Please tell me your clothing habits!

[RGPargy]

I'm not sure if this is a bit of an odd request, but i want to know your clothing habits please!

Basically, i never buy new clothes unless i NEED them, and i mean really NEED them (i.e. there are holes in stuff that just cant be repaired etc).

I work in a London office and compared to everyone else, i think i look scruffy/frumpy etc.

When i went back to work after being on Mat Leave, i bought two new work tops and a pair of trousers. That was in July. Since then i have bought two more work tops (but i cant wear them as they have shrunk in the wash) and one pair of casual trousers.

My "new" stuff is now starting to look scruffy as i wear it so often, even out of work and my wardrobe in general is looking absolutely pitiful. I have nothing smart or dressy. Everything is either stained, has holes or generally just worn out.

So how often do you buy new clothes? Do you buy them as when you see something in a shop or do you buy them to replace pathetically overworn garments?

DP and I dont have a lot of money to spare each month but with the Xmas season looming and me having absolutely zero to wear to any party whatsoever, it's made me realise that i dont think i can go on like this!

Do you have clothing allowances etc?? I always feel guilty when i say to DP that my clothes are like rags because he always replies "so are mine, i haven't bought anything new for months and months" (which is true).

Sorry, for the ranty-type post, am sounding off a little too i think!

I'd say i spend about £100-£200 a year on clothes. Maybe a little more, but i dont think it'd be alot more!

I would like to budget, say, £50 a month but as i've just joined the gym and that costs £55 a month, i would feel very guilty saying to DP that i want to spend more money on myself!

Cancel the gym.

£100-£200 a year on clothes for someone who goes to work in an office is an impossibly small amount.

£55 x 12 = £660 which is already a good contribution. But if you have no clothes (which is what it sounds like from your posts) you need to invest £1,500 twice a year for the first year IMVHO.

okay anna, this is the second thread where I'm feeling you're my hero! Mmm... I think I need a hero-worship emoticon! .

Sheesh I'm bored. Have been looking at Littlewoods online in desperate attempt to keep brain alive.

I am now addicted to Ebay as well as buying normally, I buy labels from shops that I know a certain size fits me. ie, I know a size 14 from Next fits perfectly so I tend to search for those. I am a SAHM but I spend far too much on clothes and I don't even have to impress anyone I now need to cut right back as I had a shock when I checked my bank balance last week. I have also just gone through a phase of selling stuff on Ebay and must have made about £200-300 this year.

how many clothes does one need? One suit if you work, a couple of blouses. Pair of shoes?

If you work in an office you need at least five full outfits (I would never wear a suit).

5?! Why? I'm curious. I've never done office work.

what constitutes a full outfit? for an office?

Full outfit = complete change of clothes.

But what you wear really depends on the environment you work in. I work for a business school and tutor MBA students so I try need to look reasonably serious-minded but also forward-thinking (definitely not fuddy duddy academia). So I can wear intellectual type high fashion which I cannot afford if I so please .

Can you not get some clothes from Tesco or Asda? Might not be the best quality but will be cheap as chips and better than wearing rags. Maybe only cost £15 a top max.

NMC, it looks a bit strange if you wear the same clothes in the same week. Even though you could have found the time to wash Monday's outfit by Friday.

Rgpargy...thankyou on dds account

The name may be anathema to some, but Dotty P's are not bad fo office clothes on a budget, and the clothes are slightly better than some budget places, hence last longer. Sizing is generous as well.

More expensive...maybe Jigsaw?

I assumed it would be like school uniform. Maybe dd's teachers and therapists wonder why I wear the same clothes

Ruby is right, you need to tell us more about what you want to look like. Her point about selecting a limited colour palette is also a money saving tip - I follow this advice.

Anna888 also has a good point about if you are starting from scratch you need to buy more at the beginning and then you can go to a maintenance level of spending.

I think if you are losing weight and toning up then perhaps get stuff from Primark/Tesco until you get to your target weight? Alternatively it is possible to get fit without spending money on a gym - so if this would work for you then you could potentially take Anna's advice and spend the gym budget on clothes.

I always think in terms of outfits, which saves you buying things that you never wear because you have nothing to go with them. So for instance if I had black boots for work for the winter I would only buy a skirt that worked with the boots, and I would make sure that I had tops that would go and also accessories/jewellery. I also tend to buy a lot of things at once from the same retailer - that way they go together.

This winter I have not had to buy a new coat or new knee boots. I have bought 4 dresses, 4 skirts, 1 pair of trousers, plus matching tops, knitwear, jewellery, tights and scarves, 1 pair of shoes to wear with dresses and a casual pair of shoes.

I really recommend buying dresses as an easy way to look pulled together - you still need accessories to look good but it is easier than separates. If you are slightly overwieght/ out of proportion then layering is the answer to looking good. I wear my work clothes at the weekend but mix them into a funkier look - more outrageous than I would wear for work. This works for me but wouldn't work if you worked in a city and had a rural weekend lifestyle! I will only wear jeans under sufferance!

