Cost-per-wear: How good is your Fashion Math

Today’s lesson in math will show you how to justify expensive items to help you build your dream capsule wardrobe. Remember the essence of this exercise is to invest in classic, high quality items that will/should last you a long time. Again, we want to lean towards becoming stylish not trendy!

The Fashion Math
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This is quite basic math. To help you find your Cost-Per-Wear, take the total price of your favourite item, and divide it by the number of times you will wear it. The ultimate goal here is to lower the CPW. The more times you wear your item, the higher the price can be! Take a really expensive  pair of jeans, for example. Jeans are worn so many times throughout the year, that you can easily rationalize spending between $200-$300 on a good quality, well fitted pair of denim jeans. If you end up wearing these jeans every day for a year, they will have paid for themselves! What a deal.

Sometimes we buy into the trends of fast fashion and get lured into purchasing lots of pieces that we don’t end up wearing, or we spend a ton of money on one not-so-key item. When you use the CPW as a common indicator, you can quickly see how you probably should not have purchased that $1000 ball gown, you will never wear again! (CPW= $1000… Consider Rent Frock Repeat, you crazy girl! What’s wrong with you?)

A few things to keep in mind when you are calculating CPW:

  • Durability- don’t sacrifice on the price! Invest in leather shoes and bags, they get the most wear and tear. I cringe when I see fake leather or plastic purses deteriorating.
  • Quality vs Quantity- buy nice things, just less of them.
  • Functionality- Do not compromise when it comes to functionality. Invest in warm, weatherproof boots and coats. Splurge on well-made and supportive heels that you will wear all the time.

Lastly, I want to close with the value of thrift shopping. This is an excellent way to splurge on things you don’t want to pay full price for. Maybe it’s a season too late, but who really cares! Paying less also means you can buy stuff that is outside your ideal “capsule wardrobe” collection. This is also when you can have a little fun and go outside your comfort zone.

Here are a few items that yield a low CPW… depending on your daily habits! What do you think of these price points? Sorry for all the black… it’s seems to be my go-to this season.

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Paige skinny jeans • Paige • $507.02
Lord & Taylor Wrist Length Knit Cuff Leather Gloves • $40
Hudson’S Bay Company 100% Cashmere Scarf • HBC • $120
Merrell Women’s Decora Sonata Waterproof Winter Boot Brown 8.5 M US • Merrell • $169.99
La Canadienne Womens Mazy Knee-High Boot,Black,10 M US • La Canadienne • $274.63
Caley-F5 Large Black Mesenger Bag • Mackage • $595
Kay-F5 Long Black Winter Down Coat With Fur Hood • Mackage • $795
Pierre Hardy Black Suede Ultime Pumps • Pierre Hardy • $455
Ann Marino by Bettye Muller Fleetwood Booties • Bettye Muller • $130.30

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Fashion talk: Stylish vs Trendy

Fran Lebowitz Quote Elle

“People care more about trends now than they do about style. They get so wrapped up in what’s happening that they forget how to dress, and they never learn who they are because they never learn how to take care of anything. So much of what my generation was taught regarding clothes was how to make them last. How to wash and care for them.” Fran Lebowitz

I saw this quote in Elle, it’s from an interview with Fran Lebowitz called:‘Yoga Pants are Ruining Women’ and Other Style Advice From Fran Lebowitz.

Fran Lebowitz is an American author and public speaker, known for her “sardonic social commentary on American life as filtered through her New York City sensibilities.” Basically, she is a hilarious New Yorker and knows how to make fun of people!

This interview truly inspired me to hash out a few self doubting issues I have been facing with my own personal style lately. It’s like, the closer I get to the representing the fashion industry, the more I question my own style. Is this trendy? Am I trendy? Will my followers relate? What do my readers like to see? What is my style? Do I have style? What is style?

Just be yourself Aladin Disney meme

Time and time again, the fashion icons of the world like Diane Von Furstenberg and Jenna Lyons, confirm the statement “be stylish, not trendy”. And most important of all “be yourself”.

In my article “The Woes of a Fashion Chameleon” I confess about wanting to wear it all and learning to juggle different looks. I can’t help it, I hate being predictable and I love so many different styles: simplistic lines, feminine and flirty, preppy and sometimes edgy. I think true talent is getting inspired by all your favourite looks and making it work as your own style. Maybe that’s what finding your style is all about. Style, what I am learning, is an individual thing, and trends are for the masses. Don’t get me wrong, I love updating my wardrobe with a few new trendy pieces every season. I think my problem is that I can get out of hand though, as-in, I can never seem to complete my “wish list” of clothing items for my closet.

Trend is fashion today, while style is timeless.

Presently, the cycle of fashion is growing at an exponential rate. New clothes are coming out so quickly, that the life expectancy of a trend is so short. Not just that, our society is craving for new content everyday that we don’t take the time to relish what is new. Fashion A.D.D. We want more, and we want it now.

I think this is why it’s even more important to stay true to who you are and not to get distracted by all the shiny objects. Stick with classic pieces and invest in accessories that are timeless (like Chanel maybe? haha). There is a reason why these top fashion houses have managed to stay relevent. They have earned their place in fashion history and have contributed to what we call style today.

In the article, Fran also talks about how beautiful people can pull off any look, but those looks are not for everyone. I couldn’t agree more. That’s why I always focus on wearing clothes that suits your body. And when your clothes fit you, you feel good, you look good and exude confidence!

I love how the article ends… “Not all of us are beautiful. But we can appear fine looking. So we should. Feeling good about an outfit is the point at which that outfit finally becomes good.”

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