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What is the most expensive piece of clothing you own, other than your wedding dress — and do you wear it? On the flip side, what is one of the most inexpensive pieces of clothing you own that you wear all the time? Let's exclude wedding dresses from the list…
Excluding accessories and my wedding dress, the most expensive piece of clothing I own is probably a purplish Armani jacket, bought on sale as a birthday gift to myself for my 35th. It hasn't gotten as much use as it would have if I'd been in an office, but I've definitely worn the jacket at every opportunity to wear it.
{related: another open thread: what's the prettiest thing you own?}
In terms of the most inexpensive pieces of clothing I own in terms of workwear, I've had too many under-70% off finds (or more!) to remember any single one — I'm a huge sale shopper. Some of my most-worn T-shirts are definitely in the “under $5” range if they were on sale at Old Navy or whatever, and I've been wearing them for years and years. An example: Remember the heyday of Groupon? I had a random “pay $20 for a $40 coupon” at Old Navy around 2011. I remember the year because I was pregnant with my first son, and sent my mother to run into an Old Navy and just get me black T-shirts before the Groupon expired. She got me several, all of which I wore for years, and I still have one — the shirt has now moved to my “pajama only” T-shirt pile, but I'm still wearing the darn thing. (The fashion math definitely works out on that one!)
{related: how long do you expect your clothes to last?}
Readers, how about you — what is the most expensive piece of clothing you own (that you wear), and what's the least?
Stock photo via Deposit Photos / halfpoint.
Anonymous
Tadashi Shoji lace dresses are my splurge, and get worn every occasion they suit. I have even worn one out. My least expensive item in constant rotation are from Tahari ASL bought on sale: a skirt, a dress and a sweater.
Eertmeert
Fails: Vince lace up combat boots (horribly uncomfortable, planning to sell this fall), lululemon rain jacket (color is wrong, dont wear it, planning to sell this fall unless it suddenly becomes amazing on me).
Win: Paul Green loafers, super comfy and cute and plan to wear until they disintegrate.
Anonymous
Clothing: Ugh, definitely some dumb bridesmaid dress I hated. Non-wedding attire would is probably my parka or wool winter coat (the parka is fine, not exciting but very warm, the wool coat I loveeee). I am pretty frugal so mostly buy thrifted clothes, already cheap clothes (I wear a lot of Old Navy), or nice clothes on sale (Theory, Anthro).
Shoes: Harriet heeled Chelsea boots from Red Wing. Very well made, very comfortable, very versatile. I had never spent so munch money on any one thing before but they’re very worth it. I wear them probably 4/5 days a week from October to March.
Accessories: I”ve never spent more than like $50 on a bag, so definitely not that. I have a pinprick diamond necklace I splurged on as a treat, it was about $250.
I’m pretty frugal, but also a big proponent of price per wear (I have a spreadsheet).
Anonymous
Oo I’ll play!
Bag- Birkin, 30cm. I don’t wear this that often – too heavy if I fill it. I got this in the boutique so will probably not sell it, but wish I had gotten something else and I do regret this one. I think it was around 11 or 12k? I also have a couple of other Hermes bags I wear far more often that were cheaper.
Shoes- either my Louboutin OTK boots or my Alaia combat boots. I think these were both around $1500 or $1600 but I love them. Can’t wait to wear them each fall. Fail shoes was a pair of sandals for Hermes that were around $1k but are so painful I’ve only worn them once.
Clothes- my wedding dress was decidedly NOT my most expensive purchase. I think it’s coats – I have a sentaler alpaca coat that was around $2200, a Burberry trench that was around $2k, and a mackage coat that was around $1700? I love all of those coats and wear them all the time though.
My least expensive item of clothing is a wool pencil skirt I got in 8th grade for $10 at warehouse in soho (RIP) and still wear every winter. I can’t even amortize the cost of that thing!
Anonymous
Thanks for the fantasy ride through your amazing sounding closet. You’re way wealthier than me but I love that you enjoy it- good for you.
This board can be such a buzzkill with regard to money. I was half expecting to read something smug about someone who only wears thrifted clothing but it is all SO high quality and fits PERFECTLY and is totally timeless but also current, which Just leaves me bored and frustrated.
Anon
Dang, can I have your salary please?
Nyc
Please tell me your secret for styling combat boots! I am a slight pear (slim overall with thicker legs) and need some tips
PolyD
Not the OP, and I do carry a little more weight in my hips and thighs, but I wore combat boots all the time last winter. Granted, not for formal occasions, but…
I wore them with slightly cropped jeans that hit just a bit below the top of the boots. Mostly I wore them with jeans that were not hemmed, so had the slightly distressed edges. Sometimes I wore them with regular length jeans that I rolled up to be just below the top of the boots.
I also wore them with casual dresses with black leggings – the dresses hit right around or very slight above my knees. And I wore them with leggings and an athletic jacket that covered probably three quarters of my butt, or I added a short puffy skirt.
Alanna of Trebond
This is fun!
Bag – Kelly – I wear this all the time but I got it vintage for $2000. It was the Kelly before it was called a “Kelly”! My favorite bag that I use for work is vintage Givenchy, which was only $500.
Watch – I have a $20,000 Cartier Tank Americaine that I got vintage for $10,000. I wear this every day/when I’m not wearing my fitbit.
Shoes – I have some Ferragamos that I bought secondhand (see a trend) for $300. My Sarah Flint shoes actually cost more, around $600 each. I love them, but I don’t wear them all that much because they are heels, but they are worth it when I do. I also have a pair of Gucci loafers because they are a dupe for a great pair of loafers I bought from Guido in Buenos Aires ($750).
