Clothes | 2019
Friday, January 10, 2020
Here's my annual breakdown of spending on clothes and accessories for 2019.
I've been keeping track since 2012, and I've included the figures from previous years for easy comparison.
Spending total?
2012 £1,751.00
2013 £1,188.00
2014 £745.65
2015 £1,207.87
2016 £742.39
2017 £663.03
2018 £546.18
2019 £400.10
Just look at the difference between this and 2012.
How many items did I buy?
2012 138
2013 131
2014 76
2015 74
2016 63
2017 83
2018 71
2019 66
Whilst I am pleased with this number being one of the lowest, it still means that I purchased more than one item per week, and when looking at it that way, it seems rather a lot!
What percentage of items purchased were pre-loved?
2012 42%
2013 58%
2014 46%
2015 41%
2016 37%
2017 52%
2018 69%
2019 87%
What percentage of items purchased are still owned?
(at the end of the year they were purchased)
2012 90%
2013 65%
2014 ??
2015 75%
2016 85%
2017 85%
2018 97%
2019 86%
At first I was a little disappointed with this figure but the items that were sold or donated weren't items that I would've gone on to wear. I'm trying not to hang on to things simply because I've bought them, better to donate or sell on to someone that might actually wear them.
Total of discarded items
2012 unknown
2013 £240
2014 £91.47
2015 unknown
2016 unknown
2017 £88.14
2018 £21.17
2019 £29.72
What percentage of items purchased remain unworn?
2012 33.3%
2013 13%
2014 ??
2015 5%
2016 12%
2017 19%
2018 22%
2019 3%
Just a swimsuit and a t-shirt remain unworn. The t-shirt will come out in the spring, and as we have a holiday already booked the swimsuit will definitely be worn next year.
What was the most expensive item?
2012 £105.00 (half price) Kurt Geiger shoes
2013 £35.00 each for a pair of Toms and Next ballet pumps
2014 £64.00 for my very first pair of Irregular Choice shoes
2015 £85.00 on a dress worn for my Mum's wedding
2016 £95.00 for a winter coat
2017 £25.60 for my green skirt
2018 £66.15 jeans (full price £105)
2019 £32.00 ASOS jumpsuit
The jumpsuit has only been worn 4 times since I purchased it in April last year, which is much less than I'd envisioned, but I'm hoping that once I've whittled down my wardrobe further I'll be able to wear my favourite items more often.
What was most expensive pre-loved item?
2012 unknown
2013 unknown
2014 £45.00 French Connection maxi dress
2015 £34.99 Irregular choice frog shoes
2016 £18.00 ASOS floral wiggle dress
2017 £24.99 burgundy leather knee high boots (sold in 2018 on ebay for £22.00)
2018 £12.00 black knee high boots
2019 £13.00 sequin bag
I bought the sequin bag when I got caught up in festival fever but I do use it. It hangs at the front of my wardrobe so I don't forget about it. What's the point in owning something this pretty and not using it? I'm sure it'll be going back to Latitude with me this year.
What was the cheapest of both categories?
2012 unknown
2013 unknown
2014 New grey vest top £2.00. Pre-loved scarf £1.25
2015 New blue pants for my wedding day £4.00. Pre-loved cork purse 75p
2016 New I purchased several items for £4.00. Pre-loved bracelet £1.25
2017 New flip flops for 90p. Pre-loved maxi skirt from ebay 99p
2018 New flip flops for 90p. Pre-loved £1.00 each for a pink scarf, and red summer top
2019 New ASOS boots £9.50 (sale). Pre-loved heart print vest top £1.00 (sale).
The boots are a staple, not worn often but good to have for when I need black on the end of my legs. The heart print vest top was purchased in September and only worn a few times but I know it'll be a favourite when the weather warms up again.
2019 Buyer's Archive Resolutions - how did I do?
Reduce the number of clothes I buy overall. The lowest number is 63, and this year I purchased 66, so it's not my lowest number of purchases, but fewer than last year.
I have a shopping challenge for 2020, I'm going to try and buy just one item per month because I don't need any more clothes, but I do love shopping. I have so many lovely items that deserve to be worn more often, so that's what I'm going to do.
Buy more pre-loved clothes than new. I'd hoped to be somewhere above 80% for 2019, and I'm pleased to say that 87% was the final figure. I am pleased that I shop secondhand more these days, but now I need to reduce the number of items I have overall, my wardrobe is stuffed. I probably have more clothes than I can wear in a year (which sounds like another challenge!).
Stick within a £500 budget. Yes! I spent £400.10. As you can imagine I'm really pleased with this. As I plan to buy less this year I'm wondering if I can come in under £200 for 2020?
Alter / mend all items that need it. I mended some but not as many as I ignored.
Sell or donate all the things that don't fit or I no longer wear. I sold numerous items on ebay in the summer, so many that I almost became a permanent fixture in my local post office. I donated some items too, but there is still a pile of things to list on ebay. I have a feeling it'll be a pile that I never get to the bottom of, I add to it more often than I remove something from it.
2020 Buyer's Archive Resolutions
My goal this year is simple. To buy, spend, and discard less.
Links to previous years - 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018
15 comments
You're so good at tracking your clothing purchases! Love that such a high percentage of your wardrobe is now secondhand - go you! x
ReplyDeleteI have an old fashioned paper spreadsheet :)
DeleteI'm pleased that secondhand is now my go to, now I just have to work on buying fewer items.
