What it really means to invest in your wardrobe
Regardless of whether you’re starting your wardrobe from scratch and want to know which pieces to start with or you’re simply refining what you already have, taking a little bit of time to thoughtfully consider what it means and how best to invest in your wardrobe will help you create a well-rounded wardrobe that not only works for your personal style and lifestyle but will also help you successfully manage your wardrobe budget (more on the whole budget thing in a bit).
Let’s start with the obvious question… “what does it mean to invest in your wardrobe”?
Investing in your wardrobe is a combination of knowing your personal style, being honest about your current lifestyle, and knowing what you can realistically afford to spend on your wardrobe (aka, your wardrobe budget). It’s thoughtfully considering which pieces make the most sense to have in or add to your wardrobe when viewed through the lens of all three of these components. It’s filling your wardrobe with versatile, practical, functional items that are of value to you.
And they are of value to you because they make getting ready a breeze, because they eliminate the stress of feeling like you never have anything to wear, because you get excited to wear them. Pieces that you reach for over and over, that you never tire of wearing season after season, that you can style and wear multiple different ways with multiple different outfits, that allow you to put an outfit together with ease because everything just makes sense and works together seamlessly.
Investing in your wardrobe doesn’t mean purchasing hundreds of items or spending lots of money on expensive or luxury pieces. It’s not about quantity or keeping up with every new trend or adding new pieces every time an influencer suggests you try something. How many times have I seen an influencer promote something, or even just casually mention something, and think “I didn’t know I needed that (or even know of its existence) until they showed it to me!” It’s way too easy to get sidetracked and think that more stuff is the solution to a great wardrobe, but I have found that impulsively adding more (and more and more) just feels overwhelming and exhausting.
No, more isn’t the solution. Rather, it goes back to what I said earlier – thoughtful consideration of which pieces make the most sense for you and will add true value to your wardrobe.
Knowing what it means to invest in your wardrobe then helps you determine which items you personally should invest in. Ultimately, you should invest in (prioritize, focus your budget to, etc.) the pieces that you know make the most sense for your personal style and your lifestyle, the ones that are going to help you create a versatile, practical, functional wardrobe.
Your personal style and current lifestyle are the first two parts of the investment equation and honestly assessing what that realistically looks like for you is a great place to start when determining which pieces are truly going to add value to your wardrobe.
What do you genuinely enjoy wearing? Think about what you do daily, weekly, monthly, etc. How often are you required to wear business casual attire? Or even formal attire? Do you mostly live in sneakers or casual shoes? Or do you wear heels most days? Are you required to wear a uniform to work? What type of activities fill most of your days during the week or month?
If you know that you wear sneakers or casual shoes almost every single day, don’t fill your wardrobe with dozens of pairs of high heels that you know you won’t wear more than a handful of times a year. On the other hand, if you wear jeans almost every single day, but only own one or two pairs, you might want to consider expanding your denim collection. If doing so is in your wardrobe budget… which brings me to the whole budget discussion.
This is the third part of the investment equation and, while it’s not the most fun thing to consider, it’s an important component of helping you determine how you invest in and add value to your wardrobe.
Your wardrobe budget is the amount of money you can realistically afford to spend on your entire wardrobe (clothes, shoes, handbags, etc.). The general consensus from what I’ve read online is that you shouldn’t spend more than 5% of your annual income on your wardrobe. Obviously, this will vary from person to person depending on your job, your lifestyle, your specific annual income, etc.
Once you’ve established what your personal wardrobe budget is, there are endless ways to keep track of your spending. Pen and paper, a spreadsheet, the notes app on your phone, or a dedicated budget/spending app.
Personally, I like using the Wallet Balance app because it allows me to easily set up and keep track of multiple accounts at once. I have my “annual wardrobe budget” account set up with the total that I would like to stay under for the year and can see exactly how much is left in that account after inputting each transaction. This helps keep me on track and accountable with my spending so that I don’t go over my budget for the year.
There are so many budget/spending apps available to download, so if you choose to go that route, you can choose the one that works best and is easiest for you to use (aka, one you actually will use!).
In combination with your personal style and lifestyle, your current wardrobe status plays a role in determining how best to spend your wardrobe budget. Someone who is starting their wardrobe from scratch may need to prioritize their spending on certain items that will lay a good foundation (such as basics and staples), while someone who already has a good foundation and simply wants to refine their wardrobe may have more flexibility to spend more of their budget on a single piece.
An extra little tip for those of you who just love to shop or love to constantly edit your wardrobe (but still want to ensure that you’re not overspending), you can stretch your wardrobe budget by shopping secondhand (from sites like Poshmark) or add to it by “selling to buy” (selling your unworn or unused items and using the funds from those sales to purchase new wardrobe items).
(You can read my in-depth post about “everything you need to know about how to buy on Poshmark” here).
By the way, if you haven’t already figured it out, I’m not going to tell you which specific pieces you should invest in. Why, you ask? Because I don’t know your personal style, or your lifestyle, or your wardrobe budget. I can’t tell you that you should invest in wide-leg tailored trousers (a personal favorite of mine) because they might be something you would truly never wear.
You might be thinking it’s time for you to invest in a high quality, wear-forever, wear-with-everything leather jacket because that suits your personal style, but that’s not something at the top of my wardrobe wish list. The items I want to invest in and find essential for my wardrobe may not be the ones you find essential for yours. (Check out my “essential wardrobe items you may not need” post here).
Ultimately, the pieces you should invest in are the ones you will actually wear. The ones that you want to wear, not the ones someone tells you to buy because they like them. As I said earlier, it all comes down to you – your personal style, your lifestyle, and your budget – and once you figure out all of those things and use them as your guide, you’ll be able to create your own version of a well-rounded wardrobe that is perfectly suited to you and works for just about any and every scenario in your life.
If you’re looking for more or still aren’t quite sure where to start, check out my top tips for creating a well-rounded wardrobe, my ultimate guide to wardrobe basics, or the seven essential wardrobe categories for even more info on how to create and invest in your own version of a well-rounded wardrobe.
Amber
Hi, I’m Amber
Creator and founder of A Well-Rounded Wardrobe. Whether you’re looking to start building a wardrobe from scratch or simply want to fine tune what you already have, you’re in the right place. Start exploring.