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Update: We still think this is an interesting discussion about annual clothes budgets for working women — but here’s a more recent reader thread. Along these work wardrobe budget lines, you may also want to check out our latest discussion where we asked the readers: how long do you expect your clothes to last?
How much do you spend on clothes — and how do you keep track? Reader T has a great idea for a topic thread about an annual clothes budget:
Kat, there have been some interesting discussions lately about spending limits and annual clothing expenditures. How about doing an open thread on how much people spent in 2012 on clothing and accessories? You could ask people to list total amount, best/worst purchases of the year, industry, level of experience (ie: 5th year associate in big law), and perhaps salary or how much they spent as a percentage of total salary. I think this would be a really fascinating discussion!
This should be a fun one. We’ve kind of talked about this before, discussing how much you expect to pay for general items of clothing, as well as how to set a budget, but we’ve never really talked about a clothes budget. (I have asked the question in surveys to readers — in our last survey, taken in August 2011, 40.2% of readers responded that they had spent “$500-$1000” on clothes for the first half of 2011, with 27.8% saying “less than $500” and 22.7% saying “$1001-$2500.”)
So, readers, how much do you spend on clothes? Do you set an “annual clothes budget” for yourself? How do you enforce it?
For my $.02: I have never had a clothes budget, to be honest — even when I was in my poor days right after college I still made room in my monthly budget for clothing splurges. In those days it looked like this: “Pants on sale at Banana Republic for $6.99? How can I resist? I’ll just eat a $1 street pretzel for lunch instead of Real Food.” (I’m not kidding on the price. Yes, they were fuchsia, but I actually got a lot of great outfits out of them.)
These days, I have a monthly “budget” set in Mint for clothes, but I use it more as a guideline (does someone need a hug instead of a million new sweaters?) than a strict “budget.” It’s even hard for me to tell how much I spend on clothes since I return so much of what I buy.
(For example: I am, at the moment, surrounded by like 10 shoe boxes, pretty much all of which are headed back to Zappos and 6pm. I also have an Excel spreadsheet called “The Great Boot Hunt of 2012.” Yes, I am insane.)
But that’s just my $.02 — how about you, ladies? How do you set your annual clothes budget, and how do you track it?
(Pictured: Hey, it’s a shopping bag, originally uploaded to Flickr by 4nitsirk.)
Anon
Combined income of about $250K and (according to Mint which may be totally off), I spent $2,331 on clothes. I had a baby in May so maybe some of that was maternity. I’m trying to be more judicious about my purchases because that seems like a lot of money for some very low-end clothes (Target, Old Navy, etc.).
DC Anon
Eesh! I’m too embarrassed to admit my total. Can be explained almost entirely by my handbag, shoe, and coat collection. Nevermind a maternity wardrobe that included probably too many pairs of designer jeans and multiple suits. I just couldn’t handle wearing worse quality clothes at a time that I feel huge and awkward! Guess this is a great wake-up call in advice of the arrival of our newest family member. :(
?
That’s exactly why you should post your total. Plus, this is anonymous, remember? :) If you’re not having another kid, consider consigning your maternity stuff. I was able to get a good amount of money consigning my maternity clothes.
DC Anon
Any recommendations for finding a good place to consign them? We will likely have another kid, but I can see my body shape / taste / style totally having changed by then.
I don’t know my exact total because of returns, but at least $10k and probably closer to $15k.
I hate maternity clothes
If we are the same size (5’9 and prepregnancy 8-10 pear), I am interested in them! If not, I would also love to know about places that take maternity clothes on consignment in DC.
I’m doing OK with casual maternity clothes, but the workwear is giving me fits. I about flipped when a pair of $128 maternity trousers came in the mail today and the fabric felt as flimsy and awful as the $40 polyester pair I refused to buy the other day at the mall. They are going back, and I still have nothing to wear to work.
DC Anon
Amazingly, we are probably the same size! I’m 5’9″ but hourglass, but the clothes should roughly be the same. The problem is that I’m still very much wearing the clothes, so our timing might not work out. Just hit third trimester and about to head into a big trial. I totally hear you on the work maternity clothes. I ended up ordering a lot from Isabella Oliver and piecing together theory maternity pants with pre-pregnancy jackets. But that all of course explains my clothes budget! My best finds honestly came from getting L/XL tops on sale from Ann Taylor. They won’t hold up long, but they look great under suits or cardigans and don’t cost the $90+ that Pea in the Pod charges.
