimes .

I’m not at all well off
I prefer natural fibres and find more choice in more expensive pieces
The finish is generally better
Often the cut is better too if you know which brands suit your shape
I always wait for sales, shop at outlets or buy secondhand
Apart from classic pieces I get bored easily so always buy things thinking how much will I get back when/if I sell them if the answer is the same or a gain it’s a no brainer
If it’s a loss I then consider price per wear

The problem with Self Portrait is that much of it is polyester, and I refuse to pay 3 figure prices for polyester.

I do buy expensive clothes, all made from natural fibres, mostly on sale or when there’s a promo code. I also make a point of trying things on at full price and then waiting for them to either go on sale, or, to turn up on Vestiaire Collective, Ebay, HEWI and various other consignments sites a few years later, and for a fraction of the price. A good example of this is that I bought a Preen silk dress (worn once) for £75 when it originally retailed for £1800.

However, I realise how I shop is not for everyone, but it works for me and I have a great wardrobe of expensive items that I’ve bought at a reduced price, and more reasonable pieces from COS and Joseph.

I do. I spend more on statement pieces or something that gets seen a lot such boots, coat etc. I still spend more on basics because searching out stylish and ethical clothes with natural fibres is important to me and really hard to find. Only thing I find with spending more is it’s easy to get carried away and think something will be amazing but really it’s too OTT for daily life. I did this with a £450 pair of Isabel marant boots. Beautiful but a bit impractical and just didn’t suit my life with a newborn at the time. I’ve worn them maybe 5 times :( :(

I buy expensive clothes. I’m not into labels at all, but I like luxe! I’ve always bought good clothes, even when I was young and endlessly broke: I lived on omelettes and baked beans on toast.

With specific reference to Self Portrait clothes, which you mentioned, OP:

Their style, particularly the guipure lace dresses, has been copied endlessly on the high street but having seen the real thing in Harvey Nichols, and the copies, I’d buy the Self Portrait gear if you can afford it. The dresses just look better, the style is more refined and the colours are better. It would be obvious that the Self Portrait dress was more expensive than the ASOS copy.

I get the natural fibres thing, but some fabrics, like the lace used by Self Portrait, can’t easily be produced in cotton or silk.

I can buy posh clothes when I want, lucky me, but I choose carefully. It’s easy to pay £££ for something that you could easily replicate for much less, but some stuff just can’t be copied by cheaper operators.

I’m not in the Hermes and Chanel league, but I will buy the more accessible designers. I buy Vogue and Bazaar and some of the prices are barking.

Examples of stuff I’ve bought that was worth it:

a Roland Mouret navy cocktail dress I paid £1,000 for, ten years ago. It is stunning. The construction and material just couldn’t be replicated on the cheap.

a Missoni coatigan, £700 ten years ago. It is such a statement. The high street wouldn’t copy it because they don’t tend to deal in statements so much.

a Marella (a MaxMara brand) coat, bought six years ago for £400. Double faced wool, lovely, still looks like new and is beautifully cut.

a Hugo Boss dress, bought three years ago for £400. It moves beautifully, the construction is unusual, and I can’t imagine that the high street could ever copy it.

Jimmy Choo shoes: the only high street shop that even gets close to producing quality statement heels is Kurt Geiger, and they have been hit and miss in recent years. Karen Millen RIP used to get shoes spot on ten years ago but then they lost it.

For more workaday items that look posher than they are, I am a big fan of M&S and Reiss. When you get your eye in (as PPs note upthread) you can spot the good stuff. Winser London is more expensive, but do some real quality tailoring.

I like to buy good quality statement pieces and that usually means they're expensive. I have always loved clothes, shoes and accessories.

So to be honest - something like supermarket clothes are obviously cheap and poor quality but in fact I'm not that impressed with the quality of some high end stuff. The fabric is often better (sometimes even that's not great) but often the stitching isn't great. Something in the middle like LK Bennett is normally good quality and made well and better value than Gucci

I visit a boutique in my home town 2-3 times a year and always buy a few items. I'm talking £90 for a top or £300 for a dress. But the quality is amazing and the pieces last a really long time. The only reason I've bought more this year is because all the previous items are now far too big for me and were donated to charity so I've done a little restocking. They have a sale a couple of times a year and I always stock up them as well.

Nothing is designer but I get so many compliments that they make it worth the money and I feel so confident in the clothes because they fit so well.

I do spend money on lovely clothes, but never silly money. I wear jeans almost every single day of my life, so I spend a lot on jeans. I like a particular and expensive brand, but I've only ever bought one pair at full price (I liked a style, but not the colour in the shop, and asked the shop owner to order the colour I wanted, so when they arrived, if they looked good - and they did - I was obliged to buy them at full price.) That is surely fair; it's a small independent retailer in a small market town, and I've bought clothes there for almost 30 years, and have snagged lots of bargains.

But I also buy stuff on EBay and Vestiaire and in charity shops and on the vintage shop in the market locally. I don't really look much at the High Street, but I browse Uniqlo for plain items all the time.

I love fashion and buy lots (lucky to be able to do so) and have a mix of the designers I like (Celine, Chalayan amongst others) and high street and even Primark. I think the very best value on the high street are ranges like the H&M premium where the fabrics are better, less polyester etc. I don't buy all high end as very, very often you are buying the name not the product. However, I look at fabrics, hems, stitching etc. and buy for longevity not fashion. My husband has an olive green pure wool jacket from Primark (that was reduced!) that people still come up to him and ask him where he got it 5 years on.