Before we can go shopping, we need to understand the first cardinal quotient of purchase evaluation.

Cost per wear = Cost of the item/# of times you will wear it

Imagine you and I at the clearance rack. Cutting our way through closely stacked hangers in search of wardrobe recruits. Suddenly you spot a $10 price tag on a jersey skirt that is only one size too small. You ask me is this $10 cute? A small tear will fall from my eye as I look at this lazy, excuse for a skirt. $10 is more than I would pay for torture. That skirt’s primary purpose in life is to turn bottoms into lumpy potato sacks? I assume you will only be able to endure the pain once, but should you attempt to wear it again, don’t worry it will lose color and ball up in the wash.

Then as we persevere on, you hold up a $99.95 jacket and ask me if I think it is overpriced. My fingers will quickly dart to examine the double stitching on the princess seamed structure. The little bit of detail that speaks to your unique personality. I’ll imagine you pulling it out of your closet at least 100 times over the next three years. Enclosing your midsection in svelte confidence. $1.00 or less per wear for an industrious blazer that goes with everything? No I don’t think that’s overpriced.

The question is not, how much does it cost, but how valuable do I feel when I put it on. Clothes are just a cloak for the confidence beneath, but they are an easy way to amplify your best self.

We’ll get into more math tomorrow, but start wrapping your mind around this fundamental truth today.