What proportion of your income do you spend on clothes? Pls help me get over my tightness...

[WilfSell]

I am a grown woman with a fabulous salary. OK I have lots of children and lots of mortgage and lots of commitments. But I still can't get over my 'god that's too expensive' gene.

I am fat and run to seed after baby 3. I know I need to shift blubber. Some of my meanness is that: you know, the 'I'll only buy really nice clothes when I'm slimmer' mentality. Which is stupid, because I know taking care of myself is actually more likely to help me slim.

And some of it is feeling selfish to spend money on myself. And not the kids or house or DH for example.

And some of it is just lazy, used to Tescos the crappy high street mentality. A woman of my age (farking 40) should know better.

I looked at the shirt dress Perkin Warbeck linked to in Austin Reed and though feck they even do it in an 18 (though I bet it is a 16 really) and wondered to myself why I have never even considered shopping there.

And some lovely things in Hobbs currently. And lots of other shops that I don't frequent.

sorry if this pisses people off - I'm not trying to be smug about my earnings. I'm just wondering how other people justify 100 quid on a blouse and 180 on a pair of kecks. Is it because I'm a tight Northerner?

I have spent about £20 on clothes in the last 2 years!!

I spent £29.50 on a pair of jeans 2 weeks ago, and have only just got over the guilt. But they are lovely. And they will last. I normally spent half that, maximum.

We're not at all well off. But even if I was a millionaire, I know I'd still have that inbuilt voice nagging at me about the cost of things on principle! My Mum gave me £50 recently, and it was sooo hard to actually spend it because everything seemed so much for what it was!

too much, prob about 5%

I never seem to have the right things to wear, so go and shop, make do with what i've bought, as i never have time to shop properly, and then end up wasting money. Does annoy me, as used to be a shopaholic, and am now frustrated!

Why don't you set aside a budget, book a personal shopper in Debenhams or JOhn Lewis and let them present you with a wardrobe of new clothes. That way, you don't agonise over every penny you spend.

if I had £100, I would be spending it on many things, not one item!!!!!

And I am not a tight northener, just a poor southener!

but, should you actually have money to spend, then why not start giving yourself 'pocket money' for just clothes, and actually use it on your clothes. If you had an 'allowance' then maybe you would be more inclined to spend on yoursefl than the kiddies, DH, house etc.

and then, you can feel good enough to realise that you do count and then start the weight loss so naturally that you will be pleasantly surprised when your clothes start feeling loose....!

I spend about £500 a month on clothes, shoes and accessories for myself. I bought some shoes today, for example, that were £120, and a cardigan that was £75, and a £90 skirt.

I love shopping though.

About 0-.5%.

Am stony skint and nearly all my clothes are sent over from the US by generous parents and sister.

yes it's because you're a tight northener

i think fashion is all a big con

it's a total con and if the money were actually getting to most of the people who made the stuff or produced the raw materials to make them, i'd be happy to pay.

but most of it is mark up rip off in the high street.

Oh dear oh dear

You have no self-indulgence gene

How very unfeminine of you

Right - where do you usually shop? Wherever it is you are not to go there.

You're on a mission now. You are only allowed to shop at MN approved shops. And you have to buy lots and lots of things before the end of May.

You must shop at Whistles, Hobbs, Ghost, Oska, Austin Reed for work (if you must) and any department at Harvey Nicks or Selfridges.

There. That's enough to be going on with.

Ha ha ha. Close to zero which is as it should be on our income.

I buy what clothes I do buy on Ebay (for me, second hand) and occasionally from mail order catalogues (70% off sales) and for the kids, from Primark, Matalan and sometimes from supermarkets and Ebay.

But that is all really spaced out. Is probably a very very small percentage of our income.

My friend rather raves about Jane Norman if that's any help?

500 quid a month. Feck!
See I love shopping too but am fat out of the habit.

Allowance is a good idea... hmmm.

DH gets ALL his clothes as gifts from the US or his folks.

i mean, everything.

but he is skinny and tall and looks good in a thsirt and jeans.

right now he's got a sweet Tommy Hilfiger tshirt on.

i took good care of our clothes so they last.

people work hard in horrible conditions to make them.

Oh I think I have to permit you to shop at Agnes b as well

Or Coco Ribbon or any chichi boutique written up in Easy Living magazine with cotton pashminas for £75.

quattro, at the mo has to be in an 18 which at least half those shops don't do...

lol at 500mquid a month

i could buy the entire stock of new look for half that

I don't spend huge amounts, but now I am a 14 16 I have to spend a little bit more. Not lots, but getting T-shirts for say £10-15 from Esprit/Gap/Uniqlo, rather than £3 from Primark. The latter were fine when I was skinny!

so next, new look, gap and H&M is out then???

I don't spend on clothes though I could. It's not being tight. It's having a good sense of value for money (though I avoid primark if I can)

you forgot Boden, Quattro

and Jigsaw.

I like the allowance bit too but I feel there should be a backdated element to it. Will needs spoiling bigtime.

Wilfsell - I am the same - really can't justify spending money on myself when there are so many other people/causes to spend money on!

Got some really nice trousers for £8 in Primark a few weeks ago and have been wearing them everywhere!

Oh I'm not convinced about Boden but it's probably a hanging offence to say so on here. But yes Jigsaw. Also probably any other shop with ridiculously inflated prices. It's therapy see - we've got to get Will into self-indulgence.