What did you buy in 2022 (and how much did you spend?)

[Pigtailsandall]

Ah, low buy, you failed me completely (or I failed you). I went through some life changes in 2022 and decided that my old wardrobe looked tired, dated and like it belonged to someone in a totally different phase of life. So I spent, what is for me, a lot on clothes this year. I am wondering what everyone else did/how much they spent (if you are comfortable sharing).

I bought a total of 36 new items, and spent £1095. This does not include accessories, although those constituted a fairly small amount. I kept a diary of purchases and here's my breakdown...

The most expensive item was the first purchase in Jan 2022 in the sales - a me+em wool coat for £276. It's also the most worn item so far. The cheapest was a Selected Femme t-shirt for £1 in a charity shop. In total, I bought 6 items second-hand and 30 new. I tried to find second-hand items, but I found it quite hard, panicking about whether it would fit and if it was a waste of money.

Happily, almost all purchases have been successes. Like I said, I went through some life changes and the clothes I need now are quite different to before. Everything I have bought I've worn lots, and I've really focused on getting a good casual selection going which still makes me look fairly smart. The only total fails were a pair of linen trousers which split at a seam after two wears, and a jumper which has comically long sleeves which I somehow didn't pick up at the buying stage, Both are from Zara, interestingly, so I shan't visit Zara anytime soon.

Most of my clothes came from Cos (6 things; 2 vest tops, shirt, dress, trousers and a jumper) or Uniqlo (7; 3 trousers, sweatshirt, cardigan, stripy top and a button-up shirt). I also bought a few things from companies I haven't before, like the Spark company and Free People, and was very happy with the things I got. I'm moving away from skirts and dresses, and although I did buy one dress, I mainly bought trousers and shorts instead of skirts.

I also decluttered heavily. I sold or donated 53 items so overall, my wardrove is getting smaller. I made just under £300 selling things (this did include a few kids' things too though) which reduces the actual overall spend nicely. I also got a birthday voucher for £100 which went towards clothes. and another £50 from work.

All in all, quite successful. What did everyone else buy?

Great question
I'll try to use the same KPIs as you...

Total spend £803 (of which £150 birthday money/credit for faulty item)

Total items - 44 (of which 10 Vinted)

Most expensive - £120 trainers

Best bargains - Boden sale swimwear, 2 scarves in Reiss sale, leggings from & Other Stories (£11 a pair)

All of my spend was Jan-August. By August I'd realised my 'low spend' needed to become NO SPEND so we can heat the house this winter.

I have only about a 50% success rate with Vinted (eg only 50% get kept). So it was a bit of a no brainer to delete the app.

I've just added it up and it's frightening. I'm going for a low/no spend next year (probably).

Maybe 10- 15 items at a total spend of less than £450. Mostly M and S, Uniqlo, Zara and charity shop. I WFH so don't need posh clothes any more. Mostly wide leg trousers, jumpers and athleisure.

New jacket £175, jeans £60, dress £35 (sale) and boots £65 local boutique
Jeans, top and sweatshirt £ 200 All Saints
Hat £60 and back pack £12 from local boutique on holiday.
Skirts £10, jumper dress £12, jacket £5, shirt dress £6. 3 were new with tags on from charity shops.
Jumper £75 UGG
Bikini £20 Accesorize
Underwear and t-shirts £90+ Calvin Klein
Jewellery £1200

I'm not going to admit what I spent, or what it went on, but I enjoyed it greatly and will continue to for a looong time

Interesting. All in all I’ve spent less than £800.

Most expensive was a £195 for a barely used Mulberry Roxanne.

Most used were a pair of Air&Grace Moli seconds sandals for £45.

Notable new additions include an Kemi Telford maxi skirt and two midi dresses from eBay.

A few good, just slot right in items like pull on trousers for the office, cotton quilted jacket, white poplin shirt.

And a few gorgeous things that I just haven’t had the occasion to wear yet!

I bought three sun hats, a balaclava, a beanie, a warm sleeveless popover, two thermal vests, and two coats.

I spent £260, which is about 10% of my usual spend. I'm pretty happy with that. None of it is fashiony so I'll wear it all forever.

I couldn’t even begin to estimate what I’ve spent this year, in the low hundreds I’m sure, however, I’ve lost nearly 2 stone since August so some things I bought earlier in the year are now too big and I’ve had to replace them with smaller stuff. I’m planning on selling on Vinted in the new year to make some back.

I think I spent 850 quid by the beginning of January on nice smart dresses for the office which never got worn and a barbour coat, which again is hanging in the wardrobe untouched. They are unlikely to go out of fashion though so that’s something.
I bought a pair of shoes that really need to be worn in. They could be amazing for me, but too stiff atm
three pairs of jeans that I’m about 5 pounds off fitting into, but I am bloody determined. I will be wearing them by January. I bought a lovely red dress in the summer, which I was really pleased with flatters me and looks nice with my colouring. I bought a top which is a bit meh but it will look nice with the aforementioned jeans when I can get my arse into them.
I did treat myself to a lovely black evening dress the arrived after the event, and I didn’t have the heart to send back because I know I will wear it.
Then there was the £500 dress that I was supposed to ask my brother’s wedding, and I didn’t go so somebody else needs to get married please and invite me along. The dress is far too nice to remain in the wardrobe.

I spent far too much. The cost of living crisis is starting to bite so I invested in some warm winter layers with the aim of turning the heating down. Overall it'll work out cheaper to have bought the clothes. I'm happy with what I got but the main focus was practicality not fashion, so with that in mind I'll wear it every year in the depths of winter even if it goes bobbly or fades and I'll only get rid if it gradually shrinks too small (everything goes in the tumble dryer in winter) or becomes full of holes. Never thought I'd say it, shopping has always been a bit of a hobby, but I'm aiming for a no-buy 2023.