Thanks Vix.
xx
Good luck with your 2020 challenge. You have built a wardrobe of really nice classic pieces worth hanging on to. I just got my boots repaired instead of buying new, so glad I did as they look like new and we do throw away so easily. I don't have much space so will probably sell on ebay in the Spring but I haven't kept a budget and have no idea what I spent although most of my India trip clothes were ebayed. Betty
ReplyDeleteThank you, it's going well so far (but it has only been 11 days!).
DeleteI think cobblers might start to see an increase in people repairing shoes now that the throw away culture is slowly changing.
I find it so hard to part with clothing, even things I've never worn, but making a little bit of money whilst doing it does help.
There are so many lovely items to be had from ebay and charity shops, which I know is fuelled by our disposable culture, and will surely change as attitudes change, but for now, there are treasures to be found. If I didn't tell people that my clothes were secondhand I doubt they'd know, but I can't help singing the praises of our charity shops!
xx
I'm very impressed with how you've been keeping track of your purchases for all these years. I'm also impressed with your total amount for this year and the percentage of items bought second-hand. Good luck with this year's challenge! xxx
ReplyDeleteThank you!
Deletexx
I love a good bit of tracking! I'm a big fan of spreadsheets, haha! I have a few but don't make a detailed record of clothes shopping as I don't buy enough for it to be worthwhile. I'd love to buy more second hand but I never find anything in the charity shops as I'm so skinny, I need size 4, 6 or 8 depending on brands and such but none of the charity shops I've visited (and definitely none of my local ones) ever have much in at the tiny end of the scale. I have had some success with ebay purchases though so do have a number of preloved items in my wardrobe. I don't mind too much though as I so rarely buy clothes at all and when I do buy new I buy mostly because it's something I need and I buy things that I then wear for years!
ReplyDeleteI think you've done really well in all the areas you're tracking! 2012 was such a big different to last year! Good luck with your 2020 plan :)
I'm hoping to make my spending habits more like yours - buying what I need and wearing it for years. I don't mind buying new, but at the moment, whilst I'm still buying a lot I'd rather buy secondhand, and save stuff from landfill.
DeleteWhen I started tracking my plan wasn't to change my habits, it was just because I was curious, but over the years, and with the increased knowledge of the damage the fashion industry does, it's become about looking at behaviour and making changes for the better.
xx
I think you have done really well. I really SHOULD keep a track of what I spend as I am quite sure it would be shocking reading- so I really should do. I am thinking what I have already spent this year and it is about £75! I made the mistake of buying some Clara boots second-hand (they were new but unworn) for £40.00 plus postage and they are really small on me! Waste of money! They are very expensive boots but I knew I shouldn't have bought them! I have then bought a jumpsuit worn by Yaz in tonight's episode (was very excited to have IDed it!) and then spent £2 in a charity shop on 4 items last weekend. Bad girl....
ReplyDeleteI applaud your efforts- your tracking has really helped your shopping habit! I think it is good to acknowledge a love of shopping. Like you, I do really like shopping (in charity shops mainly...) and I think I always go mad if I actively ban myself from it!
You could start tracking now? Don't feel bad about the boots, you can always sell them on ebay and make some money back. If they'd been a good fit you wouldn't have thought it was a mistake to buy them, but that is the risk with secondhand stuff, you can rarely return it for a refund.
DeleteI watched Dr Who and thought of you, I looked at Yaz's outfit and thought of a jumpsuit you purchased last year - with parrots or a tropical print? But now you have the real deal :)
£2 on 4 items sounds pretty good to me, what did you buy?
I really do love shopping, especially charity shopping, and total bans don't work for me either.
xx
Wow, that's some serious record keeping. Well done for keeping such detailed records, I know I would have given up within the year, haha. Good luck with this year's challenge.
ReplyDeleteI do enjoy a spreadsheet. Once I got into the habit of keeping a record it was easy and it takes no time at all.
DeleteNow that I've done it for eight years, I'm aiming for 10, a nice round number :)
xx
How things have changed! Could you even imagine setting a £200 budget back in 2012?!!!
ReplyDeleteI think it's great how you have tracked and analysed your spending. I don't doubt most people would be taken aback at their own, it's often shocking how things add up. My own spending has gone down in the last year or two as I feel so much fussier about things - the disappointment of items not fitting or feeling too worn has left me more suspicious about buying unless I feel strongly which is no bad thing. xx
I would've broken out in a cold sweat in 2012 if someone said I had a £200 limit!
DeleteIt really does add up, and it easy to forget the odd thing you buy here and there, hence my spreadsheet :)
I think I'm similar to you, I'm being pickier about what I buy, and try things on in charity shops more than I ever used to, which helps avoid disappointing purchases.
I'm really interested to see how I get on with spending this year, I think regular circulation of items in my wardrobe will help, so often things get forgotten because they're stored under the bed.
xx
Wow well done. I kind of broke it, as my style is more vintage now, but lucky for me a charity shop was closing down and everything was 50p ! A bit rude not to, plus I have just discovered I have an chocolate allergy so I have dropped 3 dress sizes. So I need to do a clearance and sell on eBay.
ReplyDeleteThank you for taking the time to comment x