Clothes – My wedding saree and lehanga were a lot but it was in rupees, and I haven’t done the conversion. But I’ve worn them again! You can wear them to any other wedding really. I also have my wedding jewelry and other jewelry I’ve bought since then. My wedding necklace/earring set that my parents bought for me was $5000. I may have other jewelry worth more than that but it is hard to be sure because some are heirlooms, etc.
My favorite coats are from Jcrew ($400 on sale – Iris Apfel has the same one) and LaDoubleJ ($1400). I am a big maximalist. I could never bring myself to buy a Burberry trench but maybe some day. I also have a shearling from Reiss that was around $2000 but I am not sure since it is not coat season.
Least expensive: I have a free hat I got from my firm that I wear almost every day when I go kayaking/paddleboarding. I have a pair of leather boots I bought in college from Endless Shoes (sad when Amazon bought them) for $120 which I thought was SO much money.
Anon
Burberry trench, Gucci loafers, leather J Brand jeans, Theory cashmere sweaters. I wear them all the time.
Nyc
How have the Gucci loafers held up? I’m looking for a quality, stylish pair that I can wear around town, to the playground, and in office for casual Friday.
RCW
I own 10+ pairs and they hold up great, assuming you get them resoled after you scratch up the bottoms (also helps with traction) and use shoe trees regularly. I wear a pair almost every day and I’ve had several for more than ten years.
go for it
Wins: most expensive:La Canadianne knee high boots $475, have 8+years, resoled 2X. Love.
least expensive: Sleevless black short tank dress $1 at a garage sale, over 20 years old. Wear tons
every year!
Fails: Blundstone heeled boots $275, hurt my feet, wore 2x and donated. Uggh.
Anon
Most expensive: probably some boots from Anthro back in the day, or some recent ones I got from Christy Dawn. They got use pre-Covid, but have been sadly neglected.
Least expensive: I work in tech and have a lot of plain BR/Jcrew teeshirts that are probably close to pennies per wear
SSJD
Most expensive piece of clothing might be a Theory blazer (simple, black, versatile) that I bought in 2010 for full price. It was probably $375 or so. It felt like a ton of money to spend but wearing it also made me feel very put together. I have worn it into the ground! That last couple of years I don’t wear blazers (working from home), but until covid I wore it 2 times a week in pretty much every season. I have worn it so much that the cuffs are worn thin. I think it was a good purchase.
Most expensive shoes I’ve purchased were a pair of Paul Green black suede booties that felt incredibly comfortable at the time (circa 2017 or so). I had been looking for something to replace worn out Chelsea boots and these fit the bill but were much more expensive than usual for me (approximately $400 if memory serves). They were quite comfortable and got a good bit of wear for a few years. But in the end, I found suede impractical (they got marked up by soapy water dripping on them once when I washed my hands) which limited how often I wore them. They also ended up giving me a corn on my baby toe! I consigned them last year and haven’t looked back.
startup lawyer
Most expensive is probably my Chanel Boy bag that was $3k (it’s gone way up) and an LV sophia Copola duffel that was $2400.
Otherwise, coats are most expensive around 1k for a Sacai jacket and a Herno winter coat that is so warm and sturdy
Anon
Most expensive: my Canada Goose parka. It was a gift though, I don’t have the money for $1000 coats.
Cat
I completely forgot Groupon ever existed. Do people still use it? I tried a few back in the day, but never felt like I was actually getting a bargain. More like buying something from a factory store that has an in-theory-only “original retail price” marked.
Most expensive – Burberry outerwear. But all 3 coats have probably a far lower cost per wear than the average sale blouse I pick up from a mall store!
Anon
Penelope Childers boots (Kate Middleton boots) – love love love, wear from fall to winter, so comfortable.
Veronica Beard dickey blazer – classic navy blazer, I wear it with and without the dickies.
Hermes H belt (reversible black/camel) – I wear several times a week bc I’m a bougie equestrian. I know a lot of people don’t like this belt but it makes me feel put together.
I think that’s it. All of the above are mostly paired with j crew or j crew factory clothes.
Oh, I also have Chuck Pinnell custom full chaps, does that count? Unfortunately I don’t wear those a lot because I got them right when half chaps started getting popular, and I wish I’d gotten custom half chaps.
Anon
Chuck! I have Chuck Pinnell full and half chaps. My fulls are circa 1996 and still going strong and my halfs are circa 2005 and have only needed the inside panels replaced so far. Definitely some of my more pricey apparel (?). Same with my Vogels which back in the day ran me about $1300 IIRC.
Anon
Jealous of your Chuck half chaps!! My fulls are so gorgeous and look great 15ish years later, I just never wear them bc I default to half chaps.
Seventh Sister
I have a Lamberston Truex shoulder bag I bought in 2007 – it was around $1100 and I do pull it out at least once a month. It’s super soft leather and looks sort of Coach-esque.
A black tunic I got off Amazon (one of the essentials? collection things maybe) that was <$20 gets worn at least once a week.
Anon
Most expensive clothing item – exquisite handwoven saree that I haven’t worn due to the pandemic
Least expensive – probably my linen Cos pants that I live in.
Anon
My barrister’s robes. I bought them as a first year lawyer for $1200 for a shirt, waistcoat, tabs and robe. The shirt has long since been retired, but the cost per wear on the other pieces is down to single digits.
Natalie
Most expensive- $1200 Fendi boots I bought in college in 2008. I used to wear them a ton before I moved to Florida, but now I only wear them 2-3x a year. Still beautiful though.
Least expensive: probably a dress I returned to target and they said to just keep it. Or a $5 Loft blazer from the thrift store!
Fail: 2 pairs of Louboutins I bought about 10 years ago for $650 each. They are basic black and black patent, but they hurt my feet so bad I never wear them.