DRESS PER WEAR FACTOR

A year ago I was sitting on a plane next to a couple who were on their way to Las Vegas. Being on a cramped plane, I couldn't help but overhear to their conversation... okay I admit, I was eavesdropping. It was apparent that they didn't know each other very well because they were still making small talk, but I had to laugh at what they were talking about. The man was a bit of a cowboy and the women seemed to be a rich valley-girl that loved to spend her daddy's money. She was telling him about a girlfriend that had called her asking for her advice on whether she should buy a $400 dollar dress that her husband already told her not to buy. Here's what I heard:

Valley Girl Who Likes to Spend Daddy's Money: "I told her to totally but it! Because if you really think about it, if she wears the dress 40 times her dress-per-wear-factor is like only $10 dollars!"

My mouth dropped open. Dress-per-wear- factor??? Is that a thing!? And wearing the same dress 40 times.... that would take a long time. There are 52 weeks in a year. You would have to wear that same dress almost once a week for an entire year to wear it 40 times! That's like living in an episode of Charlie Brown, every kid is wearing the same thing every day.

At first I was so annoyed at this ladies materialism but then I got to thinking. Dress-per-wear-factor isn't a bad concept. I took a look at some of the outfits that I would have worn last year. MEK Jeans: $85, Dressy T-shirt: $20, Cute heels:$20. Now lets say I was going to wear that outfit 10 times (much more realistic than 40!). My dress-per-wear-factor would be $12.50. Still a little high in my opinion but better than $40, which is what the dress-per-wear-factor of that black dress would be if you wore it 10 times. Today I spend much less on my clothes. Here's an outfit I wore today. Everything I have on is from garage sales.

My shirt was $1 dollar. My jeans were $3 and my shoes were $5. Even my white spaghetti strap under shirt was a dollar from a garage sale.

Here's a close up of my shoes. Anyone notice the brand? Naughty Monkeys. You can't find these for less than $50 in stores! But name-brand doesn't mean that your dress-per-wear-factor (dpwf) has to go up. The total cost of my outfit is an even $10 dollars. If I wear it 10 times my dress-per-wear-factor is only $1! So much cheaper than a $12.50 dpwf! Take a look in your closet and add up your dress-per-wear factor. Is it a reasonable price? Looking fashionable doesn't have to be expensive. If you're smart you can look cute and still have money in your pocket. I will be posting some other outfits I have found at garage sales and second hand stores with their dress-per-wear-factor later so check back in!