Hi there (again)!
We are PorchLight Home Staging popping on to welcome you back to our blog. The way this blog thing works is that on the first Friday of every month, we will celebrate the much needed weekend by releasing our monthly blog. In these short but sweet articles, we will mesh the world of home staging (our forte) with current events and fashion trends. Like we mentioned last month, this blog topic is going to be a 2-part series! So… welcome to part 2! Last month, we discussed some suggestions on what to splurge and save on as far as interior design. Now, we will dive into fashion! I may be biased as a fashion merchandising student, but this topic is going to be very fun. There is a lot of stereotypes and speculation when purchasing clothing, so we want to make this an easy go-to guide on what items are worth the hype (and $) and which ones are not. The first thing you do when looking for an item of clothing is make a mental note in your head about how much you’re willing to spend. After you have a ballpark price, you search for your options: this is where the big 3 come in. The 3 things you are going to look for when deciding if an item is worth their price is 1. material 2. Origin 3. Cost Per Wear. Let’s show an example:
Images: Dear Frances, Getty Images, Canada Goose
These Boots Were Made For Walking
Naturally, black boots are a must have for fall and winter fashion. The tough question when purchasing this staples item is how much to spend on them. If you want these boots to last you a while, we definitely suggest splurging on them. Now the degree of the splurge is up to you, but we would recommend going about $100. Now, a boot can still be expensive and be bad quality, so here is what to look for:
Material: 100% leather will cost you. Most companies will say a boot is “leather,” but not disclose the percentage or what kind of leather. The rule of thumb is, if it gives the percent and the origin of the material, it is probably real. In this case, the price will suggest the authenticity as well. A lot of companies will market a leather boot for middle-high price, but outsource their production to China. This is pleather. If you are going for that, that’s all good! But don’t be tricked into a splurging when it is really only worth half of what is says it’s worth
Origin: We mentioned this quickly when talking about materials, but we are going to reiterate. Where the product is produced is super telling of the company and whether the product is worth it’s price. Usually, if the product is made in Italy, France, or the United States, then it will usually be a higher price. If the product is made in China, Vietnam, Turkey, etc. it will probably be sold for a cheaper price. Why? First, it could have lower quality materials, but more often, this black boot (for example) is a product of low labor cost. A black boot that claims to be leather but is only sold for $80 is this way because of the outsourcing of labor. Concerns of labor safety, low wages, and environmental impacts from fast fashion all go into your purchase of inexpensive boots (and all clothing for that matter). You may be paying a low price but what you are getting in return is a cheaper good. That’s a lot to think about! For these reasons, we suggest to splurge, and when splurging, pay attention to where the boots are coming from
Cost Per Wear: The last thing question to ask yourself when making a splurge purchase like this is how often will I wear this? Will the cost of this item make sense for how much I will be using it? Boots often have low cost per wear because of how versatile they are. For example, this 100% leather pair of boots from Dear Frances retail for about $600. I know, that is very expensive. But, when you think about the cost per wear (amount paid for item / how many times you wear it), it justifies this splurge. Take a look:
600/ ((10 x 4) x 3) = $5
This equation shows that if you wear these boots 10 times a month for 4 months (winter months) in 3 years, then every time you wear the boots they are only $5! This gives consumers more of an incentive to buy good quality products and wear the heck out of them for 5-10 years, so you investment is justifiable! Now, you absolutely do not need to go spending hundreds of dollars on clothing, but these are just some ideas to get you thinking on where your pieces come from & how much they are worth!
Bundle up!
When choosing to save or splurge on an item, the 3 things to look for above will help you make this purchase. With that being said, another item that we would recommend splurging on is a winter coat. Many stores will sell less expensive versions of a puffer coat, and claim this coat has all the same features as one that is significantly more expensive: it doesn’t. Winter coats are cheap because they don’t have as much material and lining to keep you warm. Good quality coats are going to cost you, but they do their job. More often than not, people try to skate out of having to splurge on a coat, and they turn to online fast fashion retailers. To their surprise, however, when the coat arrives, it is usually a different material than expected.
Images: Time Mag, NY Times, Fashion Bistro
Time To Save
I know what you’re thinking… this sounds like a lot of splurging. Good ways to save $ on clothing is by shopping secondhand. Thrift stores, secondhand websites (Poshmark, Depop, Merci), and websites like Rentherunway are cost effective and environmentally friendly. It is up to the consumer on what they choose to splurge and save on, but there are so many options to save and still get good quality pieces! More fun, colorful pieces that you may only wear once are the best times to save. For example: a fancy dress for an event, a themed party, or costume jewelry. Anna Wintour, editor of Vogue, constantly says that the quality is better than quantity. She is often shown wearing the same pieces over and over again. New generations feel the need to wear new clothing pieces often and would never want to be caught wearing the same thing twice. This isn’t sustainable! Our advice: splurge few good quality pieces, and save on the “fun” and less-practical stuff!