Affordability - Topic of the day 7/14/25
An often comment request is to find "affordable" or "inexpensive" clothes, but what exactly is "affordable" in this context? How do you determine what makes something worth buying for its price - design, material quality (whatever that means to you), construction, brand identity, functionality, rarity, some other thing? What role does upkeep/maintenance play in this decision? What is something "affordable" you've purchased/obtained recently, and how is it working out for you?
27 Replies
let me start by saying that the bode jacket is not 3.5k but only 2.7
I see something affordable as something I/you can afford so it's personal
I have my own max prices I'm willing to pay for each category of item,
Someone from a different background, with a different job (and different income), but also different interests and sensibilities will value things differently
I shop second hand a lot partially because I acknowledge my maximum prices are lower than the fair new sale value of a lot of the things I'm interested in, and it's working out great for me!
a quick example about people valuing things differently is bags
regardless of income, those who care about bags will get a cool leather bag and those who don't might get a canvas tote or such
Which serve the same function but one might be 10 or 20 times more expensive than the other
My mom buys really cheap clothes (like, everything under 10€) yet she values leather goods and is willing to spend 100+€ on a leather bag (which isnt much in the grand scheme of things but compared to her other spending habits it is) and she'd probably call it affordable
That goes for everything but it's something I've seen in fashion spaces so thought about it
Also accessories, jewelry etc same thing
@Please Go Away you know what time it is
<$400 = free
I think anything under like... $40 CAD is usually something that "doesn't count" for me
i also have this very unhealthy mindset with money where anything less than like $60 is "free" (its not), and once its a large enough amount I kind of stop sweating the details. $2500 vs $2800 doesnt seem like a big difference while I might be sweating the decision to spend $300 on something by itself. For the record I'm not spending $2.5k on a single garment but this sort of mindset creeps in.
I will say that my desire for clothes has been a lot less determined by "a good deal" lately since I haven't been buying anything since February
There are 2-3 things I want and I think I'll just seek them out once my cop freeze is over
A lot of my favourite shirts are thrifted/vintage finds that were under $50 CAD so I feel that it's definitely possible to create a wardrobe that suits you based on budgetary parameters (that is, unless you're going for more niche/unique cuts and patterns that are made by fewer overall makers)
For me the question of affordability is easier if I have a good general budget since everything clothes related is purely for hobby and not necessity. I dont "need" anything so as long as I 'm within the bounds I allow myself I can have fun and make some mistakes. As long as something is a reasonable consideration within my overall budget, my approach to affordability is more of a vibe... am I going to be complaining about the cost later? I prefer to pay once and then forget about it.
I buy whatever bc i'm not worried about saving for some kid's college fund
being gay rocks like that
I'm a dweeb so having a budget is key for me. Every month I put $X into my fashion bucket, and all purchases draw from there. If there's no money in the bucket, I can't buy anything. But if there is money in there, I can get whatever I want up to that amount. I used to have a lot of stress/anxiety about "non-essential" purchases, but the mental clarity of setting this money aside for this specific purpose helped give me peace of mind about my spending
largely same here. if there’s something I like for like £30 chances are i’ll buy it
this though
if it’s less than I can easily spend on a dinner at a fancy restaurant it’s free, if it’s more than that but less than my monthly income it’s affordable
When I’m buying clothes, I usually give myself a limit of 10% of my monthly income. My target is probably 5% on a yearly basis.
So whatever mixture adds up to that is affordable for me
Boo this is fashion server, not financial responsibility server
Oh this is just for me. I would never impose budget brain on anyone else.
Nah I’m just teasing I think budgets are rad
I guess my point is that I try not to think about affordability in terms of individual pieces.
Lmao let’s not get ahead of ourselves
I'm a cheap bastard so I usually buy stuff I like if it's on sale. I don't have a budget limit but I have a ballpark of the max I want to spend on some piece though that depends on its quality and rarity.
I'm not your monkey
jk
i’m lucky wherein once every four months or so the government throws money at me (student loan) and can spend a portion of that on clothes and dumb stuff and not feel too much guilt. for me anything under £30 or so i’m happy to just buy and then around £100 I actually think “is this entirely worth it”
(and then usually buy it anyway)
to be fair my local vintage shop has incredibly good pricing, like a good quality pearl snap for under £20
that i’d definitely call affordable lol
I budget a nondescript "fun money" bracket which applies to everything non essential. If i go over in other expenses (ie: i cook less than i should :goodbyemoney: ), the difference comes out of "fun money"
And also i have a shitton of other spendy interests so its more like i rotate through hobbies on a cycle. Fashion to makeup to keyboards to fountain pens back to makeup ect al. Now im swinging back into fashion so im in danger
The big reason i fell off clothes is 1) lack of accessible and affordable brick and mortar thrift places, and 2) my closet is well rounded and anything else i pick up at this point will be very specific statement pieces im after
Since I‘m a student I don’t have that much budget for clothes but as y‘all know that doesn’t stop me
I‘m lucky that 60s and 70s clothes on Vinted usually go for really cheap if you look enough, so what I consider affordable for myself is 5-35€
In a more general sense I would consider anything up to 150€ affordable but it really depends on the context (a 50s wedding dress for 150 is affordable, a 50s day dress for that price a bit overpaid for example)
I do save up for things that I find unique and well made, I love small handmade brands for example, here I‘m willing to spend up to 300€ if I have time to save up for it
Yeah, pretty much this. I have a pot of fashion spending money and as long as I don't break that budget it doesn't matter how much individual pieces cost.
If it turns out I think I'll be able to sell something later for what I bought it for, then it's affordable, basically free even I will never actually sell it
Yeah, I keep making that mistake over and over again. I need to lower my vinted prices to finally clean out some old stuff.
I say that, I've actually sold like £400 of stuff in the last month, progress!
...and only re-spent 70