As a student, I have no choice but to be mindful of my shopping/spending habits. I try to consider many factors before making an expensive purchase. How many ways can I wear it? What am I paying for- the logo or the materials? How many years will this last me?
I do want to say, though, that everyone has a different budget and your budget is ultimately what determines whether you splurge or save, and that’s okay! No product is worth going into debt for- please remember that!
Premium Materials
Many products such as wool jackets, leather boots and bags, silk dresses, or cashmere sweaters look beautiful because of the material, and that’s why i think they’re worth a splurge. Whether or not there is a logo shouldn’t matter for these items. Good quality products will last many seasons if you take care of them, which is why I think they’re worth spending on and often cheaper in the long run. I recently did a post on how I take care of my sweaters because I have cashmere sweaters I’ve been wearing for 6+ years!
When companies make synthetic products, the material often scoffs easily, pills, or gets ruined in the wash, so the cheaper price usually equals a cheaper looking product with a shorter useful life. That said, there ARE brands that make high quality synthetic or vegan products. There’s a big difference between a Forever21 plastic purse and an Angela Roi vegan leather which looks, feels, and acts like animal leather. Even a good quality synthetic product can end up being a splurge, though!
Neutral Shoes & Bags
Shoes that will get a lot of wear (i.e. not blue velvet heels etc.) but a black loafer or dark brown leather boots- I’d splurge so that it lasts all season long (and ideally multiple seasons), looks good, and will be comfortable. I’ve worn uncomfortable shoes so much and I assure you it’s never worth it. That doesn’t mean you have to get designer shoes- but anything in real leather and that’s comfortable and stylish can end up being fairly expensive. For bags, I think a neutral color like cognac or deep brown or black are solid colors for an investment piece. Again, I don’t think a splurge means it has to be a luxury label. There are several lesser-known brands that sell genuine leather bags, and I think prioritizing the quality of the material and style is more important than the logo on it.
Statement Pieces
There are really cute pieces I have seen and wanted, but I know that I could only wear them once per year because they would be so bright and memorable. For things like that, I will only purchase if it’s a great value for the money.
Small purses
Bags that you don’t plan to carry a lot of weight in- think small pieces that are purely an accessory – they really don’t need to be expensive or real leather. With larger bags, you want the material and seams to be strong enough to carry heavy items like a laptop. But with the cute trendy smaller bags that are in style now, I think it makes sense to just save since the quality doesn’t matter as much if it’s just going to have your phone and keys inside.
Infrequently worn scarves and belts
Since these items are just accessories and since they don’t really get worn out as much, I do think you can cheap out here. I have synthetic colorful silky scarves that I wrap around my purse handles during summer and they were $3-$5 each on Shein. I actually don’t support Shein or any of these super fast fashion brands that likely don’t pay fair wages BUT I think in general it’s safe to save when buying accessories like this.
Q&A
My friend Suri from Dreaming Loud and I discussed all of our splurging vs. saving tips in an Instagram Live together recently and we answered audience questions. Here are a few good ones below.
How long should you expect something to last?
We discussed 5-ish years as being a good standard timespan to expect a splurge piece to last- say shoes or a jacket that you wear often. Handbags can last a lifetime if you take care of them!
What is an unconventional piece of advice?
One thing we discussed was that a classic white button-down blouse isn’t necessarily the best splurge item even though a lot of magazines and blogs list it as such. Any white blouse can get dirty eventually, whether by a spill or just from sweat stains! You’ll spend so much on dry cleaning white blouses that I don’t think they’re ever worth a splurge.
Do you re-sell?
I do re-sell products on Poshmark, Mercari, and local consignment stores! I feel that certain brands like J. Crew or Banana Republic tend to do alright when re-selling because people trust the quality.
Thanks so much for reading and hoping to hear your thoughts below 🙂