I hate maternity clothes
Darn about the timing. I bought a few things from Isabella Oliver, but they haven’t arrived yet… Thank you for giving me hope! :)
CK
Is it just me or is anyone else here blown away by the salaries posted? I live in CA and I have a good job (engineer) but i do not make half of what some of you ladies are posting….I didn’t think myself naive about the law field as I have family who are lawyers as well as friends in law school. But I was always told (and from what I had gather in past posts on this website) that the Hollywood stereotype of lawyers earning the big bucks was not a true representation. I thought those who truly make big bucks in law are in the top 1%. Is 175k +/- typical for law salaries or is this because you all are at the top of your career field, have worked for many years, and at Big Law? I’m considering a career change based on some of these numbers haha. A little clarification here would be nice to someone not in law. Props to all you big earners!
Btw…I make $65k a year, I’m 3 yrs out of college, no loans, single and I spent about $3,000 on clothes last year because I have been building up a new/mature wardrobe now that I am officially and adult :) Plus, I prefer quality to quantity.
Gail the Goldfish
I think it’s just that more smart people populate this site relative to the rest of the internet and therefore the top 1% are overrepresented here :-) I’m in law and only make 78k. Historically most people from top law schools got BigLaw jobs, which these days start at 160k. Around 2009, this sort of started to change (I’m a 2010 grad from a T5 school and am clearly not in BigLaw, which was the case with a number of my friends). I think it’s starting to go back to most people at top schools getting BigLaw jobs. So yea, it varies a lot more than it seems here. Don’t change careers:-)
Gail the Goldfish
Also, most lawyers have a lot of student debt. My loan payments are $1500/month and that’s on the 25 year repayment plan. If you take out what I pay in student loans, I make about the same after tax as my friend who writes for a newspaper’s blog.
Anon
I was one of those anons but I work in finance not law. For your possible career change purposes, you can make more money in certain areas of finance than in law, even without an advanced degree.
Lucia
DINK, 29 years old, I am working in financial services (3rd year)
My Income: $53k plus 10k bonus
HHI: around $80k
clothing/accessories: $5,000 a year
makeup/skincare: $1,500 a year (both hubby and I, includes beauty treatments and hair cuts)
housing: rent is $1000/mo
region: midwest
student loan payments (his) $900 a month
We paid a lot this year for clothes. Husband graduated and had to establish a work wardrobe. Now he only needs to find a real job, sigh. Student loan payments are killing us.
S
Small firm litigator that works from home. I wear yoga pants and jeans about 28 of 30 days a month.
I spend $1500 a year on clothes, shoes, and accessories. Biggest expenses –I buy about one suit, one nice-ish ($100-$300) handbag, and one complete wedding outfit a year. Most of my nice clothes (including suits) are AT or loft, on sale. Occasional Talbots purchase when they’ve got decent shells for wearing under suits and dressier cardigans on sale. I am a shoe and jewelry addict and am big chested so bras are $$$$.
I really like clothing and would spend more if I needed to, but I just don’t. As it is, I have two beautiful tops that I bought in October that haven’t been worn yet. Because I don’t need many clothes, I can be patient in waiting for amazing sales, and I can wear things a long time. I’m lucky.
Kim
I spent around $10,000 last year. Most of it was upgrading the wardrobe due to promotions to director/board level. The industry I work in is very brand conscious so Target/J Crew/Ann Taylor/Talbots etc. is not acceptable at the highest levels. Mostly I upgraded to DvF, Tahari, Ralph Lauren etc. Not super expensive (e.g. Chanel, Armani etc) but a step up. Expenses included one Coach bag and a couple of pairs of expensive shoes (Jimmy Choo, Louboutin). Almost all was bought on sale.
Shrinking Legalista
Second year attorney at a mid-sized midwest lawfirm. I’ve lost 70 pounds in the last two years so this past year required an investment in my wardrobe (I dropped from an 20/22 W to a regular 14 (not 14W) so I went down around six dress sizes). A new winter coat, a new fall coat, a new rain coat plus suits, shirts, dresses, skirts, pants, bras, undergarments, even shoes (yes my feet even shrank) has put me over the edge in terms of budget (however, thank you Nordstrom Rack or I would be even more over budget). I budgeted for $2,400 last year but spent approximately $4,000. I am hoping this year to not spend over $2,400 ($200 a month seems reasonable, right?)
