The hot topic these days, it seems, is the effect of the credit crunch on shopping choices this season. The main message is that people have less to spend during these uncertain times. However, instead of heading over to Zara for a fast fashion fix, experts are predicting that people will spend more money on a few select pieces, choosing quality over quantity.
This is good news folks. A little research into how much money people should ideally be spending on their clothes every year according to personal finance experts revealed a figure of 5 percent of your annual income. Only 5 percent people! And yes, this includes accessories and shoes. And yes, of course it is after tax.
While I am all for buying less but buying better, in fact it’s my mantra now that I live in a city that I actually can‘t afford, one needs to be careful when attempting to decipher an “investment piece,” also known as the cornerstone of “investment dressing.” It’s a good thing that there are boyfriends around to remind you that most of the time you are speaking nonsense and to call it what it really is, splurging.
Despite the fact that said boyfriend and many others out there are able to wear anything and still look acceptably stylish, I can see there is some truth in this. After all, one would hope that their investments actually increased in value. And no matter how you slice it, clothing is not going to increase in value. Even the fate of the one item which it seems the entire fashion world accepts as an “investment”, the Birkin bag, has now been made uncertain ever since Heidi from The Hills started carrying it. And say you suddenly find yourself with a whole lot of extra time on your hands to engage in clothes swapping, the most this will do is score you an equivalent piece of clothing previously worn by a fellow “investor“.
So where does this all leave us? Investment schminvestment. You can rationalize anything. Just like the perfect “will last forever” navy blue trench coat from my favourite label Laundry Industry equating to 0.7 percent of my annual after tax income that I just bought while recovering from food poisoning. Logical thinking is a lawyer’s specialty, after all. If we’re going to stick to our 5 percent guideline, the credit crunch inspired strategy of buying less is a good start. Even if you do spend more on a few items you absolutely love, the overall effect should be to spend less. Let’s think of it as a challenge, who doesn‘t love a challenge? And perhaps one day I will own actual assets beyond my iPod docking station and super cute mini laptop.
Terry Chan is a Canadian lawyer practicing finance law in London. She writes every Friday on style and fashion, perfectly aware that the next big thing is not looking like a lawyer.