Dressing in designer fashion all the time would cost thousands of dollars, and even many wealthy people, who could afford to buy designer clothing and accessories, don't spend their money on pricey designer fashion. Clothing is far more transitory than a certificate of deposit, share of stock, or real estate, so it's no wonder that calling clothing or fashion accessories "investments" is more than a little bit problematical.
Some criteria are universal when an investor seeks a place to invest money: one is that the investment really has current value, and another is that the investment will be worth more as time passes. Some investors seek current interest or dividends on their investments as well.
What does all this have to do with investing in fashion? We can see that in most instances clothing or fashion accessories won't ever be worth more than we paid for them, and we're certainly not going to be collecting interest on a new wool jacket although we may consider compliments received as dividends of sorts. So we come back to the first criterion, which is that an investment has true current value.
Trendy designer clothing that's "in" this season and "out" next season can't be considered worth hundreds or thousands of dollars. But a well-made, classic tailored jacket made of fine wool fabric that costs hundreds of dollars may very well be worth its current price when a woman considers the amount of use that she can have from such a jacket, over a period of several years.
Let's say that a petite woman purchases a $300 jacket. In order to obtain a perfect fit, she has the jacket tailored, spending $100 on alterations. Now let's assume that she wears the jacket twice a week for five years. In such a case, the cost of the jacket, although initially steep, amounts to less than $1 each time she wears the jacket. On the other hand, a sequined top purchased to wear to a New Year's party and worn only a couple of times ends up costing $15 per wear. In the long run, even with dry cleaning bills factored in, the tailored wool jacket's true cost is less than the true cost of the sequined top. That's the type of investment dressing that makes sense--classic clothing or fashion accessories that a woman can wear time and time again.
Is investment dressing--the kind that makes sense--right for you? Here are some considerations:
- Can you afford to purchase the fashion item without charging it on a credit card?
- Do you like to dress in a fashion uniform?
- Do you have a classic fashion personality?
- Are you someone who hates to throw things away?
- Do you value tradition?
