How Much Is TOO Much?

[Pin Money]

Yeah it was a D&G tee in my flamboyant phase

[PaulAnderson]

What I would be interested in is what rationale goes behind the costs for each item as there is a large variation between people.

I tend to think about how long I’m likely to have an item, the quality of the item, the materials used and the potential cost or time gone into making it. Based on that I’d have to seriously consider spending more than this on each:

T-Shirt: £25
Polo shirt: £80
Jeans: £250
Shoes: £200
Knitwear: £150
Shirt: £100
Trousers: £80
Coat: £600
Belt: £100

[J8x]

I have a Vivienne Westwood polo that was £110 and I think that's my most indulgent buy. Not the most expensive but for what it is I think it's quite pricey. If I had the money then I would be spending what would be extortionate amounts to most people, but only because I would want the highest quality, not because I would want to show off my price tags. I think people should live by their means, if they have the money to spend £2k on a coat then that's their choice. I think if you're having to cut back on other things like your car or something to fund it then maybe it's too much but otherwise, if you have the money, then buy what makes you happy.

[Sam]

That's interesting Paul - why so much more for a polo than a tee? There's a really, really nice polo on Mr Porter I've been eyeing up for £75 but I can't touch it because that's crazy for a polo to me. Also, why so much on jeans? Good jeans are great but you very rarely have to venture north of £150 do you? I don't even have any beyond £100.
Otherwise I think your limits are generally quite sensible. I would make a giant exception for the perfect leather jacket; now, as a student I can't pretend to have a handle on the value of money and how far it can go, but if I were to find one that fit, felt and looked perfect then I imagine that in an ideal world I would consider parting with up to £1000.

[Kash]

Sam, I seriously cannot justify spending that much on a jacket, especially as a student. You could buy a whole wardrobe with that money haha.

[PaulAnderson]

That's interesting Paul - why so much more for a polo than a tee? There's a really, really nice polo on Mr Porter I've been eyeing up for £75 but I can't touch it because that's crazy for a polo to me. Also, why so much on jeans? Good jeans are great but you very rarely have to venture north of £150 do you? I don't even have any beyond £100.
Otherwise I think your limits are generally quite sensible. I would make a giant exception for the perfect leather jacket; now, as a student I can't pretend to have a handle on the value of money and how far it can go, but if I were to find one that fit, felt and looked perfect then I imagine that in an ideal world I would consider parting with up to £1000.

I guess generally my polos have been thicker than a tee, and seem to have detailing/finish in the collars, arms and buttons that seems to justify the price over a simple tee.

Jeans are an interesting point. For a simple nice fitting denim I don’t expect to pay much more than £80. I find most jeans with a more interesting colour or finish can be priced around £150. I have a great pair of Diesel Jeans that have hand finished colour, fade, distress and even the odd paint spot that I was happy paying £250 for. That’s not common place, but I would spend it again.

If you take a close look at a decent pair of Diesel Jeans I think you can see the work that has gone into them is far greater than that of a pair of say Allsaints Jeans at £80, and they are designed to maintain the detail. Cheaper jeans seem to degrade very quickly when washed or worn. I had a pair of cheaper jeans with slight tears, and each wear seem to make it bigger and bigger, turning into a hole that then got bigger and bigger. My £250 jeans look as good today as the day I bought them.

[Sam]

That sounds fantastic - I will definitely have to look into a really nice pair of jeans. And after all, if you get the right wash, fit and weight, how many pairs do you really need? I can see where you're coming from.

Edit: Kash... I know. But I'd like to be very rich and if I had £1000 of disposable income... well, a leather jacket wouldn't be too far down the wishlist! Sod HDTVs

[merc05]

As Will said, I have limits per item. I wouldn't consider spending more than £40 on a t-shirt, and I also don't like to spend more than about £80-90 on a pair of trousers, but I would happily spend £200+ on many other pieces of clothing, such as knitwear, outerwear, and shoes. I think with those items, generally the more you spend the better the quality and I see those items as an investment that I can wear for years to come.

[Tom]

The problem with paying loads for items is not just quality and fit, but a matter of changing your mind and going off things. Sure, jeans are always going to be jeans and so are coats and plain knitwear, But even still with most things sooner or later people will shift away from due to trend influences or just boredom, so i'd draw the line at quality and leave extravagance for people earning near the higher end of the pay scale.

Tee's i'd pay £25 max, but if it's plain and for layering i'll buy a heap of cheapo ones.
Shirts - Up to £70ish depending what it's for.
Jeans i'd expect to get some decent ones for £80, but they're so easy to find in sales i'll usually wait, i'm never so desperate for jeans I couldn't hold on for a while and they're not the kind of thing i'd buy online so i'm usually limited to shopping centres and department stores, which are sale central at the moment.
Knitwear - Probably £60, I don't wear it much so it's a waste spending much more, but if I did have a favourite item that got worn out i'd consider spending more.
Coats/jackets - I don't own one that cost more than £100 (Thanks TK Maxx!) but again it's the kind of thing that makes a difference and gets a lot of use so i'd consider shelling out for something if I really liked it.
Footwear - £70 for shoes and £120 for boots, I wreck shoes scuffing them on chairs/the floor due to fidgeting so no flash ones for me!

[PaulAnderson]

I wreck shoes scuffing them on chairs/the floor due to fidgeting so no flash ones for me!

I think this is an interesting point too. I tend to justify spending more on things because I know how careful I am with them. I'm fussy to the point of getting changed when I get in so I'm not slouching around in nice stuff, and being very particular not to get things dirty or stretched.

My wife would often joke about how I never get dirty, even having three children.

I'm a bit OCD and it makes me cringe when I see people in nice stuff getting dirty. It's even as bad as hating watching people on TV cooking or washing up without rolling their sleeves up.