I'm going to stick my neck out and go against the tide here. Never shop if I can help it and no lists.
I buy very few clothes and only if it takes my fancy, probably shop twice a year (christmas and summer sales), mostly buy one or two designer/good quality and timeless/classic pieces that are easy to mix and match.

Consequently, I have a wardrobe full of clothes, most of which are over over 10 years old
Agree that ironing and vanish prolongs life.

Oh crikey, I am like OP, I only buy new clothes when something wears out completely (holes in the seat of my jeans, literally). But I partly do it for eco-reasons, I have lots of clothes that were given to me years ago, still working thru that lot still piled high in my wardrobe. And my idea of 'new' is from a charity shop.

Nobody (who matters) cares what I wear (except maybe me, and even then, only on the odd day). I have no idea what it would be like to have your own personal sense of 'style'. All I care about is comfort and usefulness, and most 'stylish' clothes seem completely uncomfortable and impractical to me -- or for my lifestyle, anyway.

I think you need a kind of capsule wardrobe. 2 or 3 good quality pairs of wool trousers in dark classic colours, 2 or 3 skirts, a couple of plainish shirts, some basic sweaters or cardigans (not acrylic though!) and a good quality coat. Plus a couple of pairs of smart shoes or boots in black / brown.
You can liven it all up with cheap and cheerful bags, scarves and jewellery from Accessorize or similar.

I'd say it's worth spending as much as you can afford on the basics. My best ever bargains were a couple of pairs of cashmere trousers from Calvin Klein reduced from a whopping £300 per pair to £50. I've had them 5 years and still get compliments when I wear them, they are just so beautifully cut and have lasted brilliantly.

Go to a few high street stores and work out what size you are in each, then trawl ebay for bargains. I've had loads of things from White Stuff, Next, Monsoon etc which were brand new with tags still on for a fraction of their original price.

I go in phases. I am in a buying phase atm. Then there will be famine for a few months.

I love clothes really but I am always fairly horrified at myself when I spend money on things for me. So I don't. Usually. I like the idea of a wardrobe of classics but I am too tight to spend on quality half the time so my 'classics' are a mess in a few months. I do have some good quality bits which have lasted a long time but are seriously unfashionable - wrong length skirts for example. But they still look good (to me).

I excuse myself by saying they are for work. But recently I've bought a lovely sweater dress from Uniqlo. I absolutely love it! But it's waaaay too short for work

Agree with Mrs Badger but I don't act on it. I go shopping for clothes maybe once every four to six months and if I find something I buy two or three the exact same. White tshirts and white tops, samey linen trousers. So I run scruffy tops and trews along with nice tops and trews but they are basically the same clothes. Combined with Christmas present clothes, bits of different jewellery, cardis, whatever, accessories, I find it does the job without costing a fortune.

Anna 88 I see your point, and I definitely see the point of spending a large sum at one time to make sure things match and are not wasted. But it's possible to do it for a lot less, especially if you're careful about clothes maintenance.

I would be wary of bargains, Ebay and sales unless you are ruthless about your style, size and budget. You can buy a lot of things you don't wear otherwise.

Wow, thank you all for your replies!

I maybe being stubborn here, but i cannot cancel the gym. I had to fight tooth and nail to get the membership from both DP and the membership guy and i got the non-contract membership reduced from £69 to £55. I find it helps me to focus on losing weight if i can work out at the gym.

I think at this stage i wont be trying to buy loads of clothes at expensive prices - it just isn't worth it if i'm losing weight.

My style? Well, hmmm..... I like to think of myself as trendy and young minded. I dabble in DJing hard dance music so i'm deffo not your average 40 year old. I like things that are slightly different from the norm, but not hideous, whacky or kerrrazy!!! Not sure i can really explain myself here lol. I could be painting a very weird picture of myself.

I agree that the more outfits you have for the office the better. I have at the most 3 tops that i wear but i usually always wear the same pair of trousers for the 3 days that i am at work They are also getting bobbly and currently have one side of them gathered in with a safety pin as they fit great on the legs, but are massive on my waist. I wear the same tops week in, week out and tbh, i'm getting very embarrassed by it!

I did see a couple of tops in Asda tonight, but as i'm around a size 22/24, they quite often dont have my size in stock. I will try to keep on looking for stuff, although i always feel guilty for having new stuff.

Predictably, when i told DP why i was feeling fed up today (i.e. i said i felt fat, frumpy, scruffy etc) he said that he too hadn't had new clothes for ages, etc etc. I knew he would say stuff like that, but he understood my frustrations (i think!). I told him i want to be more glam and a little more glitzy. We shall see! Pay day is 2 weeks away so i might be fortunate enough to get a new top or two then.

For once in my life i'd like to know what it's like to go and buy a pair of shoes just because i fancy buying some and not because mine have holes in. I'd like to mooch around the clothes shops and buy stuff i like the look of etc etc.