bulls and bears of shopping

i've yammered on in the past about "investing" in pieces. and it's not me doing the thing i do so well - justifying purchases... that is a horse of another color, and one that i shall not speak of at this time... i do that mainly for tim anyway. :)

if you are into fashion, into style, into looking good and being smart - then listen up. you can absolutely buy some stuff at lower prices. most especially - trends. it's truly not worth spending a lot on a trendy piece - because by its very nature, it will be out of style next season. so as much as i may drool over all the studding - i'm not out buying the high end bits of it... may lust and love, but most likely will not buy. so - trends, and then t-shirts, undies, socks, things like that, you can also get away with not spending a lot - because they are replaceable, they get worn out. but certain things are truly worth spending for. things that you know you will wear forever. a good coat, a good bag, good shoes, good jewelry, the perfect pair of black pants... there honestly aren't that many examples - those are the examples in my own closet.

a good way to calculate whether something is an investment worth indulging in, is by doing the "cost per wear". for example - this bracelet by Ippolita - i bought it right before i was laid off almost a year ago. oops. oh well... so for the sake of argument, let's say it was 300 days ago. (that's almost a year) and i wear it pretty much every day - which means it's already being worn at a dollar a day cost wise. gimme another year (and i'm sure i'll keep wearing it daily) and we're down to 50 cents. so -- what i'm saying is - that for less than a cup of coffee, i get to wear this beautiful thing every day. makes sense, right? and i make coffee at home, any way. voila!

you can't apply this to purchases made on a whim - it seriously does have to be a piece you LOVE and will wear all the time - doesn't have to be daily - but all the time. (thank god for ebay - so the mistakes that are made can be sold!!) shopping on a whim in general is a bit dangerous... do the day rule - if you see it, wait a day. if you really love it, you'll make the effort to go back.

so THINK when you shop. a 50 dollar bag that falls to shreds after wearing it twice is not a good buy... spend wisely and you will spend happily. and you can tell people you're an investor.