Spending Well
The cost-per-wear test
A simple piece of arithmetic that settles most shopping arguments before you reach the checkout.
By Jordan ReyesIssue 001 — August 20264 min read
Divide the price by the number of times you will realistically wear it in a year. Not the number you would like to wear it — the number your actual calendar supports.
A coat worn ninety times a winter earns its price quickly. A dress bought for one wedding rarely does, which is an argument for renting, re-wearing or borrowing rather than for buying something worse.
Where spending more usually pays
Outerwear, shoes you walk in, a bag you carry daily, and the tailoring that makes everything else fit. These are the pieces the eye lands on and the pieces that fail first when they are badly made.
Where it rarely does
Trend-led pieces with a short life, seasonal colour experiments, and anything you are buying to solve a mood rather than a wardrobe gap. Spend lightly there, and spend without guilt.
Buy less randomly. Choose better. Style it more ways.
Keep reading
The Considered Wardrobe
What actually makes an outfit look expensive
It is rarely the label. Four signals do most of the work, and none of them require a designer budget.
Wardrobe Mechanics
How to make one blazer work five ways
A single well-cut jacket should carry you from a Monday meeting to a Friday dinner without renegotiating your wardrobe.
The Working Week
The modern work wardrobe
Authority without stiffness — what business casual actually means now.