Pick Apart Your Purchases
What's the Cost Per Wear?

By Jennifer Gioia, staff writer

When is something a good deal? You bought those sneakers for super cheap, but the soles wore out after two months.

Or what about that faux fur jacket you bought? It took you two months just to save up the money but you wore it every cold day—and got lots of compliments too.

When you're contemplating whether or not to buy something, think about the cost per wear. "Cost per wear" is a way to break down the cost of an article of clothing by dividing each time you wear it into the price. So, a $40 skirt becomes a $10 skirt after you've worn it 4 times, and after 10 times it becomes a $4 skirt.

Try using the cost per wear formula:

Cost per wear = price of item/number of times you expect to wear it

What do you think is the better buy?

Corduroy low-rise pants for $25

Since corduroy is a heavy material you could only wear them in colder weather, an estimate of 12 times a year.

25/12 = 2.0833
The cost per wear is $2.08.

But if you wear the pants for two years, the cost per wear goes down to $1.04.

Dressy black pants for $40

These are a staple in anyone's wardrobe. You can wear the pants to school, religious services, special occasions, holidays, work, an estimate of 52 times a year.

40/52 = 0.7692
The cost per wear is $0.77.

Again, if the pants last for more than a year, the cost per wear gets lower.

Vintage flare denims for $30

You can wear these jeans for school and hanging out, but they might go out of style after this year, so estimate 28 times a year.

30/28 = 1.0714
The cost per wear is $1.07.

Slick Shopper

What's the best buy? There's no correct answer. It all depends on you. Knowing yourself is the key to making good shopping choices. Before you decide to buy anything, think of your style, how many times you might where it, and if it goes with other things in your closet. Those black dressy pants might not be such a good deal if you don't have shoes to go with them.

Practice Makes Perfect

Figure out your typical cost per wear. Stand in front of your closet with eyes closed. Randomly pull out five things. It's okay if it's something you wear all the time or hardly ever. Do the cost per wear formula for those five things. Were they higher or lower than you thought? Are you making the most out of your purchases? Think about what you would like your average cost per wear to be. Next time you're shopping and contemplating a purchase, keep that amount in mind and do the cost per wear formula. Thinking twice at the store will save you from saying "why did I buy that?" later.