Rumpus
this is a great post and has inspired me both to come out of lurkerville and to review/update my mint budgets. question for you ladies: has anyone had success selling barely-worn or even new-with-tags items on ebay? let’s assume they run the gamut from mid-range (jcrew, ann taylor) to contemporary designer (theory, alice & olivia, etc.) i’ve spent the past couple of years really building out a full work wardrobe and am finding that some purchases just haven’t lived up to their potential. it sucks to have them taking up closet space, but it would be great to get SOMETHING for them!
NYC
I’ve had great experience selling new with tags stuff on ebay. Just describe it honestly and take a lot of picks (NWT is the acronym used on ebay for that condition of stuff). Also, look into flat rate shipping, which makes calculating the total easier.
too much
You can def. sell your stuff on eBay…take lots of pictures, post measurements, note any imperfections (or if it’s in pristine condition, say so) and be prompt shipping it. Once you build you feedback record, then it should be even easier. I purchase a lot of stuff from eBay since I don’t like to pay retail.
M
Well, I’m starting to feel a little bad about how much I’m spending based on everyone’s responses, but I can justify some of it.
I make $57k a year. I’ve been out of college for 1.5 years. I’ve paid $24k of debt to my parents in the last year and only have $6k to go. I’m still living with my parents and will be moving out this year. I have no credit card debt and everything gets paid on time and in full.
A rough calculation of my shopping spending came out to $8,000 last year. FYI ladies, Mint does not factor returns, so I added up most of the credits to my accounts. Not fun considering I return a lot of stuff. Anyways here’s the deal: I graduated, had to buy a new wardrobe for work. Bought said wardrobe as well as other things here and there because I purchased MINIMAL clothing in college. I start working and then accidentally drop 20lbs. Yes what a fun problem to have, I’m sure this won’t get me any sympathy. So half the work clothes I bought are now too big and all my jeans are too big and everything is just too big. So I had to replace the too big clothes. There goes more of my money. But then with this super fun 20lb weight loss, I’m just loving how clothes look on me. I’m trying styles I wouldn’t have tried before.
So now with this new found uber confidence (I was totally confident before) I’m trying out trends more than I used to. I’m beginning to accessorize.. that’s something else I never spent money on until now.
This has been a learning experience. I’m teaching myself to only buy things if I absolutely love them. I’m trying to teach myself patience and not to buy something right away. Initially, I was buying things for the college version of myself without realizing that I’d have no time to wear them. I’m trying to slow down/bring my accessories buying to a halt. Idk if I can ever completely stop, so I’m going to try and stick to a $400/month budget. Once I move out and have to pay rent, I’m sure things will change.
CK
I was in a similar boat…I am only 3 years out of college and I had to completely build a new wardrobe from my college self. I had to buy more mature and conservative peices as well as purchase more wear-to-work clothes than going-out-on-a-Friday-Night clothes. It was a lot to buy and start from scratch. I was not satisfied with the quality/cuts of clothes from lower end lines (Express for example) so I’ve become more picky and bought higher quality items (ie Cole Haan shoes) … all of which bite into my budget. I still feel like I have a lot of holes in my wardrobe so I am slowly trying to fill those and I assume it will take a few years to get there. I think as young as we are, with no debt, still saving a respectable amount, no children, it’s ok to make these purchases to develop a wardrobe that will last for years and help our career.
Rumpus
similar situation here – except that I’ve had a less fun 15 lb range fluctuation going on over the past 3 years which totally messes with the way 1/3 to 1/2 of my wardrobe fits at any given time. i’m just approaching the “wardrobe maintenance” stage myself. hopefully it’ll become more like 1-2 items of clothing per month…
too much
I had a similar experience too. I did not dress well in college and purchased everything on the cheap, and by that, I mean Express or GAP was even out of my budget. After all, you are in college and half of the people wore sweatshirts. Then I graduated, got an office job, and slowly started to realize a lot of the clothing I had looked unsophisticated and you can tell their quality/fit was not up to par. I then discovered designer clothing and saw how they fit, and boy I was hooked! I started shopping a lot to build my weardrobe, but you only develop taste and style gradually, so I made a lot of mistakes starting out. I feel like after a 5 year and a lot of expensive lessons, I am finally getting it right. Nopw I am sooo selective whenever I buy something and I never keep anything I don’t love. It’s ok to spend more when the item is right and you are sure it fits your lifestyle because you will love it so much more and for much longer.
M
You’re all making me feel better about what I thought was my crazy spending. But, too much, you’re comment resonates with me. I definitely am developing taste and style of my own. Sadly, I did not have a sense of style until the last year. Odd how it can develop.
