Asking yourself if a piece of clothing is worth your money (even if it’s not much) is the first step towards building sustainable wardrobe habits. It helps avoid impulse buys even if you’re shopping from a slow fashion brand or second-hand.
I personally often have to take a few deep breaths and remember to buy with longevity in mind. To help myself, I use a method called the cost per wear, which I’m detailing in this article. It’s very easy to follow, especially in charity shops where price tags tend to be low and during sales like Black Friday.
Buying from fast fashion may seem cheap but this type of consumption ends up being more expensive in the long run. The majority of clothes fast fashion brands produce last a few seasons before falling apart, some way or another. It’s particularly the true of trendy items.
This blog post looks into the cost per wear method theoretically. If you’re interested to read about specific examples taken from my own wardrobe, shopping pitfalls and lessons I’ve learned from professional stylists on buying well, I think you’d like to become a member of my newsletter, Slow Fashion Weekly.
What is the cost per wear?
The cost per wear is the price you pay for a piece of clothing as a customer + the cost of taking care of the garment (dry cleaning, future repairs, alterations, etc.) divided by the amount of times you think you’re going to wear it. The higher the cost per wear, the less the garment is worth it.
Cost per wear and garment quality
The first thing we look into is the quality and durability of the piece of clothing. There are 6 different ways to assess a piece and find out if it’s well-made and will last you a long time. If the piece doesn’t pass any of these tests, it’s best to leave it on the rack.
Look for durable materials
The material composition is listed on the tag inside the garment. Some materials are more durable than others, regardless of their sustainability credentials.
- Wool, leather and cotton are very durable but each bear important environmental and ethical issues. Wool and leather aren’t vegan and cotton production is responsible for the drying up of the Aral sea.
- Synthetic materials like polyester, acrylic, nylon, polyamide, polyurethane, Lycra, and Spandex tend to be on the lower quality side although there are some rare exceptions. They release micro-plastics with every wash so I would avoid them.
- Tencel, Econyl and Ecovero are sustainable viscose alternatives. They’re durable as long as you take care of them properly.
- Linen, hemp, and ramie are sustainable and durable materials. I look for 100% linen or 50/50 linen-cotton mix when I’m shopping for summer clothes.
Hold the piece of clothing up to a bright light. The more see-through the fabric, the less quality and durable it tends to be. A lining inside is generally a good sign.
Garment construction and add-ons
Fold the piece in half and see if the seams are symmetrical. This is particularly useful for t-shirts and blouses. If there is a pattern, it needs to be aligned.
Then observe the hem, lining and look for any loose threads that would indicate the garment may already be falling apart. Don’t hesitate to pull the seams delicately to see if the stitches hold or seem fragile. A French seam (that encloses the raw edges) usually means more work has been put into making it.
Check buttons (is there a spare one available?) and zippers (up and down several times). Zippers should be hidden under a little flap and sturdy.
Fitting room
Always try the piece if you can and move around. For example, sit down, raise your arms, crouch down, etc. Try to spot any weird bump or twisted seam as you do.
Are you feeling comfortable in it? Knowing the measurements of your most well-fitted clothes and carrying around a measuring tape to measure potential buys when you shop can help you speed up this process.
Remember it’s easier to alter a piece of clothing if you want to make it smaller than it is the other way around. I’d avoid buying anything too big though, as alterations can be costly and you may never wear your new buy.
Calculating the cost per wear
Now that you’ve assessed this piece is worth your money in theory, let’s look into practical things to have in mind before you shop. For this, I’ll use a fictional example and compare the cost per wear of two skirts.
The first one is from fast fashion brand & Other Stories, on the left, and the second one is from slow fashion label Mara Hoffman on the right.
- The & Other Stories ones is 100% polyester and costs £65 (approx. 80 US$).
- The Mara Hoffman skirt is 100% linen and costs £252 (approx. 340 US$).
The cost per wear of the & Other Stories skirt
At first glance, the & Other Stories skirt looks cute but seems a bit short. The colour is original and very summery. I would only wear it during weekends. I wouldn’t see myself wearing it with tights and boots during the colder months. As I live in London, I wouldn’t have many occasions to wear a mini skirt. I also already own a few other minis.
The tag says 100% polyester, which means there is a risk of quick deterioration if I wash it in a washing machine. It also may loose its shape if I do. However, it’s not high-quality and luxurious enough to spend money dry cleaning it.
I estimate I’ll wear this skirt approximately 10 times in 2 spring-summer before I’ll want to replace it with something new. Cost per wear: £6,5.
The cost per wear of the Mara Hoffman skirt
The Mara Hoffman skirt is more expensive than what I would usually spend on a skirt. I would need to wear it about 39 times for the cost per wear to be £6,5.
The midi length and off-white colour are a lot easier to wear than the & Other Story skirt above. I don’t see myself being tired of it but it’s not extremely exciting either. I can picture it with floral blouses in spring and jumpers in autumn and clothes I already own, which is great. It would require some styling to make it fit my style but I enjoy dressing up so I’m happy to spend time making it work.
I like that it’s versatile. It could be dressed up or down (day/evening) and I could wear it in autumn with high boots underneath. The material is a blend of organic cotton and linen, which means I can wash it in the machine and the fabric may feel even better over time. I could keep it longer than 5 years.
Assuming I’m wearing it from March to October, I would need to wear it 7 or 8 times per year or once or twice a month. It sounds realistic and I would probably wear it more.
Is sustainable fashion more affordable than fast fashion?
As you can see, the cost per wear method can save you money on the long term. If you need to buy new clothes often because they look worn after a few washes or wear, it’s financially smarter to invest in one or two higher quality pieces and spend a bit more on them than you usually would.
I’m not suggesting you need to spend £300 on a skirt to be sustainable. This is just an example to show you the process of buying clothes mindfully. There are times when fast fashion prices are more sustainable financially and the cost per wear helps make the best purchasing decision.
Are investment buys from big luxury brands a bad idea?
That’s a difficult question. Tags from big luxury brands have a lot of value and you can easily resell a piece if you’re not wearing it. A piece from Céline you never wear is a better investment than a piece from & Other Stories, which would sell for a quarter of the price you paid on Vinted.
However, selling online isn’t as easy and it can be quite tedious. Taking pictures, writing descriptions, arguing over price with strangers,… It all can feel like a job. Unless you enjoy it or want to change outfits very regularly, I would stick to the cost per wear and buy clothes with longevity and real life scenarios in mind.
Conclusion on the cost per wear
In today’s fashion landscape the price of an item has little to do with the quality of the piece itself, the material composition or how it was made. Garment workers are underpaid or not paid at all (take a look at the PayUp campaign raising awareness of this issue), in the UK and around the world.
Even well-established brands that are considered luxury use underpaid labour and synthetic materials in their collections.
I recommend buying from brands that are committed to paying their workers fairly, are using the best materials and craftsmanship available and have invested in certifications such as GOTS or Fair Wear.