I saw a photo of me earlier this year where the full reality of my body proportions hit in (despite kind of knowing it for years) and I realised I was not making the most of my figure. This coincided with being deep into my forties and having that constant ‘too old/too young’ dilemma and having quite radically changed my hair style.

I started watching a few influencers (and some of my younger friends) and understanding some basic fashion/proportion rules and ended up buying A LOT. No one item was particularly expensive but it was a big overhaul overall. I have quite a big churn in my wardrobe usually but this year I definitely had an epiphany and my ‘bad buys’ have gone right down.

I’m much happier for it in that I have lots of outfits I feel good in, suit my lifestyle and can just reach for without a lot of agonising and thinking I’ve got nothing to wear. I feel age appropriate, neither fashion victim nor old before my time. There have been much better photos of me. Fashion is a big interest of mine so it hasn’t been a chore at all but I do feel bad about my carbon footprint so will need to be cutting back in 2023 - there’s no room left in my wardrobe anyway!

Comparatively nothing on clothes from previous years as the quality of things seems so low for the price. Also I've put on weight which im still hopeful about losing again unlikely

I bought a few pairs of bootcuts which I'm loving wearing again and 5 scarves in the last few weeks! I'm wearing them constantly because its so cold at home and work and, handily there seems to be lots of sales on accessories! I'll be looking for wool jumpers and a warmer coat in the sales.

But my spend on beauty and skincare this year has been outrageous!! I would be scared to add it up and definitely wouldn't admit to DH 😂

I am definitely going to tot my spendings up next year

Yes, I found it kept me accountable to myself, and it also allowed me to look back at some purchases and how many times I had actually used them. By August I felt that something I bought in Jan was really old, and it slightly shocked me to see it wasn't even a year old. We get so used to wanting new stuff all the time that something bought 8 months earlier seems ancient!

Also useful to see a spending pattern - I spent more in the winter (probably being bored and looking at my phone more( than summer, when I was out late, seeing people and generally being more sociable. But I still feel like I made good purchases this year. Some of the things I bought I wear weekly, and others (which are more seasonable) frequently enough to feel like I am getting good use from them. Definitely doing this next year too.

I tend to think I hardly buy anything so it was instructional to find out that even when making an extra effort to buy less I still bought quite a lot.

About 6000 🤨 I'm shocked
I did have a baby though so my body grew and then shrank and I had to buy clothes for that

How absolutely fascinating! I've been pregnant this year and not really brought much anything I have brought I've wore to death compared to what I would have previously - guesstimate £300

I have no idea.... But I'm going to steal your idea and keep proper track next year. Apart from anything else I suspect it will make me think a bit more and buy a bit less

i spent about £300 this year of 3 t-shirts, 2 dresses, 2 pairs of bottoms and a couple of other bits. Most items were discounted so, saved about £100.

i normally spend double that, but i just haven't seen anything i wanted or needed.

I've also taken a hard look at what I wear and what I thought I'd wear and have had a bigger churn than normal in the wardrobe and bought items to fit with what I've kept. Spent about £1000 and will definitely be more closely monitoring spend in 2023, including trying not to spend at all.

I had a good look.

It was £21,000.

Ish.

That's not good!

I honestly thought it was about half that.

Ugh.

I am going for a no spend next year.

It's ridiculous.

£21,000!!!

Are you in the public eye?

Just totalled it all up.
Ebay
2 pairs of my favourite style shoes
Cashmere cardigan
3 dresses ( one straight to charity shop) It was weird when I tried it on.
£130

Vinted
Silk Monsoon dress £15
Sparkly trousers £10
£25

Peacocks
Christmas dress
£32

New Look
Wide leg jeans
£20

M&S
Vest £15
Thermal leggings £13.50
T shirt £12.50
Velvet joggers £25
Pants £12
MIDI dress £25
Black trousers £25
Denim jacket £35
T shirt dress £15
£177

Sock Snob
Bamboo socks
£13

A grand total of £397

i generally guesstimate at £500 for the year and have reached the stage of “one in two out” and unless I can justify getting rid of something then I don’t buy.
My wardrobe can breathe and I can find everything.

About £4K which is standard for me. Going to cut it down in 2023

I spent £2200 - I tried to follow the 'pursuit of elegance' approach from an earlier thread on here, and set a monthly budget (about 200) for planned purchases and a total clothes reset. I bought 32 items, which included a lot of footwear (birkenstock bostons and arizonas, hoff trainers, riding boots, loafers) and knitwear (house of bruar, uniqlo, carrier company). The best buys/nicest items were a Malene Birger dress, cos wool culottes, Wyse blazer, Bleu de Chauffe tote bag and a Fold top. The only total dud was a Saint and Sofia dress that I couldn't return. I bought everything new, in sales or with discount codes, and with the intention that I will or could wear it for several years.

This approach has really worked for me and I'm happy with what I've bought. The total spend looks like a lot but it's budgeted at around 5% of my take home pay, and that feels like a reasonable amount to spend on clothes. I've no idea what I would normally spend in a year as I've never tracked it before - I think it would usually be much less, but maybe not. And definitely the spending wasn't as considered and thoughtful.

I'm going to do the same this year and hope that by the end of 2023 I'll have a wardrobe that I'm happy with and can stop monthly buys and just buy occasional items. Planned buys for 2023 are a new coat, jeans, work trousers and longsleeved tops.