In college I had 3 pairs of designer jeans mostly because I need the long inseams and nothing else fits right. Beyond that, my clothes money went solely to “going out” clothes because all I did at school was wear jeans/sweats during the day and then go out 1-3 nights a week (oh those were the days..) but even so, my “going out” wardrobe was pretty limited. I’m finally very pleased with the way I dress and I’ve become good at finding bargains and balancing them with high quality items. Hopefully I won’t gain back the weight I lost because then half my clothes wont fit.. again. I’m not entirely worried bc it all fell off when I started work and became crazy busy, so I figure that will remain consistent.
NYC
Late to the party, but wanted to chime in. I think I spent around $3.5K last year, although my target is more like $2,400 (200/month). That does not include drug store runs or the $1,200 I spend on highlights/haircut ($300 a pop, four times a year). And yes, my hair gets its own line in my budget. I don’t consider DH’s salary or expenditures, since clothing is a separate expense for us. I spent a fair amount on nursing bras/tops and clothes that didn’t make me hate myself when I went back to work, although I am back in my old clothes at this point (holding on to that stuff for baby #2). I also got a new jcrew suit (not on sale, because I needed it right then, for an interview).
My salary is $225K, plus bonus. Mid-level associate at big law. But expensive city/rent and expensive childcare (those are shared with the hubs).
Best purchase was a $200 Vince blouse for an interview. It is beautiful and works with everything, and has completely made me re-think my strategy of buying a bunch of $40 blouses that I don’t love.
too much
I just looked at my Mint pie chart too, and I totalled 16K last year on clothing, accessories and jewerly. I am a bit horrified to see how much of my money goes to shopping, but when I think of my purchases, I can’t say I regret more than 10% of the things I’ve bought! I don’t spend much on jewerly, accesories and shoes (probably no more than 20% of my spending)…my obsession is purely apparel. I am 27, no kids, living in Manhattan with 190k in salary. And 16k is my “net” budget, meaning I sell some of my used stuff and use that money to offset my new purchases. Purchases alone probably tallied around 18K.
That being said, I do save/invest 50% of my salary and contribute to my 401K to the max, so I don’t feel as bad. Also, 16K being 8-9% of my salary, that doesn’t seem as bad either. All of this will change soon…I feel it’s just the effect of being young, having no kids and living in NYC.
Ellen
200K, (plus bonus of $20K)
– clothes and shoes: $4K
– makeup: $100
-Midwest
I buy jewelry at consignment store, I buy most stuff on ebay.
I sell what I no longer like or wear.
I don’t understand who the hell keeps NORDSTROM or LORD AND TAYLOR or BLOOMIES in business. Nobody on here buys things unless they are on sale, And most of us spend considerably less than $4k.
Confused.
too much
There are a lot of people who will only buy clothes that are new with tags (so consignment is out), and then a lot of other people want the latest items being pushed by retailers because they are “right on trend” and of this season. If you have a classic style and buy items that are do not date quickly, you can get away by not buying full price at department stores!
Anonymous_Lost
Proud of you all too, but how many hours are you working? Do you enjoy it? Does it take over your life? I’m “lost in my 20’s” and have a finance job (~100k in a good year with commissions), and am trying to decide if I want to continue the grind of finance for the rest of my career, or try something less brutal. There was a recent WSJ article that money does make you happy…
M
Eh I’m lost too in a consulting job trying to determine if I belong in this field for the rest of my life. I hate being lost. Money is great, but only to a point.
Student4Life
This article was in the NYT a few days ago, discusssing the middle class in NYC.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/20/realestate/what-is-middle-class-in-manhattan.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1
Since many commented they thought mid-to-high six figure salaries mentioned here were quite lavish, this article brings home the realities of the sky-high cost of living in NYC. For instance, the average rent in the city is almost $4K per month! also mentioned is that “…someone making $70,000 a year in other parts of the country would need to make $166,000 in Manhattan to enjoy the same purchasing power.” It’s all relative.
Samantha
I’d be so rich if I lived somewhere other than the New York Metro area. But then, of course, I wouldn’t make as much either. Like Student4Life said, it’s all relative.
Samantha
Practicing 15 years, in-house at global corporation. My “budget” is never spending more on my credit card than I can afford to pay off immediately. Proud to say that I have never carried a balance on my credit cards. Stellar credit is a wonderful thing, even with student loans.